As part of a former job here in Stockholm, Sweden, I worked at a women and children’s refuge, run by the Salvation Army. My job was to spend time with the children and young people there and offer them someone to talk to. I talked a lot with one particular girl who had not been in Sweden very long and part of her story was that her mum met this man who ended up being very violent and abusive. This girl didn’t really want to be in Sweden, she missed her family and friends back home and Sweden felt very foreign to her. Despite this, she was a brave and lovely girl, full of strength and a really positive attitude. Her Swedish was amazing and she did her best to make her life work in a new country and in difficult circumstances. 

When I got home one afternoon, after seeing this girl at the refuge, Calvin was over in Sweden as we were recording vocals for Butterflies and Galaxies. I started telling him about this girl and how much she inspired me. Calvin was quite moved as he had planned for us to try recording a not quite finished song that afternoon and we both felt the song could be about someone just like the girl living at the refuge. We looked through the words, changed them a bit, added a verse and I dedicate Blue Mascara to that amazing girl.