7 Lessons for The Heartbroken In Dean Lewis' 'A Place We Knew' Debut
You definitely won't "Be Alright" after listening to Dean Lewis' debut album, A Place We Knew. We have been waiting, seemingly forever, for the Australian singer-songwriter's heart-wrenching album, and it is finally here. It delivers Lewis' signature heartbroken ballads through 12 bittersweet tunes of his past memories. The Australian singer-songwriter has found his voice writing brutally honest songs of extremely relatable past experiences. Lewis' well-crafted lyrics truly hit different, since so many can put their feet in his melancholic shoes.
Lewis channeled his whole life, every memory and every emotion, into the creation of these 12 songs. On his album, Lewis shared,
"All the songs were written through relationships I'd been in and houses I used to live in and hotel rooms."
The culmination of emotions explodes into A Place We Knew and we couldn't be more thankful for Lewis' great recollection of memories. Here are 7 stand-out lessons Lewis reflects on in A Place We Knew which will have you looking back on your own, sometimes rocky, relationships.
"Hold Of Me" - Past relationships can cause trust issues.
Sometimes the past can really hold you back. From speaking about an ex to any other painful person from your past, your experiences can make you wary about trusting anyone. Lewis finds a girl that has "a hold of [him]," but she is "pushing [him] out" because she keeps thinking of her bad relationships in the past, with her ex and her father.
"7 Minutes" - The first moments of heartbreak are the hardest.
We've all been there. "7 Minutes" after a break-up, wanting to run straight back into their arms. Remembering all the good times together, why you fell in love in the first place, where your spot was, what your song was. But then it hits you…why everything fell apart. For Lewis, he "forgot to love [her]" and that caused the relationship to fail. He wants nothing more to run back to her, but knows he was the one who brought about the end.
"Stay Awake" - Alcohol sets the truth free.
One drink. Two drinks. Three drinks. Drink until you're "too drunk to even walk." Sometimes, a drunken haze can spill a truth that completely surprises you, such as the end of a relationship you were happy in. Lewis doesn't know how to deal with his lover walking out on him, told when he was at that "too drunk to even walk" state. Their "memories are packed into boxes, stacked up against the door" and he feels his world crumbling around him. One night out drinking exposed it all.
"Be Alright" - Accept the pain and move on.
Dwelling on the past is the best way to never move on. Scrolling through old texts, obsessively checking their social media, and waiting for the phone to ring, Lewis finds himself doing all of this until his friend advised him to "put the phone away" and "let her go." This frees Lewis to find "the love [he's] born to find" and finally, after a night of sad drinking, move on.
"Straight Back Down" - Sometimes it's better to walk away.
The decision to break up with someone is huge and requires a lot of courage to stick with. One look from your partner can bring back every good memory and make you never want to leave their side. This is the fight that Lewis struggles with as he packs up his stuff and prepares to walk away from his toxic relationship. "Picking up the ashtray that [his lover] threw against the wall," he realizes how tolling this relationship is.
"For The Last Time" - Miscommunication never brings about a healthy relationship.
If you don't know what you're looking for, how can you ever find happiness in a relationship? Lewis wasn't sure what he wanted out of the relationship, so he sent mixed signals. "[He] told [her] to go left, then [he] went right." He "told [her] that [he] loved [her]," but he was lying about it all along. He finally stopped toying with her emotions, and ended the relationship.
"Half A Man" - You must love yourself before anyone else.
Self-love is the first type of love one must search for. Playing off of "For The Last Time," Lewis goes into depth on the reasons why he didn't know what he was searching for in the relationship. It was because he "[doesn't] love who [he is]," so he's just a shell of a man. He knows that the relationship failed because he is only "half a man" who needs to find himself before searching for anything else.
Coming off a sold-out North American headlining tour, be sure to catch Dean Lewis live at one of the dates below: