Singer Kate Miller-Heidke today releases her single and video for You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore a song from the forthcoming Deluxe Tour Edition of her Top 10 ARIA Album Child In Reverse.
A deeply personal song of survival and catharsis, You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore originally featured as a synth-heavy version on the original release of Child In Reverse.
Kate decided to re-work the track for the deluxe reissue of the album, and invited Jaguar Jonze – who had inspired Kate to write the song originally – to collaborate, reshaping the song into a duet layered with guitar.
“I had been talking with Jaguar Jonze about the abuse she suffered during her childhood. I started to think about an experience I had during my own childhood, and jotted down the title You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore.
“That day Tobias Kuhn brought in that circular minor synth hook that explodes into the beautiful release of a major one. It immediately worked for the title. We had an amazing day that day – everyone was so excited by the epic pre-chorus (possibly the best pre-chorus I’ve ever been involved in writing). I cried a bit. I had never written directly about this before, and it was cathartic.” Miller-Heidke said of the song.
Posting to her Instagram page this morning the artist shared more about her childhood trauma.
“My latest album Child in Reverse is about childhood. One thing that happened to me when I was a very young child (from the ages of 4-6) was that I was sexually abused by my great grandfather Archibald Barnes. He was a paedophile and a serial offender. I wasn’t the first or the last. (Although obviously my family didn’t know it at the time, and didn’t find out until some years later.)
“This song is about how I felt when he died. Ultimately it’s a really empowering song to sing.
“I probably wouldn’t have been so open about this without the examples of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, but the most important inspiration was Jaguar Jonze, with whom I had a very deep conversation the morning this song was written. She described some very shocking things that happened to her as a child, and I felt very connected to her, and full of admiration for her resilience too – that’s when the song title You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore popped into my head.
“I think it’s one of the most powerful songs I’ve written, and it’s a privilege to sing it with Jaguar Jonze, who transformed the track with her potent raw energy.”
Responding to the Instagram post Jaguar Jonze said she was honoured to be included on the new version of the track.
“So honoured to stand beside and sing alongside you Kate. I’m so proud of what we created and what we have to say together” Jaguar Jonze responded.
The post also got support from other prominent Australians including Benjamin Law, Kate Ceberano, MoJu and Lucy Durack.
Kate Miller-Heidke’s Child In Reverse Tour kicks off in July with Emily Wurramara as special guest. The 13-date national tour will start in Perth on July 6 and wrap in Darwin on July 28.
Emily Wurramara is a Warnindhilyagwa woman and First Nations singer songwriter from Groote Eylandt, the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fourth largest island in Australia.
She won Best Independent Blues and Roots Album for her debut full-length record Milyakburra at the 2019 AIR Awards where she was also nominated for Breakthrough Independent Artist.
Wurramara has toured and played with iconic artists including Archie Roach, Mavis Staples, John Farnham, Busby Marou, Coloured Stones, Missy Higgins, Shellie Morris, Jessica Mauboy, The Cat Empire and John Butler.
Tickets are on sale now via frontiertouring.com/katemillerheidke. Child In Reverse Deluxe Tour Edition out Friday 18 March.
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