red flags

Album: is anyone listening EP (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Lisa Heller started writing songs when she was 13 as an outlet for her anxiety. Here, she embraces those thoughts spinning inside her head.

    "I started writing 'red flags' over FaceTime with my longtime cowriter and collaborator Meghan Williams," she told Songfacts. "At first I was inspired to write a sad song after I found out an old friend was telling others she saw red flags in me. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to turn the idea on its head and own those less glamorous parts of myself. I wanted to own my red flags and accept all parts of myself. The whole song flowed out so easily, and then I shared the first verse on TikTok where it started really gaining traction. I knew that this song had something because it was resonating with others. After that we rushed to get it produced, I stayed up till 3 a.m. creating and filming the lyric video, took pictures with my clothes on in the bath tub, and the rest is history."
  • "red flags" is the first single from Heller's EP is anyone listening? She first got noticed in 2016 when the video for her song "Hope" got over a million views on YouTube. She moved toward electro-pop in the next few years, but stripped it down for "red flags," which has a prominent piano and focus on the lyrics, not the beat.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."