‘For Her’: The vital song Fiona Apple was scared to release
It has been years since Fiona Apple released her fifth studio album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, an extraordinary body of work that captured the hearts of fans and critics alike. A record defined by raw emotion, intricate storytelling, and sonic ingenuity, it marked a triumphant return for an artist who has long forged her own unique path. Yet, within the collection of deeply personal songs sat one track that Apple hesitated to share with the world—a song that carried an emotional weight she wasn’t sure she was ready to confront publicly. In the wake of the #MeToo movement’s resurgence, ‘For Her’ was a song that felt necessary yet deeply vulnerable, not just for Apple, but for the voices it sought to amplify.
The album’s journey to release began in 2019, with Apple carefully piecing together a body of work that felt urgent, unfiltered, and immediate. However, it wasn’t until April 2020 that Fetch the Bolt Cutters finally arrived—an album recorded primarily at home, rejecting industry norms and perfectionism in favour of spontaneity and raw truth. Nestled within its 13 tracks, ‘For Her’ stood out as one of the record’s most striking moments. A layered, almost choral composition, it carried an emotional depth that resonated profoundly with listeners. Written in response to another woman’s pain, the song unexpectedly led Apple to confront her own experiences in the process.
The songwriter has long been an artist unafraid of delving into uncomfortable truths, but the weight of ‘For Her’ made it a particularly challenging piece to release. The track directly tackles the subject of sexual assault, a theme Apple has explored in her work before, but never with such directness. The urgency of the track mirrored the broader cultural conversation happening at the time, particularly as the #MeToo movement continued to gain momentum.
The #MeToo phrase was originally coined in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke, but it wasn’t until 2017, amid the fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, that the movement took on a global scale. Weinstein’s crimes ignited a wave of allegations across multiple industries, forcing a long-overdue reckoning with systemic abuse and power imbalances. The movement not only exposed high-profile perpetrators but also encouraged survivors from all walks of life to share their stories, offering solidarity and validation. For many, including Apple, these discussions are deeply personal.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2020, Apple admitted that she almost left ‘For Her’ off the album entirely. She went through multiple iterations of the track, struggling to find the right way to articulate its message. “It was really hard to even perform. My heart’s starting to beat really fast just thinking about it,” she revealed. “It’s about another woman, and in a way, it’s about Christine Blasey Ford [who alleged that US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh assaulted her, allegations which he denied]—and it’s also about me.”
‘For Her’ isn’t just an account of one experience; it speaks to a collective trauma, to the countless stories that have been silenced or ignored. However, for Apple, the song took on an even more personal significance during the recording process.
“I didn’t realise how much I was needing that song. I thought I was really writing it for other people,” she shared. But a moment of unexpected self-reckoning shifted her perspective. “One time, I was singing by myself, and I happened to be standing on a mini trampoline. I was up at eye level with this picture frame, and the sun was shining on it, so I could see my reflection rather than the picture. I caught my reflection when I sang the line, ‘You raped me [in the same bed your daughter was born in],’ and I broke down. I fell down on the trampoline. But it felt great. I felt like I finally believed myself.”
This revelation speaks to a painful but familiar reality for many survivors—coming to terms with their own experiences, often after years of internalised doubt. “That seems like a strange thing to say,” Apple continued, “But a lot of people go through things they’re convinced didn’t happen, or [think] that they made something happen. In that moment, I understood what it was for—it’s really for anybody to have those words and feel validated. Even if no one else believes you, even if you’ve not believed yourself, even if you still don’t believe yourself, let me give you these words to sing. And at some point, you’re gonna feel it, and you’re gonna have compassion for yourself, finally, hopefully.”
‘For Her’ is an act of reclamation, an attempt to provide solace for those who have felt unheard or doubted. Its layered vocal arrangement, featuring overlapping harmonies and urgent, almost spoken-word deliveries, creates a sense of communal storytelling as if Apple is amplifying not just her own voice but those of many others. The song moves between rage, sorrow, and defiance, capturing the complex emotions that often accompany trauma.
