Emily I'm Sorry

Album: The Record (2023)
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Songfacts®:

  • Boygenius is a supergroup comprising three indie rock singer-songwriters: Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker. They formed in 2018 and released their debut self-titled EP later in the year. "Emily I'm Sorry" is a track from their debut full-length album, The Record.
  • The song is believed to be Bridgers' lovelorn apology to her former girlfriend, voice actress Emily Bannen. The pair had a close relationship, with rumors of romantic involvement in 2018 and 2019. Although the two never publicly confirmed their romance, Bridgers frequently posted pictures on Instagram that suggested a close connection between the two.
  • Emily, I'm sorry, baby
    You know how I get when I'm wrong
    And I can feel myself becoming
    Somebody I'm not


    Bridgers apologizes to Bannen for being a toxic partner and hurting her. She highlights the potential for youthful misunderstandings and the uncertainty of self-discovery as factors in the dissolution of their union.

    Emily, forgive me, can we
    Make it up as we go along?
    I'm twenty-seven and I don't know who I am
    But I know what I want.


    Bridgers hopes for a reconciliation and asks Bannen for a second chance.
  • Emily Bannon appeared in the video for Bridgers' 2020 track "Kyoto." At one point Bannen, along with Bridgers' touring band members Marshall Vore and Harrison Whitford, are saved from Godzilla by the singer.
  • This was the song that birthed The Record. A week after Bridgers released her 2020 sophomore solo record, Punisher, she sent Dacus and Baker a demo of "Emily I'm Sorry" and asked if they could be a band again.

    "We were all nervous to bring it up," Bridgers told Rolling Stone, "We all thought that we were more excited than the other person."
  • Bridgers, Dacus and Baker wrote and produced "Emily, I'm Sorry," themselves. They recorded it at Shangri-La in Malibu, California, with additional recording at Sound City in Van Nuys, California. Bridgers is the lead vocalist while Dacus and Baker sing backing vocals.
  • Bridgers' initial demo had a different drum track, but something about it was bugging her. "I was like, 'Maybe this is good?'" she recalled to the BBC. "Then Lucy walked in and went, 'Hmmm, it's more 'chilled-beats-to do-homework-to' than I imagined.' And I was like, 'Uggggh, of course!'"

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