Delilah Montagu‘s new single Orange is a poignant reflection on love and loss, wrapped in a comforting melody.
Over gently plucked guitar notes and subtly swelling strings, Montagu recounts a relationship’s incompatibility and inevitable dissolution with striking lyrical clarity
On Orange, a highlighted track from her upcoming EP The Bird, she strips things back to their emotional core.
The London-born, LA-based artist, already a two-time GRAMMY winner, continues to impress with her ability to weave complex emotions into her music.
Orange stands out as a gracious breakup song, a genre that often leans towards bitterness and regret.
Instead, Delilah Montagu offers a narrative of peaceful acceptance and the bittersweet comfort of memories.
The song begins with a gentle cadence, inviting listeners into a personal space of introspection.
As the melody builds, so does the emotional depth of the lyrics. Montagu recounts the realisation that some loves, no matter how profound, are not meant to last.
The metaphor ‘I was a bird, and you were a fish’ beautifully illustrates the impossibility of two worlds coexisting, highlighting the song’s theme of loving separation.
Delilah says of her new single, “I wrote ‘Orange’ about my first love. Loving someone but also understanding that you can’t exist in each other’s worlds is a painful realization, and I tried to put it into a song. ‘I was a bird, and you were a fish, we couldn’t breathe together like this.’ The song is also about reassuring the person that even though you don’t ever talk, you’re always thinking of them with love and that they will always be with you everywhere you go.”
The music video, directed by Peter Cerrito, complements the song’s narrative with visuals that capture the raw intimacy of a breakup and the liberating sensation of expressing one’s true feelings.
Orange is a prelude to Montagu’s upcoming EP The Bird, set for release on June 14.
Delilah Montagu Orange Lyrics
I got a tattoo of your father’s initials
I don’t know why at the time it felt special
We bought a dog and we thought he was different
Said he had my eyes
Said he had your gentle weakness taking up all of our bed
That’s what we said
But I was a bird and you were a fish
We couldn’t breathe together like this
I needed to fly but you needed to swim
I belong up above and you belong deep within
I’m painting my nails my favourite orange
It’s the only thing I’ve ever been sure in
All through my life it’s my favourite colour
But it reminds you of your mother
And she never liked orange
Cos I was a bird and you were a fish
We couldn’t breathe together like this
I needed to fly but you needed to drown
I belong in the sky and you belong on the ground
I took a drive all the way to New Hampton
Seeing my life in the rearview mirror
Baby don’t cry cos you know you get nearer to me everyday
In my own special way
I would sing you in my sleep
As my way of reaching you in the deep
I’ll sing to you from the trees
I’ll sing to you from the trees