Austin Harms – “Gone Away”

As the holiday season comes to a close, the legacy of family carries a different weight than usual. Whether those familial memories bring forth joy, pain or a healthy mix of the two, the holidays have a special way of reminding us of our roots, often bringing forth a sort of bittersweet appreciation in its wake.

For artist, producer, & songwriter Austin Harms, the month of December accompanies a particular heaviness. Losing his father to glioblastoma (brain cancer) in 2015, Harms’ most recent single “Gone Away,” released Dec. 4th on his father’s birthday, shares a hopeful perspective on life, death & legacy.

Throughout his discography, Harms has allowed for his listeners to become a “fly on the wall” during his mourning process, often touching upon the darker corners of grief. “Gone Away” represents a shift in his perspective, continuing his story of coping with profound loss.

A minimalistic left-of-center pop ballad, he muses over an R&B-leaning beat, blending subtle acoustic and synthesized sounds, allowing for a focus on the lyrics. Lines like repeated hook lyric “What’s gone ain’t gone away” and “While it took some years to grieve you, still got this love you left me with” share a more sanguine outlook loss; an understanding that the pain may never go away fully, but those who have departed before us live on in the people’s lives they have touched.

Listen to “Gone Away” below and be sure to keep up with Austin Harms come 2021!