Once upon a time there was an old man living in a swamp. He’d been by himself for so long he could barely remember the last time he saw people. One day he finds a six year-old girl who is lost, hungry and sick. He takes her in and tries to heal her with leeches and mud (the days before WebMD, clearly) thinking she’s probably going to die, but she doesn’t. When she awakens she calls him Grandpa, and decides not to leave. When she’s twenty five, the old man dies and only she remains. 

And that, my Tonemillers, is a quick summary of the story Rosa Tu tells in her latest single “The Swamp”. It’s been so long since we’ve heard such a specific story in a song that it took the Tonemamas a second to understand what we were experiencing: this artist is managing to tell a story that spans over nineteen years in less that five minutes! And not just any story, a hauntingly captivating one – we actually feel invested in the characters by the end of the five minutes.

The artist sings with such warmth in her voice that it feels like a mother gently rocking her newborn to sleep. We feel comforted and cared for when listening to her ethereal voice. Wait, the Tonemamas are becoming…Tonedaughters? So Rosa Tu is like a Tonegranny rather than Tonebaby? *Cue sound of Toneminds being blown… *

Best listened to: Actually, best listened to while watching the animated video that plays out the whole story of the man and the girl in the swamp! Link here

Listen for: 0:28 when Rosa’s beautiful voice enters (chills and goosebumps!)