I Have Everything

Backed by producer and collaborator Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats, Swedish singer Sarah Klang reaches new heights on her fifth album Beautiful Woman. “I Have Everything” is the perfect closer. This song highlights two mundane aspects of adulthood: life is expensive (“I don’t wanna know how much money I spent”), and failing to manage one’s health can cost even more (“I don’t wanna know if the pills do me any good”). It also calls upon listeners to acknowledge the small grounding moments that sustain us, especially when we feel at odds with ourselves. Instrumentally, they make ecclectic choices. You can perceive the subtle clicking of claves at 0:50, a tickle of an emphatic base line at 2:09, the alchemical synthesizer outro at 3:39.

My summer has turned out differently than expected. A prolapsed fibroid the size of a golf ball has slowed me down, adjusting to the limitations imposed by constant heavy bleeding, debilitating cramps, and fatigue. But I have a surgery date, and relief is on the horizon. Singing without irony (“Good to see I have everything I want”), Klang reflects on achieving the family life she envisioned for herself (or, alternatively, could not even conceive of) as a young girl. Although we have different dreams - mine involve long-distance alpine trails, improving healthcare access and outcomes for women and queer people, making pasta from scratch more regularly to enjoy with my partner and friends - taking time to reflect and appreciate how far we have come is the ultimate act of self-care and defiance of late-stage capitalism’s cultural edict, ASAP.