Anyone who’s ever spent 10 minutes on TikTok knows Ashe’s voice. The Berklee College of Music-educated singer’s theatrical track “Moral of the Story” is the ubiquitous theme song for Gen Z-ers’ stories of heartbreak, ranging from hilariously entertaining to painfully cringeworthy. One such TikTok features a young woman sitting on a dock sobbing alongside a caption “im sitting in the place we slow danced in the dark at and im so exhausted from crying” over the tinkling piano keys. The trend is not only beloved by scorned teens, but even by Lizzo as well, who featured the song in on the platform as well.
The song also gained traction for its heartbreaking score in the Netflix film “To All The Boys” P.S. I Still Love You”. Though the song may have the most appeal to the younger generation, its lyrics detail an experience unlikely to have been lived by young TikTok users.
The lyrics most associated with the song, “Talking with my lawyer she said / ‘Where'd you find this guy?’/ I said, ‘Young people fall in love’ / With the wrong people sometimes’,” share the aftermath of Ashe’s divorce — which happened at the start of the production process. However, unlike many songs that lament the collapse of a relationship, Ashe celebrates forgiving herself and accepting the choices she made when she was young.
Despite revolving around the heavy topic of divorce, it is clear that “Moral of the Story” possesses the ability to reach beyond. “I’ve had people come up to me at shows and tell me that ‘Moral of the Story’ inspired them to leave a toxic relationship, or break off a friendship with someone who was emotionally abusive,” Ashe said. “I’ve cried with fans as they’ve told me their stories, and to me that’s the most amazing thing ever. It’s really shown me that what you need to say is what people need to hear, so that’s what I’m going to keep bringing to everything I make.”
Photo by Dana Trippe
“Moral of the Story” was made in collaboration with writer Casey Smith, producer Noah Conrad and executive producer FINNEAS, whom Ashe says was the first person she called after filing for divorce.
Ashe said of the writing process, “The lyrics to ‘Moral of the Story’ will sometimes bring up old, hard memories for me, but looking back on writing it, from day one to the finished master, this just reminds me how rare a song it is.”
Flaunt is pleased to premiere the exclusive behind the scenes look at all of the moving parts behind “Moral of the Story,” featuring Ashe, FINNEAS, Smith and Conrad.
If you have any questions for Ashe, tune into her Instagram live Q(uarantine) & A(she) session at 4 p.m.
