Each Measure Feature: Michelle Lockey
FEATURE
Listening to Dig Deeper, the newest single from Maryland-based singer-songwriter Michelle Lockey, my mind turned to a story I heard recently about the abstract minimalist painter Carmen Herrera. After decades of rejection due to her gender, Herrera finally achieved her first solo exhibition—at the age of 101. When asked by a reporter what advice she’d give to younger artists struggling to establish themselves, Herrera simply said, “Patience, dear. Patience.” That powerful sentiment echoes through Dig Deeper—an anthemic piece about an artist’s refusal to give up.
Digging deeper is the difficult decision artists must make in the face of adversity. The decision is made in bold defiance of humanity’s natural instinct for self-preservation–instincts Lockey alludes to in the second pre-chorus. “I’ll fight and believe for what seems out of reach [...] / I’ll never give up, I’ll never stop trying” she sings before potently capturing the essence of perseverance, “Going further and further each time.”
This line highlights what makes chasing big dreams so daunting. There’s never just one storm to weather—self-doubt and opposition recedes and returns like the tide. Dig Deeper acknowledges this rhythm with the lyric, “One day I’m up, one day I’m fine / The next day I’m down, damn, now I’m crying.” But Lockey seems keenly aware of the importance of dusting yourself off–”keep pushing the buttons” she sings, acknowledging that some days you just have to go through your paces.
But those paces pay off. “Dig deeper, dream louder / Dig deeper, love louder” she sings in the chorus before proudly affirming that the glowing passion within will grow “brighter and brighter with time.
Dig Deeper is a beautiful portrait of the resilience of an artist in the face of adversity, and I mean beautiful in every sense of the word. The song’s message rings with poignancy, and the song’s melody and instrumentation too carries such soulful sincerity–the listener can hear Lockey’s firm conviction in what she’s singing. The entire piece, from its lyrics to its composition to the single’s cover art carries the listener along like a breeze.
Every element of Dig Deeper builds a compelling case for the discouraged–keep going. For listeners who may be tempted to quit, Lockey’s experience becomes a reminder. She sings of the day when she’ll “Look from the peaks, not just the horizons / And see all the dreams she worked so hard to find / Surround me.” It’s a powerful affirmation of playing the long game–acknowledging that, though it may be hard, the longer she persists and the harder she resists the urge to quit, the more dreams she will one day realize she has achieved.
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