Jessica Pelphrey
HALIENE is no stranger to the stage or the limelight. She has worked with some. of the biggest names in the dance music industry and has released countless chart-topping hits on her own.
And with the amount of commotion that often centers around the release of his latest album, Heavenly, it can be all too easy to become detached from the art itself when you’re focused on the actual release of the music.
So we wanted to flip the script, slow things down, and dive deep into the meaning, context, and other truths hidden in the lyrics of her single ‘Reach Across The Sky.’
HALIENE “Reach Across The Sky” Full Lyrics
It wasn’t a fairytale
It was a mess
I don’t know if it was real
Cause there’s nothing left
I let it go, all of it incompleted
You’d never know I’m in a million pieces
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
I still wonder if you hear me cry
And reach across the sky
Do you follow me like satellites
And pray that we collide
Oh I do, I still wait for you
Do you feel me on the other side
And reach across the sky
Reach across the sky
I’d never take it back
I wouldn’t do it again, no
All of the pain we had
Is now making sense to me
I’m seeing it all, weaving a masterpiece and
You’ll never know you were the thread I needed
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
You were the thread I needed
I still wonder if you hear me cry
And reach across the sky
Do you follow me like satellites
And pray that we collide
Oh I do, I still wait for you
Do you feel me on the other side
And reach across the sky
Reach across the sky
Reach across the sky
The Story Behind HALIENE’s ‘Reach Across The Sky’
Every song is more than just the words on the page or the voice in a microphone. There are stories, memories, and emotions that far outweigh the record’s tangibleness.
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When we asked what this story was behind “Reach the Sky,” we expected a short answer. But what HALIENE came back with was more than we could have ever hoped for. The following words are from the artist herself…
“It was so fitting that “Reach Across the Sky” was the last single before the release of my debut album because it’s the song that’s been with me the longest.
The chorus was written in 2014, and it’s been through so many iterations since then. I wrote it about an inexplicable connection that transcends time and physical space. There have been only a few people in my life that I have felt such a connection so profoundly. I knew when they were in pain or danger, like I could feel it myself even while we were apart. This song is about intense longing and acceptance of what was ultimately meant to be. In “Reach Across The Sky,” I wanted to express finding resolution in the unresolved, completing the incomplete, and peace even through heartbreak.
On my album Heavenly, I dive into deep and painful emotions I have experienced in my life. Even though many of these actual experiences may be many years ago, I still write songs about those times, as they are like a deep well for me to still draw from. My songwriting always has an interpretative story. While still very vulnerable and authentic to my life, I want my listeners to share in that and feel that my songs tell their story too. I don’t write songs for myself. I don’t write lyrics for my therapy. Instead, my songs are composed as a service for my fans and listeners — that they might feel the emotions they can’t access any other way but through music, ultimately forming a pathway to healing and acceptance.” – HALIENE
HALIENE ‘Reach Across The Sky’ Lyric Analysis
Written by Matthew Steeper, Kelly Sweet
We had a chance to spend time with the artist further and get a bit more granular about some of the more poignant lyrics of the single off her latest album. Whether you’re a songwriter, a beloved fan, or just curious about the creative process, getting an insider perspective on lyrical writing can truly be eye-opening.
“It wasn’t a fairytale, it was a mess”
The song begins in the state of brokenness and loss. Sometimes the greatest loss is actually the unfulfilled dream of what could have been, as we are confronted with the reality of what it is. – HALIENE
“I don’t know if it was real cause there’s nothing left”
We can lose even the evidence of an experience, relationship or love and begin to wonder if any of it was real, to begin with. When someone leaves our lives, as time passes, it can be easy to lose touch with the concreteness of them in our lives. On a personal note, this line references the moment I realized I didn’t even have any photographs of this person and me, and it felt as though even the truth of the memory had been erased. – HALIENE
“I let it go, all of it incomplete and you’d never know I’m in a million pieces”
Whether in our control or not, at some point, we have to release our hold on our broken experience, or the pain will continue to tear at our hearts. What I love about this line is the dichotomy of both strength and brokenness… Strength through the storm despite our fragility in the separation. – HALIENE
“I still wonder if you hear me cry and reach across the sky”
Now, we begin to question whether the feeling of longing is unrequited or is the cosmic connection still alive. This line is both a question of one’s sanity and singularity. – HALIENE
“Do you follow me like satellites and pray that we collide”
Do you see me, observe me, from the heavens, through a screen, or just from afar, wishing for something out of our control to create the circumstances for us to come together again? It’s like waiting for a sign, and trusting that forces larger than us are in control. – HALIENE
“Oh I do, I still wait for you”
This expresses longing while doing nothing about it, and the releasing of the outcome to powers larger and outside of ourselves. – HALIENE
“Do you feel me on the other side and reach across the sky”
Reaching across the sky as a concept was inspired by attending music festivals (like EDC Las Vegas) and being in the middle of massive crowds with everyone’s hands up to the sky. It felt like a microcosm of our shared human desire for connection, despite being separate from the rest of the world. I had an image of two people reaching out into the stars and somehow, an invisible cord appeared between them like a tether of lightning in the sky. – HALIENE
“I’d never take it back, I wouldn’t do it again, no”
We understand the value of the experience but would never repeat it. For me, this is true. As hard as the loss in my life was, I would not change it. I believe it came for a purpose, and I believe it does for all of us. – HALIENE
“All of the pain we had is now making sense to me”
Here I am expressing that there’s a reason for everything. The larger life plan and cosmic context is coming into view as we emerge from the storm. – HALIENE
“I’m seeing it all, weaving a masterpiece and you’ll never know you were the thread I needed”
Sometimes it is the thing we want the least, the thing we fought against the hardest, which, when it occurs, is the quintessential piece that unlocks the rest of our destiny. It’s essential to look back, see the reason and purpose for pain, and be grateful for it. If we don’t give it meaning, then we live in that pain and can never use it as something to grow from. To me, this line is the summation of this song; this pain came for a purpose, and I am grateful for what it brought to the tapestry of my life. – HALIENE
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