There are times when I feel something so deeply inside, but then struggle to know how to outwardly express it, leaving me with emotions that won’t come out, no matter how strong they are or badly I want them off my shoulders. Then, suddenly, a song comes on shuffle on my walk to my next class, and it’s exactly saying what I felt like I couldn’t. That’s one of the powerful things music can do: find the words we tend to lose in our heads when we stumble over humps of emotions we can’t grasp.
24-year-old singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine’s authenticity shines through her songwriting, first gaining her attention on TikTok, YouTube, and Soundcloud, building herself a reputation for writing songs that always feel vulnerable and deeply personal to her experiences. Her music is shaped not only by her life but in a way that makes people feel understood, because she turns her complicated feelings into honest lyrics that resonate universally. In songs like Ceilings and Doomsday, she manages to encapsulate feelings that are both intimate and widely relatable. Lizzy’s music shows the role an artist can play in a bigger picture: the importance of having artists who can give a voice to the emotions we struggle to express. There’s comfort in hearing someone else put words to the feelings you’ve been holding, and it shows how music has a way to turn privately tangled emotions into something universally shared with others.
Lizzy McAlpine’s music brings this idea to life, showing how her personal emotions and life can be expressed in a way that feels shared and understood by anyone who listens. Capturing complex emotions is clear in songs like Headstones and Landmines. In this song, Lizzy explores the feelings revolving around a lost loved one. She shapes the song around her experience of losing her father during the global pandemic, describing the isolation she felt when trying to move forward, turning a personal struggle into lyrics that feel raw and relatable.
In her song Let Light Be Light, Lizzy shifts towards hopefulness and acceptance, writing about how she’s learning to accept a healthy relationship despite her internal fears stemming from past experiences, and exploring her feelings on uncertainty and vulnerability. Her reflection on personal growth reminds listeners that it’s something everyone navigates still and also invites them to reflect alongside her.
In one of her more intimate songs, Nobody Likes A Secret, Lizzy captures the anger and confusion left behind after being misled in a relationship. The emotional weight of being considered a secret, as well as the difficulty of processing betrayal and hurt, shows how feelings can linger long after something has ended. Lizzy gives another pathway for her listeners to connect to her music with their own shared experiences.
Throughout all of Lizzy McAlpine’s songs and albums, one thing is clear: she doesn’t just write music for herself; she creates a space where her listeners can see some of their own emotions and experiences reflected and find comfort in the fact. Lizzy has mastered creating globally relatable lyrics and translating her deeply personal feelings into music that reminds listeners they are not alone. Whether she’s exploring grief, hope, acceptance, or the complexities of relationships, her authentic songwriting turns private emotions into shared experiences, showing how music can give voice to what we sometimes often cannot express.