About the Song

Track: How Long

Length: 3:55

Album: How Long (2019)

Artist: Ariel Posen

Songwriters: Ariel Posen & Murray Pulver

Favorite part:

“April is letting me down

Sky just don’t want to let up

Muddy pathways, dirt in the alleys

April keeps letting me down”

Here’s Why I Love It

So...I’ve been trying to decide which Ariel Posen song to feature on the column. Mainly because Headway, his 2021 album, is one of my hands-down favorites of the year. Tbh, it really propelled me through the later stages of the pandemic. I must have listened to that album fifty times. One would assume that I’d pull a song from it, but it works so well as a unit that I couldn’t settle on one. Instead, I yanked one from his 2019 debut album. (Yup, he’s that consistent.)

“How Long” has an easiness about it. Effortlessness, I guess. It’s silky and smooth. Make no mistake, though. It’s hard to write songs that work this well. As a non-songwriter, I always find melodies to be a mystery. Where do they come from? This song has a great one. Lyrically, it seems to be about moving on in life. Self-actualization, in a sense. And a realization that maybe, “I’m not who I thought I’d be / I’m cold on the inside / Living a lie.” Any longer living like this might cause everlasting harm. For how long? How long will he feel this way? How long will it take to get over something or someone?

His voice is stellar—clean and crisp. But it’s his guitar chops (and musicality) that make him stand out to me. And probably the thing that’s drawing the most attention. He’s very explorative on the instrument. Sure, it’s blues-based, but also soulful and drowned out a bit. Even a little psychedelic (at times.) I don’t know. I just don’t hear anyone who sounds quite like Posen on the guitar right now. His tone is instantly recognizable (for me). Check him out.

Read the Lyrics

Listen to the Song

*This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.