“Reggae Blues Tonight”: Maryann Turns Heartbreak into Gentle Resistance

By Emmanuel Daraloye

Maryann’s “Reggae Blues Tonight” is a melancholic-toned song that reflects and questions one who once was her whole world. While the song opens wide the vulnerability of the singer, with the same depth of pain, she creates a force within her to rise from the rock bottom of the memories. Released on the 4th of June, 2024, the song immerses its listeners in the shards of a heart so broken beyond measure. Maryann, a soulful Nigerian singer-songwriter, came with a heartfelt tale on this new single.

With a raised tight snare and a spontaneous follow of the full beat, the entrance into the song is swift and pulse-driven. Maryann employs storytelling to pass across her message. Dominant among the lyrical devices and also forming the premise of the song is the rhetorical question, exemplified by the line “Oh baby, why did you let me go?” which conveys fragility and an inexplicable longing. This causes the listeners to find themselves emotionally drowned and yet find a glimmer of hope with her counter lines.

Notably, a steady kick and touch of the snare, the keyboard, the bass guitar, and the trumpet, among other instruments, make the song pass its message with a mood that is intimate and a strength that is gently awakened. The beat gives a deeper explanation of the nature of the relationship that has inspired Maryann to write and record the song. It is not fast, and it is not slow. Maryann hops on this rhythm as her stories also complement this. The overall sound production is smooth and creative with the co-joining of those instruments to tell a heartbreak tale.

“Reggae Blues Tonight” makes any listener feel an inner emotion that goes way beyond the song. Maryann makes use of words that may feel simple, but they are deep. Her baby, in the song, left her in shambles, but she said, “Still I will rise even though it hurts inside. / I will keep on moving with the reggae blues tonight.” Here, also, music is not taken as anything but as a therapeutic tool. In a confession, while she seems not to be able to find herself, she confesses that “Love was a sweetness; now it hurts so bad.”

The arrangement of the song is simple. Maryann doesn’t come to dilly-dally around her emotions. She comes across as blunt and unapologetic about how she’s been used. The song moves from the chorus, which is being sung twice, to the first verse and again to the chorus. In her second verse that starts with, “The memories linger like smoke in the air…” Maryann keeps on with the repetition of her chorus, which feels like a personal sonic rant, which makes the listener feel for her and also feel for themselves.

“Reggae Blues Tonight” feels like a quiet conversation after heartbreak. Maryann does not claim to have healed completely, but she chooses to keep moving. Through honest lyrics and a calm, steady rhythm, the song reminds listeners that pain and strength can exist together, and that healing sometimes comes softly, one honest note at a time. It is the kind of song that gives any listener a reason to listen again.