“Songwriter” A Song of Perseverance from Katrina Burgoyne

Country artist Katrina Burgoyne captured my heart from our very first conversation. As a journalist and someone who likes the challenge of digging deep to get to the root of things, Katrina was gold. She is a person of many layers and is a remarkable display of the human experience. We don’t go through life one emotion at a time. We have a plethora of them all at one time, no matter how dark or light we feel the world is at any given point. Katrina is very aware of this, and her new single “Songwriter” Is the proof. That said, this single seemed a little too focused at first.

I am going to be brutally honest. When I gave “Songwriter” from Katrina Burgoyne the first listen, I had no intention of writing a review. The single is fantastic, but I got hung up on the title. “Songwriter” is specific, and most of you reading this have never written a song in your life, including me. I felt that folks like us might feel a little disconnected. It wasn’t until Katrina reached out to me a second time that I gave it an honest listen to see if there was any meat for me to chew on. That second listen opened a floodgate of emotions that I still have yet to sort through, even while writing this.

I have lost count of how many times I have listened to “Songwriter”. It has been at least 20 while writing this review. It’s like I keep looking into a mirror, expecting to see Katrina Burgoyne. Instead, I see my own reflection looking back at me. “Why?” I ask myself. I never have and might ever be a songwriter, but damn, this song feels precisely like my journey with Southern Fellow. So much that if I was to write a song, I think Katrina might hit me with a big fat lawsuit for copyright infringement. The only difference between the two of us is Katrina knew what she wanted to do. My life’s journey over the past two years started entirely in the dark. Katrina and all who have joined the family here at Southern Fellow found me.

Just like “Songwriter”, Southern Fellow can be a bit misleading. It points to something very singular but represents so many good people. It wasn’t easy getting to where we are today, and at times, it felt like trying to grab ahold of sand, but here we are. With scrapes and bruises, we can look back and know that the fight was worth it. If I were to look in that mirror I mentioned now, I know I would see more than Katrina or myself in the reflection. I would see every one of your faces. We all have struggled to get to this point. We all have our songs to sing. For you, it could be becoming a mother, overcoming addiction, or even something as simple as spending more time with family. Your story may not be the perfect song, but it’s still worth singing.