The artist says he channeled the emotions of his experience as a victim of partner abuse into the lyrics and message of his latest single, “The Door.”
Teddy Swims is burning up the charts with his latest hit “The Door,” but the hit track was borne from a traumatic and difficult time in his life.
During an appearance on Australia’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show, as covered by The Daily Mail, Swims talked about how the experience informed his writing.
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“The lyrics go, ‘I saved my life when I showed you the door.’ I was in a relationship at the time that was really killing me,” the singer told the hosts. “I know a lot more men on the planet are abusive, but it can also be the opposite way too. I was getting abused for a bit and it was tough.”
The expanded lyric reads, “I said I would die for you baby / But I can’t take this pain no mo’ / I thought I was willing / but tonight I saved my life when I showed you the door.”
Swims said that after breaking up with his ex, they were able to come together to reconcile enough to maintain a cordial relationship. He said that just as love brings you together, sometimes it keeps you together too long.
“It doesn’t matter how much you love someone, sometimes you just don’t blend together,” he explained. “I stayed in it way too long because I loved the person. I could believe that somebody was going to turn around.”
He explained that all of this was more than a year ago, assuring his fans that he’s currently very happy in his relationship with his “amazing” girlfriend Raiche Wright. She’s currently performing on tour with him.
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In speaking with the Associated Press about his debut album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1) back in September, the artist admitted that it’s pretty heavy.
“I’m sure for anyone that’s not heartbroken, it’s probably exhausting. But there’s still upbeat and there’s fun (songs) — but everything that is also upbeat and fun is still very, very sad,” he said of the release. “But it’s helping me heal through a lot of things.”
Of the relationship that informed so much of the music — Swims co-wrote every track — he said they were “very intertwined” but “weren’t great together.”
“Toxic s–t, substance abuse and alcohol,” he added. “So, [the album’s] a lot of my journey through that, and my journey to also recover [from] how I treated myself and [how I] felt like I was unlovable.”
He opened up with The AP about “The Door” and his ex, as well, telling the outlet, “There’s someone in my past that’s held their life over my head and been in a spot where [she said,] ’I’m not going to make it if you leave,” he said. “It’s hard to have this situation with someone because you don’t feel like there’s a way out of it.”
“When I finally found the other side of that situation and I had to let it go, it truly is the thing that saved my life,” he shared.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.
