You're listening to Song Exploder,
where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made.
I'm Rishikesh Hirway.
I wanted to revisit an episode about one of my favorite songs from 2021, Black Dog by Arlo Parks.
A few months after this episode originally came out,
Arlo Parks won the Mercury Prize for Album of the Year.
She was also nominated for two Grammys, Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album.
Since then, she's released a new album called My Soft Machine,
and she's going to be on tour this spring.
So here's Arlo Parks on Song Exploder from back in June 2021.
Before this episode starts,
I want to let you know that the song being discussed is about someone who's alive and well today,
but was going through a period of depression and anxiety.
Both the song and the interview allude to suicide, so please be careful before listening.
If you're thinking about suicide, or if you have a friend who is,
or if you just need someone to talk to right now,
you can get support by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.
That's 1-800-273-8255.
Or you can text HOME to 741741, which is the crisis text line.
If you're outside the U.S., check out the list of international hotlines at suicide.org.