Inspired by the actions and fierce spirit of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke has rewritten a deeply personal song detailing her own survival of sexual abuse as a child.
Originally released as a synth-heavy emotive dance-pop track, the reworked 'You Can't Hurt Me Anymore' features Jaguar Jonze (who played an instrumental part in Kate writing the song originally), will appear on the forthcoming deluxe edition of Kate's Top 10 ARIA album 'Child In Reverse' (which was originally released in 2020)."I usually say this song is about dancing on the grave of an arsehole," begins Kate.
"My latest album 'Child In Reverse' is about childhood. One thing that happened to me when I was a very young child (from the ages of four to six) was that I was sexually abused by my great grandfather Archibald Barnes.
"He was a paedophile and a serial offender. I wasn't the first or the last. Although obviously my family didn't know it at the time, and didn't find out until some years later.
"This song is about how I felt when he died. Ultimately it's a really empowering song to sing.
"I probably wouldn't have been so open about this without the examples of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, but the most important inspiration was Jaguar Jonze, with whom I had a very deep conversation the morning this song was written.
"She described some very shocking things that happened to her as a child, and I felt very connected to her, and full of admiration for her resilience – that's when the song title 'You Can't Hurt Me Anymore' popped into my head.
"I think it's one of the most powerful songs I've written, and it's a privilege to sing it with Jaguar Jonze, who transformed the track with her potent raw energy."
