After a series of breakups and reunions, Wednesday is back with big news: a new album is on the way. In the meantime, they've gifted us two new tracks — one of them being Elderberry Wine. It’s a pretty song, to the point of almost feeling indulgent. But there’s something in the gently twanging guitars and Katy’s tender vocals that makes it undeniably captivating.

And then there are the lyrics. Speaking to the press, Katy shared the symbolic weight that elderberries carry for her:

“Elderberry is known as a healing fruit and is an ingredient in many tonics and syrups to aid the immune system. One time, however, my sister consumed them raw, and it immediately induced vomiting. So Elderberry Wine is ultimately a love song about creating just the right environment for fulfillment. There’s a delicate balance that needs to be created — especially in love — for two lives to intersect without poisoning each other.”

There’s more to the elderberry than Katy lets on, and it adds a curious layer to the song’s meaning. At one point in the lyrics, she sings: “Cause even the best champagne still tastes like elderberry wine.” Champagne — crystalline, subtle, and celebratory — stands in stark contrast to elderberry wine, which is bold, tannic, and unapologetically bitter.

It feels like Katy is injecting that risk into everything: the idea that no moment of happiness is ever purely sweet or untainted. Love, she seems to suggest, always carries a trace of bitterness, no matter how sparkling the celebration.

Returning to the prettiness of the song, its beauty is gently tinged by the message, giving the whole piece a nostalgic hue. It’s one of those tracks that invites a smile while stirring bittersweet flashbacks — the kind of music that lingers in your chest long after it ends. I’d recommend Elderberry Wine to anyone with introspective leanings who still wants to enjoy themselves.

Author: Martín Cacho

Martín is a video game composer, producer and writer from Sonora, México.