Lily Kershaw - Now & Then — Editor's Choice

Lily Kershaw’s is a poignant folk-pop ballad released in 2019 as a lead single from her sophomore album, Arcadia . Described by Kershaw as the most "stripped" and intimate track on the record, the song explores the irreconcilable rift between past affection and present reality. Thematic Core: Unfulfilled Potential

Written during a session at producer Ben Cooper’s studio, it was the last song written for Arcadia but the first to be released. Context Within Arcadia Lily Kershaw - Now & Then

Reviewers at Atwood Magazine note that the song creates a space where "rooftop parties and friends are plentiful," allowing the narrator to actualize a love that no longer exists in the physical world. Musical Composition and Production Lily Kershaw’s is a poignant folk-pop ballad released

The lyrics contrast "the way I love you now" with "the way that I loved you then," suggesting that while love persists, its form has changed to the point of being unrecognizable. Context Within Arcadia Reviewers at Atwood Magazine note

While the album as a whole features "sleeker pop production" than her debut, "Now & Then" serves as a bridge back to her earlier, more intimate acoustic style.

Kershaw told American Songwriter that she was suffering from "tremendous heartache" during the writing process.

Lines like "we’ll never know if our love could have grown" highlight the tragedy of a love lost to circumstance or internal struggles, such as the subject being "scared and alone" or "longing to feel but nothing that's real".