This is so good. I love a good name-based song and this one introduced us to a fully-developed (and complex/flawed) character. The details are key here -- external and internal (and I LOVE that her pub is named Rosencranz; of course he is.). Love the guitar, and also the melodic peaks and valleys. So glad I listened to this one!

Lovely sounding acoustic and the strings are beautiful ... a tip of the hat to Eleanor Rigby? A lovely warm character sketch .... and it works because I feel like I know already! Love these lines >> Belsize Park/New York and "pug named Rosencrantz". Great writing.

Your lyric and vocal delivery is so convincing, I had to scroll up to see who this Olivia was. I'm amazed that you can conjure up such a specific and detailed person in my mind from just a couple of tercets. Then you go on to deepen the image. Such a intricate but sad person, she is. Loving the guitar, too.

I like the voice following the guitar lines - it’s a challenging skill - beautifully executed. Belsize Park - yes! The story is really super - like McCartney’s best writing - string parts are great, do you keep a string quartet in your loft? How do you feed them? Fantastic!

DT, man you are good. I just love when you do one of these paired back productions. The spotlight focuses on the essence of the music. It stands so tall all on its own. Just such an enjoyable listen and wonderful story telling. Your guitar playing here is superb. Big sound yet delicately smoooooth. Such a fan...

Brilliant story telling, your Beatles influence is shining through and this wouldn't be out of place in their backlog. Loved the strings and your finger picking is awesome. Finger picking is always on my to-do pile but and can never get the volume I want out of it. You nailed it.

I love the way "Olivia" tumbles out with the guitar riff--so rhythmic. This is a lovely portrait. There's something about the mention of the pug that had me smiling. Ooh...those bvox are rather heavenly. The repetition of "Olivia" is a pretty dang great and memorable hook. Beautiful

Oof, love this. Beautiful arrangement. The fingerpicked guitar, delicate cello line, and layered vocals on the refrain are so evocative. Anyone who's ever lost a part of themselves feels like an actor at times, which makes this song especially poignant. There are bits of levity (aw, Rosencrantz!) here, but it's not overdone; it's the kind that makes you smile and nod in recognition of the character's humanity. So well done.

Great storytelling, David! I wish I could describe a person like that. THe acoustic guitar also sounds like a good choice for such a portrayal.

Absolutely gorgeous. Love the story, it is sad, it is relatable. Right now I can especially empathize with the Rozencrantz verse - possibly the most bittersweet part of the song. (Although the string arrangement is a close second!) Completely adore the "when the curtain false" line - and glad you didn't attempt to write the chords out. Let people play it their own way. I have decided my mantra for this FAWM is: Reject analysis, embrace intuition. So there!

Very cool and characterful! The quiet strings were a deft touch. But that chorus! The sliding away of herself reflected in its structure. And then the call and response part. And the slight vibrato of your voice added some wonderful extra humanity and character all on its own. Everything working together towards the image of a life you wanted to create 😊

I love this, David. The simplicity of the vocals and the guitar let the story shine, and the strings in V2 do such a great job of hinting at her loneliness. Also those background vocals - restrained and perfect. And to let the line "And oooh, when the curtain falls" sit where it is without finishing the thought - genius.

Oh my goodness! Very nice picking pattern and I'm sure all the Olivias out there are loving this one! Those harmonies and CELLO, holy crap! Also rozencrantz is such a great name for a pug haha!

Female names somehow always seem to make the good songs! I love theh lift into verse 2, i sure here our 4 sixties friends influence come in there. You paint the picture with slow deliberate brushstrokes. I personally love your slightly held back vocals like this. Very good mate!

This is wonderful, David. The central guitar motif sets a brilliant opening stage and borrowing from it to build the verse melody was a great choice. I might have been motivated to have the guitar be counterpoint, so it's best that the universe gave you this idea instead of me!

The lyric paints so many creative images. In just a few brief (well written) snapshots I feel like I know Olivia inside and out. That she is so troubled makes the picture's clarity all the more striking.

The arrangement is gorgeous. Simple and effortless sounding. Like a modern "She's Leaving Home". Great use of dissonance to punctuate those moments of heartbreaking clarity. And slowing down on "falls" was a brilliant choice.

I still listen to "Judy" regularly so I can't help but wonder if they ever cross paths with each other. 🙂

Awesome song, David. I'm as envious of your skill as always.

This sounds like it could be on the Abbey Road album. Brilliant lyrics! I probably do my best acting in my music - IRL - not really.

Love it straight away with that pretty picked riff. Lovely arrangement. Such a mournful energy to this that just sucks you in and keeps you hooked til the end. This is one of my favourite tracks of yours since I found you at FAWM. Amazing stuff

i subscribe to the idea that we're all actors...the whole world's a stage and all that.

i think you nailed olivia's psych profile though. this is beautiful. every few bars something new makes my eyes tear up a bit...so emotional (i feel my feelings...i know...it's embarrassing) the strings are so well crafted. i'd like to pick your brain on that a bit sometime...maybe if we get a jam sesh in this month? (if you're busy, no worries)

lovely lovely lyric, beautiful music, next level production...so perfectly executed. i really did tear up like 4 separate times.

this is a wonderful portrait of a person. the dog named rosencrantz was not only a deft humorous touch, but helped define olivia. naming her dog after a despised minor character in a major play may have been an expression of her low self esteem. the complex of not knowing who one is is generally confined to actors of the lower rank, as the successful ones strongly identify themselves as "actors," an identification that over rides their own personality. your song reminds me of the title of a move that i never saw, "Who Am I This Time?" I would guess that the identity factor in Olivia's case is who she is as an actor, rather than confusing who she is with the parts she plays, although there is the syndrome of being typecast in certain parts that bear no relationship to one's self-image. anyway, sorry for shooting my mouth off. im not really responding to the song itself, just jabbering on with the thoughts the song stirred up in me.

Wow! very powerful descriptive story...I'm loving it all. How did you get the the chorus and violins? Is this all self produced? I've only dabbled in production and not very successfully. You make me wanna try to do something more..