Zoee: Don't Let Me Go
Just when I thought I knew Zoee, she writes something like this.
The first time I heard Zoee’s music was a year ago when she was heading towards the release of her debut album, The Butterfly Effect. I loved every one of those ten songs and one of the key themes was her positive outlook even when life throws curve balls. Even in her murder ballad, True Crime, there was a smile and a wink. If I needed cheering up, as I often do, being from Yorkshire, it was Zoee I put on.
Things have changed in 2026. She’s still brilliant, but Hand Me Downs was nostalgic and deeply felt. As you can read below, it does not always refer to physical objects. Hand Me Downs was a cry for help in a world where we retain the baggage of our ancestors, try as they might to lessen the blows of life.
This is Zoee’s account of how this song got going:
I started writing this song in the wee hours of the morning… it must have been around 4am, which is either very late or very early, depending on whether you’re an insomniac or a songwriter. Or both… I am both. It’s that magical hour when the rest of the world is asleep and your feelings have absolutely no supervision.
What she came out with is the darkest and least optimisitic song she has ever written.That is why today’s single, Don’t Let Me Go, is even more powerful.
4 AM slippin’ in my DMs
Wasn’t long before I was in your bed
From hey what’s up to midnights and all your weekends
Now you’re runnin’ circles through my head
There’s an anger under the surface. She remains disappointed and profoundly so. It is easy to see why this guy fell for her, but impossible to understand why he treated her so badly. This is the moment when the positivity falters. Even Zoee sometimes finds it hard. Hope is a choice, in the end, and it might be considered disingenuous to see every setback as an opportunity. Sometimes you have to be sad.
Now I’m staring at my phone when the night ends
You love to leave me hanging on by a thread
You went from calling me your best friend
To ghosting me like I was dead
Part of this song’s impact comes from the element of surprise. I didn’t see it coming, even coming hot on the heels of Hand Me Downs. Perhaps even more so because Zoee has dealt with setbacks before, and therefore you know it takes a lot to knock her off kilter, this one hits hard.
You never called but I got the message
I can see it all so crystal clear
Now you’re standing here in all of your wreckage
Begging me to take you back, my dear
I didn’t see the twist coming. There isn’t any more of this cinematic story yet, so I have no idea whether she took him back. I know what we want her to do, what she should have done... but did she?
Postscript
I wrote this before Zoee published her own account on her own brilliant Substack. I knew that I had a fairly strong understanding of the song but I did miss something important. I had interpreted it as a misguided relationship, a mistake that Zoee probably saw coming but disregarded the signals. As I listen more, I tend to think this is more like an abusive relationship. There is something cold and calculating and cruel about the guy’s behaviour. Yes, this is very different.
You can pre-save all of Zoee’s music here. If you’re in Nashville for CMA Fest, go see her at the Bluebird Café on June 5th, and at Ariat on Broadway on June 7th. All show dates are at zoeemusic.com. It’s going to be a special one.
