ella jane on "nothing else i could do"

ELLA JANE ON HER LATEST RELEASE, “NOTHING ELSE I COULD DO.”

What started off as a school project has turned into one of the most promising tracks of 2020. ella jane’s “nothing else i could do” is the latest addition to my never ending list of favorite songs. The eighteen year old’s newest single is absolutely timeless. Written about The Great Gatsby, the song feels just as much about the 1920s as it does about today. Driven by effortless vocals and grounded in its gorgeous lyrics, “nothing else i could do,” is simple and smart and everything you could hope for a song to be. I got the chance to ask ella a few questions about the track, and you can read our interview below.

HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR “NOTHING ELSE I COULD DO?”

It was based on my AP Lit final project. Well, it was more like I was writing it on my own time and then was like, “oh yeah I can use this!” I chose the “write a song” option for our final creative project on The Great Gatsby. The song actually came together really quickly. I heard the melody in my head and started screwing around on the guitar. I had this moment where I thought, “have I heard this song before,”which is always frightening cause I’m so afraid of accidentally plagiarizing something. But I’ve come to realize that might be a good sign, because if I can’t place what song it sounds like, maybe that just means it’s catchy.

DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART OF THE RELEASE PROCESS?

Well, this is more to do with the writing process, but my favorite part tends to be writing lyrics—especially when I get to watch it all come together. I am such a nerd for imagery. Lorde is one of my biggest inspirations because of how vivid her lyrics are. I love lyrics like that combined with personal narrative ones like that of Phoebe Bridgers. When I get into that sweet spot between the two styles it's almost like this itch I have to scratch. If I have a stanza or phrase that I'm writing, it's really satisfying for me to have that lightbulb moment of “oh I know how to complete this phrase.” It’s a really exciting thing for me.

SPEAKING OF IMAGERY AND NARRATIVE, YOU JUST POSTED A LYRIC VIDEO FOR “NOTHING ELSE I COULD DO” ON YOUR YOUTUBE. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PAIR THOSE VISUALS WITH THE SONG?

I was thinking in terms of what I was thinking when I was writing the lyrics. The song is about the fantasy of someone because that is what the entire The Great Gatsby is about. The lyrical idea was based upon the line “I’d wreck my house a hundred times to see you walk into a room.” I hate how much that applies to my life. Sure, that applies to Jay Gatsby, but I feel like maybe I have a tendency of getting attached to the idea of someone and then not going out of my way to go after them. I’ll kind of sit and wait for things to happen and they don’t. There’s a lot of gold in the video because I really liked the idea of things that look glamorous, but might be falling apart.

DO YOU OFTEN WRITE ABOUT BOOKS YOU READ?

I don't. This was the first song I did based on a book. It was a cool writing exercise for me. I’m tired of those topics of unrequited crushes and feeling sad. I think it's really fun to write a story based on something else. When I was younger I was obsessed with writing. I wanted to be a writer and I would write these ridiculous long stories and get really invested in them. As I got older, I didn’t really have the time anymore. This song allowed me to go back to that feeling of writing a story, just in shorter form.

WHEN DID WRITING STORIES TRANSLATE INTO WRITING MUSIC? HAS MUSIC ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF YOUR LIFE?

I come from a pretty musical family. My dad is a jazz pianist. I started piano lessons when I was four and then I taught myself guitar and ukulele. I’ve always had music in my life, and I've always loved singing while playing music, but I didn’t really connect the dots until I was eleven or twelve. It was probably eighth or ninth grade when I became obsessed with the mechanics of how to write a song. That was when I really started trying to figure out how to write better by listening to artists that I’m inspired by.

WHAT ARTISTS ARE YOU INSPIRED BY?

Lorde, Maggie Rogers, Harry Styles, Fleetwood Mac, Simon and Garfunkel, Rolling Stones.

WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM LISTENING TO YOUR INSPIRATIONS AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM LISTENING TO YOUR MUSIC / “NOTHING ELSE I COULD DO” IN PARTICULAR?

It’s special when listeners can project the way they feel onto a song and still feel connected to the artist. I like artists like that. Where something that might be personal to them can also be equally personal to you, just maybe in another way. I just hope that people listening to my music are able to resonate with what I have to say somehow, even if we’re listening to it with different contexts in mind. These are songs I write on my bedroom floor as a personal outlet or a way to vent, so yeah, I write for me—but seeing people feel so connected to the lyrics and applying that to their own lives has been so special. The song gets transformed from something fully self-indulgent into this communal experience, and I love that.