Platten v. Milne

Today, Rachel Platten performed a new song on Good Morning America. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful song written by a beautiful human being:

https://youtu.be/O7bq62Z_cN0

But I have a problem. In her promotion of the performance on Instagram, she said, and I quote:

It was written just for us, and I never intended for the world to hear it because it felt so personal … but sometimes that’s exactly the Art that craves other ears.

By “us,” she means she wrote it for herself and her daughter. At first, I was really excited because I hadn’t expected her to drop any new music.

But the more I think about it, I keep coming back to A.A. Milne and his son, Christopher Robin Milne. As I mentioned before, Christopher grew to resent his father because all he wanted was a story that was just for him. But no, his dad just had to share it with the world.

My point is this: Rachel’s daughter has a right to her mother. To have songs written just for her. I don’t think Rachel should share everything with the world, and she definitely shouldn’t feel that she has to.

Yes, it’s nice that Rachel dropped a new song, but if she never meant for the world to hear it, why did she release it anyway? Well, she’s a songwriter. She thought pregnancy would be her break, but she can’t simply turn off.

Here’s the GMA performance: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/video/rachel-platten-performs-belong-gma-58609701