Behind The Lyrics - Ainslie Wills
Discover the creative processes and lyrical meaning behind Ainslie Will's recently released track 'People Pleaser' from her EP, Pink.
By Always Live
It's been four years since Ainslie Wills last played a live show, and since then she has experienced a breadth of change. Moving to the country, life during a pandemic and becoming a mother have all culminated into an exploration of the new facets of her life, her experiences and her feelings, in her latest EP, Pink.
Ainslie will be sharing her new music at Brunswick Ballroom for Ballroom Mixtapes, an intimate and conversational performance that will welcome audiences into her world.
We asked Ainslie to share her creative process and inspiration behind one of the songs on the EP, 'People Pleaser', and how it came to be.
"People Pleaser was written in an hour as part of the I Heart Songwriting Club. If you are subscribed to this club you get given one word/prompt a week that you have to write to. You have an hour to write it, record it to voice memo and upload it for the other club members to give you feedback on. The word was STRETCH.
I found the original lyrical musings in my journal the other day. The lyric ideas started with ‘Bending over backwards, her fate. As long as everybody else is happy’ , ‘She finds her worth at the extension of a hand, nothing wrong with that’. It then rolled into the lyrics you hear now ‘She would do anything to please (keep it neat). I really liked the ‘keep it neat’ as a recurring response in the verses, it speaks to the ‘good girl’ pressure that society places on girls/women to conform to a certain type of behaviour/look."
"During the time this song was written I was doing a lot of reflection and soul searching after the ending of a long term relationship, I recognised that I was a People Pleaser and realised how I wasn’t really serving myself by constantly wanting other people to feel good before my own needs were met."
"For anyone who hears the song and identifies as a People Pleaser I’d love them to know that there is a different way/reality that you can have if you begin listening to your own needs first. "You won’t believe what’s on the other side, I’m going to meet you on the other side."
Catch Ainslie Wills sharing songs from her new EP Pink at Brunswick Ballroom on Sun 17th of December as part of Ballroom Mixtapes, presented by ALWAYS LIVE and Brunswick Ballroom.
Grab your tickets HERE.
