Forgiveness

Song by Rina Sawayama

## Visualiser

"**Forgiveness**" is a song recorded by Rina Sawayama, featured as the fifth track off her sophomore album *Hold the Girl*, which was released on 16 September 2022 through Dirty Hit.

## Background and composition

The song was written over Zoom by Sawayama, Jonny Lattimer, Rich Cooper and Clarence Clarity. The song's lyrics are "about forgiving people in my past, and things I couldn't control," stated Sawayama. It features drums from Freddy Sheed, who was asked by the singer to play the drums like he was "exhausted and hungover, a little bit behind the beat." She added, "I wanted this feeling of dragging your feet down this path that you're walking to get to forgiveness." Sawayama came out with the chorus melody "pretty much straight away" and recorded it to her voice notes, then sent it to Cooper to put it in the song. "I'm looking for signs," Sawayama belts in what Lindsay Zoladz from *The New York Times* noted as an "ascending melody that keeps escalating to the stratosphere."

"Forgiveness" is a "chest-pounding" power ballad that offers an "ambiguous retort with an orchestral pop swing" and a "massive" chorus and, according to AllMusic's writer Neil Z. Yeung, it pushes Sawayama to "stadium-worthy levels before the album swerves into darker territory on a quartet of standouts." Reviewing the album *Hold the Girl*, writer James Mellen from *Clash* magazine felt that both tracks "Forgiveness" and "Catch Me in the Air" lean more into "soft and pop rock territory, without ever losing her pop polish." He further added, "'Forgiveness', especially, crashes into a raucous breakdown, balancing delightful theatrics with crunchy guitars and synthesisers. Contrastingly, she also knows how to write a great ballad."

## Critical reception

While reviewing the album *Hold the Girl*, Jordan Currie from *Exclaim!* felt that the "most sonically adventurous" track from the album comes in the "trippy and psychedelic-leaning 'Forgiveness,' which doesn't shy away from the fact that healing isn't a linear process," he wrote. Calling it a "mid-tempo highlight" from the album, Lindsay Zoladz from *The New York Times* remarked that "Forgiveness" strikes a "perfect balance between naturalistic sincerity and lavish melodrama."

## Lyrics

Just when I thought I'd weathered the storm

Rain starts to pour, those same old tears back on my face

No escape, ooh

Ripped out the page, rewrote the play

I did away with heroes and villains and old scars

From cold wars

But the pain isn't done, no, no

When the battle is won

So I'm running in circles, I've been

Reaching dead ends

I guess I'm not over it yet

'Cause I'm losing my mind

Sometimes I blame you, sometimes I don't

Sometimes I flip so fast, I don't know

I'm looking for signs

For some kind of highway to letting it go, but

Forgivеness is a winding road

Dead on my feet, walking thesе street

I swear that I've been here before, each way I turn

Yeah, I never learn

I'm chasing blue skies

'Cause I only see clouds in my eyes

So I'm running in circles, I've been

Reaching dead ends

I guess I'm not over it yet

'Cause I'm losing my mind

Sometimes I blame you, sometimes I don't

Sometimes I flip so fast, I don't know

I'm looking for signs

For some kind of highway to letting it go, but

Forgiveness is a winding road

Yeah, yeah, hmm

I'm still looking for the highway

Wondering if I went the wrong way

But I ain't lost

'Cause I, I'll be alright

Sometimes I blame you, sometimes I don't

Yeah, I'm taking two steps back to go forward

I'm looking for signs

For some kind of highway to letting it go

Yeah, I'm outta luck but I still got hope

Yeah, are we nearly there yet? God only knows

But forgiveness is a winding road

## References

1. ↑ Rina Sawayama [@rinasonline] (29 June 2022). "Rina Sawayama on Instagram". Retrieved on June 30, 2022. “signed so many Hold The Girl CDs !!!! gonna sign lots of vinyls soon too 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 it looks stunning omg 😭😭😭 my baby 😭😭😭”
2. ↑ Rina Sawayama (16 September 2022). "*Hold the Girl* by Rina Sawayama on Apple Music". Apple Music (US). Dirty Hit. Retrieved on September 16, 2022.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Zoladz, Lindsay (15 September 2022). "For the Gloriously Over-the-Top Rina Sawayama, Less Is Less". Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
4. ↑ Jenkins, Dafydd. "Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl - Album Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
5. ↑ Yeung, Neil Z.. "Rina Sawayama - Hold the Girl Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
6. ↑ Mellen, James. "Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl | Reviews". *Clash*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
7. ↑ Currie, Jordan (13 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama Can't Hold Back on 'Hold the Girl'". *Exclaim!*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.