Track-by-Track: Emma Cook Shares Her Thoughts on ‘Of the Morning’

Vermont-based indie-folk songwriter Emma Cook returns with Of the Morning, an intimate eight-song journey born from a season of deep personal transformation and creative unlearning. Written throughout her early 30s, a period marked by becoming a mother and redefining her artistic process, the album represents Cook’s first fully collaborative and producer-guided project, co-crafted with Katie Martucci and brought to life with a vibrant ensemble of musicians. The result is a body of work that feels both tender and expansive, weaving together lush instrumentation and reflective lyricism that charts a path through cycles of growth, vulnerability, and renewed purpose.

What makes Of the Morning especially compelling is how it balances introspection with a sense of shared humanity, themes that will unfold in the following feature. From the first single “Thirteen Moons,” a meditative ode to change and self-recovery, to the collaborative energy that permeates every arrangement, Cook offers listeners a nuanced look at the art of letting go while finding grounding in connection, nature, and the rhythms that shape our days.

Emma Cook joins us for an exclusive Track-by-Track rundown of Of the Morning, explaining the inspiration behind each song in her latest album.

1. “Thirteen Moons”

“It took me a long time to feel like I got this song ‘right.’ There is a lot of personal meaning in this song, and it’s specifically about a year in my life when I was moving through big grief, and witnessing the moon phases helped ground me in time and space. There can be thirteen moons in 12 months’ time, and in the song, I’m using the indigenous names for the moons and seasonal change as the guide points and check-ins as I expanded and moved through that difficult time.

“That repeated phrase of wax, wane, really holds significance, knowing that as human beings we are always moving through something big. I was so, so happy where this song landed and how the recording came together to really serve the meaning of the song.”

2. “Forbidden Fruit”

“As a songwriting prompt, I opened up a book I was reading, Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights and pulled the phrase ‘forbidden fruit’ from one of the essay titles. I wasn’t sure where that would take me, and I was honestly surprised to find myself writing a song about womanhood, our cultural fascination with youth, and the objectification and glorification of young women.

“I remember writing this song really quickly, which wasn’t always the case, but I think these thoughts and feelings had been swirling around inside of me for some time. And when I was done, I noticed that this reflects the feeling that the older I get, the less I’m letting the fear or worry about external judgments influence my creativity and work.”

Emma Cook, photo by Macaulay Lerman

3. “1229”

“‘1229’ is a song about motherhood. Very specifically about being a new mother, and all the beauty and mess that time holds. In hindsight, seeing myself move through the struggle of that time, and in relationship, witnessing new mothers in my life grow and expand is so powerful. That line, ‘they offer up platitudes, talk about gratitude, expecting her to give and give and give and give, could you?’ is really taking a deep look at how our culture treats this time, and historically has completely minimized the complexity of that time for a new mother.

“It’s also about acknowledging the beauty and joy of that time, either, ‘waiting on a break in the clouds, sun shining in’ really brings out that hopeful aspect of moving through difficulty and hoping for things to change and knowing that tough times are not forever. My friends who are moms have shared that this song really resonated with them, and that means everything.”

4. “Of the Morning”

“I am very much not a morning person! But in this song, I wanted to share the value I hold in the morning ritual, making coffee, rising, getting ready to take on the day’s work ahead. It was also just one of my favourite songs to play and write on the piano! I think a lot of the piano parts came together before the lyrics, which isn’t always my process.

“And working on this outro in the studio is such a great memory, it is very Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts, and just layering our voices in the studio, with Dylan McKinstry, the studio engineer and Katie Martucci, the producers both singing on that, it brought smiles to our faces every time we listened through. There was a moment when we weren’t sure if the outro would fit with the rest of the song, but I just followed my gut, and it was such a clear YES that needs to be in there! I love it.”

Emma Cook ‘Of the Morning’ album artwork

5. “Reminds Me”

“The first verse of ‘Reminds Me’ came to me while I was rocking my newborn daughter to sleep, looking out her window during a fall storm, and noticing how the trees in our neighbourhood were moving so gracefully even while being whipped around by the wind. That’s when I wrote the first verse:

To see a tree bend and shake in the breeze
Reminds me that I, too, can go gently
When I please
Even as the wind rages around me

“Looking out to the natural world brings these reminders for me, of the strength and fortitude I access even during hard times. The reminder that I always have a choice in how I react, in how I show up, especially during hard and high-emotion times. So much of myself is wrapped up in ‘the sum of my years’ and experiences, and singing this song is a very personal reminder of the strength in putting down the baggage and the weight I carry, and coming back to myself.”

6. “21st Century”

“‘21st Century’ feels like a folk song for our times. I have always considered myself an environmentalist and someone who has been witnessing the climate catastrophe for some time; I have anxiety about the future, and it’s been difficult to witness as a parent.

“This song holds my dualistic view, a deeply hopeful yet thoroughly enraged and cynical place, where I’m witnessing our current reality. ‘They’ve been greenwashing everything.’ There are just so many people with power whose values ignore people and the planet.

“I think at this moment I’m especially sensitive to how far down the wrong path we’re going, but I do my best to keep hope alive, that ‘we’ve still got time’ and I can be a part of the solution.”

Emma Cook, photo by Macaulay Lerman

7. “You Are Not Alone”

“The simplest, most tender song on the album embodies one of the overarching themes of my music. I want you to know that, despite what our individualist culture in the U.S. wants us to believe, you are not alone. It’s hard out here. And there are people out here who understand that and want to be there for you when you’re going through hard times. That’s what I’ve always needed to know, and if that can connect with one other person, that’s a beautiful thing.”

8. “Into My Heart”

“The true love song on the album, I had so much fun writing this song and thinking about the loves of my life, my husband, especially, and our young daughter. My husband and I have been together for nearly 15 years, and have moved through so many versions and stages of life together, and the thing that is so beautiful is how being with him, being with our family, really gets me out of my head and into my heart. I can just imagine folks using this as a first dance song, and feeling the joy of finding that person that you want to keep choosing again and again as you move through life.”