By Kristen Hawley | 14 April, 2023
The issue with relationships and connections that are caught in an off-and-on cycle is that everything is blurry and undefined, except in terms of love. A lack of labels doesn’t correlate to a lack of feelings. As Savanna Leigh beautifully described her latest single, “emotionally invested,” ending these types of bonds may make you romantically detached, but emotionally invested.
“Emotionally invested” is a second part in the story that her previous single, “arms length” started to tell. “arms length” details the struggles of being caught in the cycle of breaking up and making up. While Savanna tries to move on, she repeatedly falls back into her ex’s arms, because let’s face it – arm’s length is not enough space to let her heart get away. While the recommended advice might be to delete that person’s number and have no contact with them, Savanna counters with, “but I still know/ All of your numbers in my head” and “All my friends are all your friends.” Essentially, she’s playing a game of emotional poker with a losing hand.
The lyric that stung me (most likely every listener) is “We can’t forget what never ends.” Whether it’s pain or pleasure, if the supply is endless, we aren’t giving ourselves enough time to forget the person’s love and admiration for us. By the end of “arms length,” the listeners are left knowing that this cycle is still spinning and neither party has any intention of stopping it.
Following up with a listen to “emotionally invested,” fans will be shocked that the on and off relationship did end. But, there were obvious casualties.
“emotionally invested” is about attempting to move on and keep things casual with an ex, because as “arms length” addressed: they run in the same friend group as you. But, switching from having a certain level of intimacy with someone to just acting as cordial acquaintances is not an easy task to tackle.
It especially becomes difficult when the highlight reel of relationships plays through your head like it’s your favorite movie. With that film playing on an endless loop in your head and occupying every thought, you forever get stuck in what was, rather than what is. Savanna sings “romantically detached, but emotionally invested” in a breezy tone, but with somber intentions.
This line might be one of my favorites of all time because it nails navigating that awkward, weird space after the end of a relationship very well. While the romantic component may have fizzled out, the emotions and care for that individual will always have an iron-grip on your heart despite any and all efforts to eradicate those feelings.
The fear of being emotionally invested is that despite you logically understanding that you need to end a relationship that is no longer suiting your best interests, your emotions are playing to a different beat. So, as long as you’re emotionally invested in someone, the door on the relationship is never fully closed.
“emotionally invested” and “arms length” pair together incredibly. They are two twin, pop tales that are as old as time. Both tracks flow as a continuous story, so releasing them back-to-back is a great storytelling method. While these tracks tie together a full story, Savanna has used Tiktok to explain why she is using different colored balloons for each release. These two songs are the first few releases building towards a larger world and the blue and pink balloons are beginning to make a gorgeous bouquet.
