I’ll Try

Song Meaning

Sharon Van Etten's "I'll Try" isn't a declaration of victory, but a raw, almost whispered commitment to keep showing up. The song meaning coils around the struggle against apathy and the overwhelming weight of… well, everything. The opening lines, "My hell in drive / My heart in, like, a fog," paint a picture of someone moving through life on autopilot, haunted by unseen forces ("I hear them now / Every time I cross the park"). There's a sense of being trapped, both by internal demons and external pressures, a feeling amplified by the fragmented, almost stream-of-consciousness lyrical style. The heart of the song lies in the repeated mantra, "I'll try." It's not a triumphant battle cry, but a fragile promise made to oneself. Lines like "Don't state a direction / Like who my blood won't save" hint at a world of impossible choices and the crushing realization that you can't fix everything. The "worldwide intervention on the 'do not touch'" suggests a breaking point, a moment where the sheer scale of injustice becomes paralyzing. Yet, even in the face of this overwhelming despair, there's a flicker of defiance, a refusal to completely succumb. Ultimately, "I'll Try" resonates because it acknowledges the messy, imperfect nature of resistance. It's a song for those moments when getting out of bed feels like a radical act, when simply showing up is the bravest thing you can do. Van Etten captures the exhaustion and vulnerability of fighting for something bigger than yourself, offering a quiet, unwavering commitment to keep pushing forward, even when the path ahead is shrouded in fog.