Rising pop star Lily Denning has released the lead single from her debut EP, a track titled ‘Wouldn’t it be Nice?’
‘Wouldn’t it be Nice?’ opens with a juvenile, lullaby style melody, a stark contrast to the topics discussed in the lyrics. Denning’s lyrics discuss how women are often harassed and approached when walking around town. Most women have a story of how they’ve been stopped by random men, catcalled or followed home, making this song very relatable to a female audience. The melody progresses into a more produced pop track, feeling like something that Lily Allen would have released early in her career.
“I’ve heard all the same things a thousand times / The same old voices, the same old lines”
Lily Denning’s voice is soft and sweet, oppositional to the gritty and real experiences she is singing about. Rather than coming across as angry and aggressive, her tone sound oddly polite, whilst depicting catcallers as “Creatures from the underground”. She is plainly stating that life would be better if these behaviours were stopped, an easy compromise. Non-diegetic sounds create the impression of a bustling cityscape, with car horns beeping, and a wolf whistle on the lyric “You’re checking her out”.
Denning has shared that she wrote this track after being harassed when walking alone in London. Since that evening, she has wanted to speak out about the situation. In writing the track, she hopes that the lyrics will raise awareness of how common catcalling and street harassment is.
“I’ve always wanted to speak out about this situation that happens to too many people and how it shouldn’t be tolerated in today’s society. I want the song to raise awareness and to keep the conversations going about how people shouldn’t be made to feel unsafe on our own streets and how we can collectively change that.”
Denning incorporates her own personal experiences into her tracks, carefully depicting real-life events to connect with her audience. Sharing that these things are just “The same old shit” shows how women are sick of this treatment, and young female artists shouldn’t have to be writing tracks about these topics for people to change their behaviour. Nevertheless, Denning has crafted a relatable and catchy pop track, with a serious sentiment that many people can relate to.
