Exclusive: Queer Artist Garek Sings to His Childhood Self in ‘Stray’

“I spent so many years hating myself because I listened to the voices around me saying that people like me were disgusting."

By Glenn Garner

 

Tue, 2016-09-20 

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Old home videos play as Garek performs an emotional ballad in the video for “Stray.” The queer singer-songwriter’s newest single from his album Take the King is a conversation with his 8-year-old self. It’s the song he wishes he had as a child.

“I spent so many years hating myself because I listened to the voices around me saying that people like me were disgusting,” Garek tells us. “That I as a human being, was fundamentally wrong in the way I was made. I internalized this, and I believed it. Being a child is hard enough, but when you have everyone around you, kids, parents, complete strangers, telling you that you're somehow less than they are, it makes it absolutely impossible to see any potential for yourself.”

Although the ‘90s child takes inspiration from industrial rock artists like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, this track serves an upbeat ‘80s tempo à la Erasure. It’s a perfect song to dance to or cry to.

Pre-order Take the King, available Friday on iTunes, for an instant download of “Stray” and an acoustic version of the song. Watch the video for "Stray" below:

Published on Sep 20, 2016

New Single from the full album 'TAKE the KING' Out Now! 

Order the album and download 'Stray' at http://itunes.apple.com/album/id11525...

STRAY

Hey, kid
Not that you’re broken, but you need to be fixed
Hey, kid, they make you feel like you’re sorry to exist
And they make, make you hate what you can’t change
What you’re trying to erase, so instead eradicate it all
The beautiful

And every time you hang your head, you’re too ashamed
I want you to know, you’ll never do it alone
You’ll never do it alone
And every time they make you feel you’re less than human
Backwards or wrong
No, you are never alone
Know you are never alone

Hey, kid
How much you’d give so you might go unseen
Hey, kid, keep it inside keep the tears from off your cheeks
An attack, feel their eyes burn in your back
You’re the only friend you’ll have, so be good to you and through it all
Stay beautiful

CHORUS
Beaten down and bandaged, broken-hearted, stranded looking for home
You won’t go through it alone
Know, you are never alone

Dandy, nancy, limp of wrist
Princess, fairy, little bitch
Sissy, missy, tranny, drag
Girly, pansy, homo, fag

CHORUS

Know, you’re not alone

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