#Song You Need: Margo Cilker’s “Keep It On A Burner” is a shout out to the little things

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Valley Of Heart’s Delight, country singer-songwriter Margo Cilker’s forthcoming second album, takes family and nature as its inspirations. Its songs are rich with feelings of belonging and what happens when things we once thought of as eternal reveal themselves to be painfully finite. Cilker’s writing has an impressively clear-eyed view while her voice reflects her emotions with a winning honesty.

The second single from the album, “Keep It On A Burner,” acts as something of a riposte to solipsistic feelings. While acknowledging that sometimes her mood can dip, she puts down in words the fact that, “I got people, I got places, I got things, I got friends.” Putting any negative feelings on the titular back burner, she’s grateful to have “something when there’s nothing coming up from within.”

It’s an uplifting and wholesome song that is lit up with whirling keys alongside dueling pianos and trumpets. Cilker’s voice rises above the hum throughout, muscular but never showy.

Speaking to The FADER via email, Cilker says, “‘Keep It on a Burner’ is a stream-of-consciousness reflection. Fittingly, I started writing it while floating down the Salmon River on a whitewater rafting trip full of rattlesnakes and wildfire smoke. I think of it as a song about playing the long game and pursuing your heart’s delight, despite life’s winding waterways.”