Anna, TX — Lyla Plumlee’s new single “Sink or Swim” is out now following its midnight release Friday, October 16. Inspired by the rainy forests and windy beaches of the Oregon Coast, the song draws on emotions she began putting into words more than two years ago.
To mark the release, Plumlee spoke with The Anna Progress about the song’s background, its personal lyrics and its transformation from a slow ballad into a pop-folk track.
“When I wrote this song, I was on vacation on the Oregon Coast,” Plumlee told The Anna Progress. “The scenery there is incredible, with rainy forests and windy beaches. That sparked the inspiration for Sink or Swim.”
While the landscape provided inspiration, Plumlee said the song does not center on a particular person or a single defining event. Instead, it gives shape to emotions she had been carrying.
“Just like many of my other songs, Sink or Swim isn’t about a singular person, but rather a personification of emotions,” she said.
Those emotions included what she described as “built up despondency and heartbreak that eventually took form as a song.”
The original version shared the slower approach of her first two singles, “Baby Come on Home” and “Chasing Butterflies.” Although the writing style remains similar, a change in tempo gave “Sink or Swim” a new sound.
“When making a demo, we sped up the song, and I fell in love with the pop-folk sound,” Plumlee said. “Everybody who has heard it says it’s their new favorite of my songs, and I hope everyone else enjoys it just as much.”
One of the lines most meaningful to her appears in the second verse: “You stole the air from my lungs, a life-taking, heartbreaking love.”
For Plumlee, that lyric connects heartbreak with her own experiences of anxiety and depression around the time she wrote the song.
“I remember when I wrote this song over two years ago, I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and depression,” she said.
She explained that the feeling of being unable to breathe during an anxiety attack informed the way she expressed the anxiety associated with losing love.
That personal connection also shapes what she hopes listeners find in the song. Beyond recognizing their own emotions in the lyrics, she wants them to discover a greater understanding of themselves.
“My hope is that people not only feel understood by relating to this song, but also find understanding within themselves,” Plumlee said.
Writing music has given her an outlet for self-expression, and she hopes sharing that work encourages others to find an outlet of their own.
“I hope I can inspire others to find the same purpose and meaning that music has given me,” she said.
Plumlee also plans to share more content on social media surrounding the release, including acoustic versions of “Sink or Swim” and live performances. A music video remains a possibility, with ideas still in the brainstorming stage.
From a slow ballad written amid coastal scenery to a pop-folk single now available to listeners, “Sink or Swim” carries the emotions Plumlee first put on the page more than two years ago—and her hope that someone else will feel understood when they hear it.
Listen to “Sink or Swim” on Spotify or Apple Music here.
Photography by Lisa Plumlee
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