You know those songs that somehow manage to pull your heart right out of your chest?
Anna Pancaldi’s latest single, Before You, does precisely that – and more.
It’s a song that quietly grabs your attention, subtle at first, almost easy to overlook, until its melodies start wrapping around you, tightening their grip as they grow stronger, impossible to ignore.
Just when you think she’s reached her emotional limit, giving every ounce of herself to her music, Anna Pancaldi finds a way to dig even deeper.
Pancaldi’s voice is nothing short of magical – the way it soars and dips, carrying vulnerability and strength in equal measure.
When she sings “I wanted you to want me, but it would have been too good to be true,” you can practically hear the echoes of every unrequited crush ever nursed.
It feels like she’s pulling memories you never put to paper, yet every line strikes a chord as if she’s speaking directly to the parts of yourself you’ve kept hidden.
The production here is something special. The haunting strings tell their own story, filling the gaps between Pancaldi’s words like echoes of missed chances.
The acoustic guitar keeps everything steady, grounding the song even when the emotions it carries feel like they might drift off.
Before You is all about raw honesty. Pancaldi doesn’t just touch on vulnerability; she reveals it fully, allowing each note to uncover a deeper truth.
Pancaldi revealed to Neon Music what Before You is about, she said:
“An exploration into what it is to be brave and what it evoked when my bravery didn’t lead me where I had hoped to go. How it felt to have to swallow the consequences of a feeling unreciprocated.”
Sure, there are plenty of songs out there about unrequited love. But how many of them make you feel like maybe, just maybe, the real victory isn’t in getting what you want, but in having the guts to ask for it in the first place?
That’s the magic Pancaldi works here – turning emotional defeat into a different kind of triumph.
Anna Pancaldi Before You Lyrics
VERSE 1
You got through
You called out to my courage ~
It’s been a while
Sitting in this quiet
But I stretched out my feelings
As they moved they pushed me towards you
I got ahead of myself
And that’s all good and well
If you actually get what you want
I wanted you to want me
But it would have been too good to be true
So I pretend that I don’t want you
As I fade out of view
Back to where I was before you
VERSE 2
I said it out loud
And you bowed out politely
It’s at my expense
So typical that I am left
With the consequence
Of the honesty, I have laid bare
I got ahead of myself
And that’s all good and well
If you actually get what you want
CHORUS
I wanted you to want me
But it would have been too good to be true
So I pretend that I don’t want you ~
As I fade out of view
Back to where I was before you
BRIDGE
Speaking from my solitude
It’s only days I want from you
That you might come to know me more
But I filled the gaps
You occupied
Affirming that of course I’m right
That you don’t, you don’t, you don’t
You don’t want me
But it would have been too good to be true
So I pretend that I don’t want you
As I fade out of view
Back to where I was
I wanted you to want me
But it would have been too good to be true
So I pretend that I don’t want you
As I fade out of view
Back to where I was
Back to who I was
Back to where I was before you