It all started at Sonic Ranch …
November 2023
I wrote “Eva” on my first night in the desert while at a writer's retreat in West Texas. I was staying in “the blue room” sitting at a desk and staring at a painting of a woman in jeans and a blue hat. I was playing through some eerie sounding chords on my guitar and decided to personify this woman based on a look in her eyes and the odd vibes I felt in the room. There was a huge spider circling my feet, the window was blowing cold air in and the place was completely unfamiliar to me.
playing “Eva” for the first time
The story I wrote in this song is something every woman can relate to. It’s a story of walking through life a little on edge at all times, of how you have to keep watch of your surroundings and trust no one. Instead of writing this from the most familiar perspective as a woman, I wrote about it from a man's. I let my brain put blame on the woman because she just won’t see how much the narrator (me) loves her. I let myself twist the story to make it her fault and make her seem dangerous.
The narrator gets more and more delusional as the song goes on and is pretty much disassociating by the end of the story. There’s this obsession that the narrator confuses with love. It’s something I have felt from people many times in my life and it is scary. I could name a handful of women who have shared similar stories.
I was only able to write about “Eva” because of how close I’ve felt to the story. In a twisted way, it was therapeutic to write this song. It made me feel powerful and it made me feel angry. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.
Made the final touches in Muscle Shoals…
March 2024
coming together
I ended up changing the title from “Ava to Eva” because the producer at Sonic Ranch titled the first demo with an E. I had seen the spelling before, more so in European countries, and I thought it looked cooler so I ran with it.
I’ve had so much fun creating this song and hope you have just as much fun listening. “Eva” feels like a real character to me and I’m honored to share her story.
Thank you so much for being a part of it all.
xxx madison ♥️
Credits:
Written by Madison Steinbruck
Produced by Sol Philcox-Littlefield and Madison Steinbruck
Mixed by Craig Alvin and Sol Philcox-Littlefield
Mastered by Frank Gagliardi
Visuals by Orchee Sorker
Demo by Alex Siegel and Madison Steinbruck
Eva, you look so sad, with your blue jeans and your blue hat. Did the boy from the store break your heart? I warned ya. Eva, you look so sad.
Now there’s a spider in your room and it’s coming after you. One wrong move and you’re gone. Eva, where did I go wrong?
I told you to stop looking at me like that. I told you if you bit then I would bite back. I told you all the rumors in your bedroom. I told you no one would ever love you. Not like I do. Not like I do.
Eva, you look so scared, with your blue eyes and your blonde hair. You’ve got a pistol in your bag and a bloody white rag. You wipe your face. Eva, you bring so much pain.
I told you to stop looking at me like that. I told you if you bit then I would bite back. I told you all the rumors in your bedroom. I told you no one would ever love you. Not like I do. Not like I do.
Eva, I give up on this life, on this love. You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. I told ya! Eva, Eva
I told you to stop looking at me like that. I told you if you bit then I would bite back. I told you all my secrets in the blue room. I told you no one would ever love you. Not like I do. Not like I do.
I told you all the rumors in your bedroom. You told me none of them were true. I told you no one would ever love you. Not like I do.
