“The End” is an ode to those who have spent their lives in a small town.
The somber guitar that began the track was enough to immediately put a pit in my stomach, and as the lyrics began, it only intensified. As a girl who’s lived in the Midwest my whole life, the picture that Mariel Loveland (Best Ex) painted was all too relatable. She mentions the strip malls, the drive-throughs, and even the classic billboards along the empty stretches of highway that tell you to repent and find Jesus. Said billboards serve as a device throughout the song - their warnings that “the world is ending!” stick with Loveland.
The slow introduction gives way to a more upbeat chorus as she illustrates the internal battle she’s going through with lines such as “I know, I know, the world isn’t ending / but sometimes it feels like it is / I know, I know, the world isn’t ending / but what if, what if it is?”. She seems to deal with hopelessness and optimism all at once as caused by the aforementioned billboards.
This song hit close to home. The hopelessness of being stuck in the same place as you’re trying to grow and figure things out is something I know all too well, and this song made me feel as though I wasn’t alone in that.
Singer-songwriter Best Ex, or Mariel Loveland, has released two EPs over the last 6 years of her solo project, and she’s soon set to release her debut album. Be sure to give it a listen!
