Aussie country darling Charlie Collins has today released her brand new single ‘Honey Can We Run Away’, and called on country legend Kasey Chambers to feature on the track.
Marking one of her first releases since signing with Island Records Australia/UMA, the inspiration from ‘Honey Can We Run Away’ came from a surprising source: Hemingway’s novel ‘Across The River and Into The Trees’.
“This is the first song I’ve ever written inspired by a book,” shared Collins.
“It takes you on a journey of love that, no matter how bad you want it, it can never be. It’s about longing for someone that causes you to lose sleep. You can’t seem to hide how you feel, so dreaming about them is the only way you can finally be together. Even though that still isn’t enough, for now it will have to do.”
Having grown up in the country music hub of Tamworth, NSW, the singer-songwriter’s “music-obsessed” parents taught her the power of telling stories through music. “From a young age, my dad always drilled in the importance of storytelling in songs. That was always something that has stuck with me. I guess that’s why I write all the time,” she said.
Surprisingly though, ‘Honey Can We Run Away’ is the first time she’s written a song that isn’t based on her own life. Instead the melancholic ballad, which features delicate guitars and violins, tells the lamenting story of a lovesick protagonist, who hopes for another life but settles to hide away in their dreams.
On working on a track with an Aussie country icon and her own mentor, Collins praised that Aussie country queen, Kasey Chambers, had “sprayed her sweet vocals all over it.”
Starting from a friendship when Collins covered Chambers’ ‘The Flower’ when she was just nine years old, resulting in an on-stage appearance from the country star, Collins went on to tour with Chambers during her 2019 The Caption 20th Anniversary Tour. Now, the two Australian country artists have recorded a track together for the first time.
“When I was 9 Kasey surprised me on stage and sung one of her songs with me (maybe because I was butchering it). To have her singing one of my songs with me all these years later is truly an honour,” Collins commented, on finally recording with one of her biggest musical influences.
You can read more about this topic over at the Country Music Observer.
