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Ohio-born singer/songwriter Riddy Arman captures the sharp pang of discovering that someone doesn't care about you the way you care about them in her new single 'Half a Heart Keychain'. The song is premiering exclusively at Holler. Listen below.
Framed by soft drums and a reflective electric guitar, Arman's dusky alto details seeing a "half a heart keychain" on her lover's dashboard. "I knew when I seen it/ She had the other half", she sings on the alt-country song.
Wisdom says to write what you know - and Arman did. The imagery in the song comes from a specific experience. "My lover came to visit me in Arkansas and I saw this keychain on his truck’s dash", Arman told Holler. "It said 'Te Amo', and it was lying there without the other half. It was the missing piece to intuitions I was already having—so, the song is incredibly literal".
The song could have developed into a number about unrequited love, but Arman didn't let it rest there. "When we were in the studio I thought, this might be a heartbreak song, but I’m sure as hell not sad about it. I’ve already forgotten about this guy. Good riddance and goodbye. That’s where the production really took shape”.
On the song, Arman translates that farewell - "good riddance and goodbye" - into a classic sendoff. She sings, "Grown tired of these lies, fake alibis/ She can have you, good riddance, goodbye".
'Half a Heart Keychain' is the very first track Arman wrote for her forthcoming debut album, out September 10 via La Honda Records.
It was only when Arman reconnected with her agricultural roots in her 20s that her songwriting really took shape. She moved to a friend's farm in central Virginia, where she worked the land and honed her craft, before heading to California to do the same out west.
But it took a trip to Montana, where Arman was invited to ranch sit, for music to become the central focus in her life. While there, Arman recorded a Western AF session, introducing a larger audience to her stunning voice and deeply personal lyricism.
Her forthcoming album details her time as a ranch hand and her relationship with the land, alongside songs about heartbreak and self-discovery. In the long tradition of 'singing cowboys', Arman has much to say.
Riddy Arman's self-titled debut album is out on September 10th
