Lindsay Ell is one of the bravest people alive. Her new ballad “make You” deals unapolegitally in themes of sexual assault and recovery. In a statement, Ell revealed she was raped at 13 years old… and again later at 21. She could have been broken completely, but she’s here, alive and breathing, and sharing her powerful story.
“You’ll feel dirty, you’ll feel guilty for what was done to you,” she sings, half to herself and to other sexaul assault survivors. “They’ll be a canyon in your chest for what you can’t undo.”
Ell has always had a knack for hyper-vulnerability in her work, but “make You” is the kind of honesty that can move mountains. Her voice carves out a lilting quality but remains gritty enough to impart the severity of her tragedy. “It’s gonna make you hate yourself / When you didn’t hate yourself at all,” she continues relaying what assault really does to a person. “It’s gonna make you build a fortress / Where you never had a wall.”
Listen to “make You” below.