Sympathy

## "Sympathy"Single by Declan McKenna

* Static
* Motion

"**Sympathy**" is the lead single from Declan McKenna's third major-label album, *What Happened to the Beach?*. It was released on 6 July 2023 and features co-writing and production from Gianluca Buccellati.

## Background

Following the release of *Zeros*, Declan began recording his third album, making music more freely instead of trying to create a conceptual body of work. As COVID-19 restrictions were being lifted, Declan re-evaluated his approach to recording music, and "Sympathy" would be the first song he worked on with Gianluca in Los Angeles.

Starting on 25 May 2023 at Corona Theatre in Montreal, the song was frequently performed on Declan's tour, The Big Return. It was initially re-titled "**New Song I**", due to Columbia Records wanting to keep the real title a secret. The same idea was also applied to another song, re-titled "New Song II".

On 22 June, Declan announced that members of his then-upcoming Discord server would be granted early access to the song, and shared a TikTok post with footage of one of the live performances. As part of the eventual server launch, Declan's team shared the official lyrics and photos from the music video.

On 28 June, Declan officially announced the song, sharing a pre-save link with no specified release date. The next day, he released an extended snippet to the TikTok Audio Library. On 30 June, he shared a clip from the music video shoot, confirming that the song would be released on 6 July.

## Composition

In an interview with NME, Declan noted "Sympathy" as having a "sugary, summery vibe to the melody", stating that the song "feels like the most outwardly upbeat song [he's] made, with the most positive message". In a press release, he elaborated on the song's meaning: "It feels like a dream about love and compassion, it wants us to let go of inhibitions and allow ourselves to truly connect with others rather than overthinking and hiding your feelings away. Or put even simpler, it’s about peace and love".

## Music video

Declan hinted in a tweet on 19 May 2023 that he would be releasing a music video with Will Hooper, the director behind most of the *Zeros* music/lyric videos. From the song's announcement post until the eve of its release, Declan frequently promoted the song with content from the music video. Just hours before the official release on 6 July, he revealed that the video would premiere on YouTube at 6:30 PM BST.

The video was shot on Camber Sands in East Sussex, England. In the video, Declan washes up on the beach's shore, plays the song on piano and guitar, and roams the shore with a metal detector, all while being pestered by seagulls. In a slightly extended version of the video, a sticker on Declan's suitcase advertises 'Marvellous Beach', a reference to the *Zeros* track "Eventually, Darling".

An acoustic video, filmed in tandem with the music video, was released as a Discord exclusive on 13 July 2023. A behind the scenes video was released to YouTube on 27 July.

## Lyrics

Sympathy won’t you come around

I don’t need the commotion

Usually though I’m up and down

You just need rollercoasters

Goodness me all you talk about

is how you’ll beat all the others

Sympathy won’t come around

So make peace and discover

Why you make it up

Party on and tear it down

Don’t you wanna get it on

Everybody believes you now,

I can see what you’re all about,

You don’t need to be clever

If you don’t speak your thoughts aloud

You just feel them forever

Goodness me all you talk about

is how you’ll beat one another

Sympathy’s gonna come around

So make peace and discover

Why you gotta make it up

Party on and tear it down down

Don’t you wanna get it on

Everybody believes you now

You don’t need to be clever

You don’t need to be clever

Sympathy’s gonna come around

You don’t need to be clever

## Personnel

Credits adapted from Instagram and Jaxsta.

* Declan McKenna - writer, autoharp, bass, guitar, percussion, synthesizer, vocals
* Gianluca Buccellati - writer, producer, bass, drums, percussion, synthesizer
* Eli Smart - lap steel
* clari FT - cello
* Jack Banjo - trumpet
* Henry Pearce - flute, claps, background vocals
* Laura Jennings - claps, background vocals
* Ben Quinn - claps, background vocals
* Josh McClorey - claps, background vocals
* Connor Price - claps, background vocals
* Mark C Brown - baritone sax
* Jules Apollinaire - recording assistant, additional engineer, percussion
* Ross Fortune - recording assistant
* Simon Oscroft - engineer
* David Wrench - mixing engineer
* Heba Kadry - mastering engineer

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.nme.com/news/music/declan-mckenna-new-single-sympathy-third-album-tour-2023-3464783
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF3BhZO4E1A
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.tiktok.com/@declanmckenna/video/7247542364028357930
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1671899444780957696
5. ↑ File:Discord 23-07-05 Sympathy lyrics.png
6. ↑ File:Discord 23-07-05 Sympathy photos.png
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1674108645766725638
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1674399275227262977
9. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/music/Sympathy-7249767505861920769
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1674806546574761988
11. ↑ https://diymag.com/news/declan-mckenna-is-back-with-latest-track-sympathy
12. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1659599956829782033
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/DeclanMcKenna/status/1676638433266073622
14. ↑ File:IG Stories 23-07-06 Sympathy video.png
15. ↑ https://vimeo.com/843836125
16. ↑ File:Discord 23-07-13 Sympathy acoustic.png
17. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngz\_BtZAAPA
18. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuh6sOOgik9/
19. ↑ https://jaxsta.com/release/db6deb55-a574-5d0b-9fc7-9e010fdb843e/dde04c36-9f38-5b3a-af02-61aa809e06d0/overview