Caroline Rose on Songwriting Evolution as a Form of Healing

Welcome to Songwriting School, where we talk to songwriters about the craft of songwriting.

The first time I ever heard “Feel the Way I Want” by Caroline Rose, I thought, “Wait a minute… is this my new anthem?” To me, Caroline’s music was stoic and earwormy. But on their latest record, 2023’s The Art of Forgetting, they took a turn toward the introspective and vulnerable.

In spite of this evolution, Caroline says that, deep down, they’re the same songwriter: “I haven’t really changed. I feel like I’m kind of a bit of an explorer when it comes to genres and stuff, I don’t really adhere to one.”

Here’s my conversation with Caroline Rose, who’ll be performing live in Jacksonville at the Winterland Six festival in James Weldon Johnson Park on Saturday, February 24.

The following interview has been condensed and edited from the original recording.

Why don’t we start by thinking back to your origins as a songwriter. What do you remember about writing your first songs?

My first song ever was called “Out of Time,” and it was sort of an existential song about what we do with our time. And to be honest, I still think about this all the time. I’m still kind of like, “What do I do with all my time while I’m alive?”

It sounds like you’ve been pretty true to your origins as a songwriter, then.

Yeah. I haven’t really changed. I have the same brain, that’s for sure.

These days, if you had to pinpoint one thing that kicks off the process of writing a song, what would it be?

I think, probably more than anything, just having free time to do it. And that could be as simple as just walking to the grocery store and not being on my phone. Just walking and living and allowing my brain to run in whatever direction it wants to. I feel like distractions are the number one reason why people aren’t more creative or just making things all the time. 

You’re such a busy artist, though, and it seems like it might be hard to find those pockets of time for uninterrupted brain space. How do you ensure that you work that time into your busy schedule?

I think if I get even one moment a day to be creative—and sometimes, that could be even just factoring in something like, “Instead of driving to this place, I’m going to walk or ride my bike.” It frees up my mind to wander a bit, especially when I’m walking, because I don’t have anything to do. I write a lot of songs when I go out for walks. The other day, I was making a cup of coffee, and a song just popped in. I was like, “Whelp, gotta stop what I’m doing and write this down.” If you forget the idea, then it’s a wasted opportunity, I guess.

Who have been some big songwriting influences for you through the years?

The classic songwriters will always be deeply embedded in my soul. The sort of, like, troubadours, like Hank Williams. But then I have this whole other side of me. I really like sonic explorers. People who are a little more funny and loose. A lot of my favorite bands never adhered to a particular style. Tom Waits: he really crafted his own path. He’s probably my biggest influence, actually.

Your songwriting has evolved so much through the years, moving into more vulnerable territory on your latest record, The Art of Forgetting. Have there been any fears and doubts you’ve had to overcome by taking your vulnerabilities and pouring them into your lyrics?

Caroline Rose: It was difficult to tour it at first and sing these really painful songs over and over. But it actually did help heal me.

Wow. What do you think it is about having to face an audience and sing these extremely vulnerable songs over and over again? What was healing about that?

Well, you know, a lot of people really responded to the music in such a positive way. That’s your dream, is to write something really honest and share it with people, and then have people respond with something equally as powerful of how it moved them and what they’ve gone through. It’s the miracle of making art, really, that you can have connections with people you’ve never met through something that you experienced and then translated into something beautiful and consumable.

Caroline Rose’s latest is The Art of Forgetting (stream here). They perform live in Jacksonville at the Winterland Six festival in James Weldon Johnson Park on Saturday, February 24. Find ticket information and more here.