Song of the Day: 'How Will You Know' by Becca

Becca Hollcraft, mostly known as “Becca”, is the sturdy voice behind this powerful ballad. This song is filled with vibrant emotion and great lyrical depth. I first learned of Becca when I came across her stirring rendition of “I Drove All Night”, her use of Roy Orbison’s composition and her vocals on that song were off the charts. Seldom does a cover overshadow the original, in Becca’s case she succeeded at doing just that. She is a rare talent.

“How Will You Know” is the fourth track off of her album Tokyo-O-Ing. The song describes a relationship in which there is a dependency on the singer by another person who can’t see the world around them without her help. The sea legs of this other person starting about a solo journey, startles the protagonist and she queries to know how this person is supposed to make it without her.

She perfectly captures the desperation of a loved one who’s other-half is emotionally slipping away. The co-dependency that can occur in a relationship is often a less discussed area of music. This song provides a wonderful illustration of what can happen when the wounded bird’s wing heals and the person who has been caring for them has to let them fly away.

What this person is resolved with by the song’s end is not made completely clear. The longing of being without the answers is a silent tragedy that carries throughout the song. As much as her questions linger in the abyss of the unknown, one could surmise that she hasn’t faced an answer that is as true as it is famous; Kahlil Gibran said “If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never.”

It is perhaps that bitter lesson that is at the heart of this song.