The Back Room
by Greta Ruth

you've stolen my heart
with the red and brown
you carry round the yard
I'm holding my cards
I'm all in, it wasn't hard

when I'm in the back room
you watch them paint it back again
love is holding open
more than any words we said

I scolded myself
for anytime I thought
"I could be somewhere else"
you're holding the threads
of everything I want
and everything I dread

cause when I'm in the back room
you might wander off the frame
like love's not holding open
more than any words we say
like love's not holding open
more than any words we say
images/video by Jim Melcher and Elena Stanton
I first met Greta at art school around eight years ago. It feels like a lifetime ago. In a place filled with chaos and uncertainty, Greta was always the image of serenity and light. She was an escape from the strange world I found myself in at the time, and we would talk about simple things-wanting to get married and have children, to move out of the big city, to get away from it all. Two dreamers and drifters caught up in a whirlwind.

Fast forward to today, Greta has made good on her dreams and I could not be more proud of her. Amidst her life of motherhood and marriage she has also found the time to record and release her third full-length album, Isle of Ferns.

Isle of Ferns showcase’s Greta’s beautiful vocals and quietly sublime musicality. The lyrics are emotional and pure, and cut straight to the heart.

As the album’s liner notes state, “Through meditations on the wonder of pregnancy, the beauty of motherhood, the complete union of marriage, and the way all of these things draw our eyes and hearts heavenward, Isle of Ferns seeks the realization that sometimes it’s by giving everything away that we gain our lives.”

Isle of Ferns was released on October 10th and is available to stream on Bandcamp

- Juliette Sandoval, E.I.C. Orpheus

Music featured: “The Back Room” by Greta Ruth, from Isle of Ferns (2025)
here.