The Truth Behind the Song #11 – Signe Marie Rustad’s “Die With Your Boots On”

Welcome to our ‘The Truth Behind the Song’ feature. For this feature, we’ve asked a number of our favourite artists to give us in-depth piece about a song that has a special place in their heart. Today we feature the wonderful Signe Marie Rustad, who gives us an insight into the truth behind ‘Die With Your Boots On’.

 

Back in January 2018, I hadn’t been writing music for about 3 years. It had become clear to me that the writer’s block I was experiencing was just a natural consequence of an attempt to protect myself, by shutting out as opposed to opening up, during a rough time in my personal life. It seemed too painful to reach down deep – which in turn made it impossible to write anything of substance. The Oslo-based DJ-concept and booking team Die With Your Boots On (which later also would become my record label), were celebrating their 5 year anniversary later that January, and I had an urge to write something in their honor.

I knew I wanted to call the song “Die With Your Boots On”, as kind of an ode to them, and I knew it was going to be about music. I sat down on my couch and looked out the window, guitar in lap, and as I remember it, the words fell into place in my head and out of my mouth fairly quickly, and the melody just kind of naturally shaped itself. It felt like I was able to connect with parts of me that I had shut down for the first time in 3 years. The chorus says ‘strung out, but hopeful,’ and that was exactly how I felt. There is love in those lyrics, but more so, there is hope. I kept playing the song over and over, the swing of the chorus felt very soothing to me. By the time I played the song live with my band at the gig, even though I announced it as a one-off performance, I knew the song already meant too much to me personally to just leave it with that.

I was so happy and honored that Die With Your Boots On Records wanted the song to be the first single off their spanking new label.