Listen to Keaton Henson’s Delicate Cry for Posterity in “The Pugilist”

In the latest single from Keaton Henson’s forthcoming record, he sings that the most honest thing he’s ever written is, “Don’t forget me.”

“The Pugilist” is not shrouded in metaphors—rather, it’s quite straightforward in its message. Henson is like an Achilles (sorry for the metaphor) who wants to be forever remembered by his listeners in order to prove that he is in fact alive and breathing. Ultimately, we hope that this is a symbiotic relationship, where both Henson and we, the listeners, benefit from the beauty of his song.

Henson told The FADER via email:

I guess “The Pugilist” is an insomnolent song about the relationship between a musician and those that hear his songs. I often wonder what it is that makes me so compulsively make these things and put myself through it. And when trying to explain it (even to myself), always come to the same image of some Hogarthian lunatic rocking back and forth to the tune of “Don’t Forget Me.”

The track from Kindly Now starts timidly with just Henson and his guitar, but it gradually swells with the orchestra and perhaps even confidence as he continues to sing out the mantra of “Don’t forget me.”

Watch the video (closely) for “The Pugilist” above. Kindly Now comes out Sept. 16.