Days after revealing her diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Carly Simon has released the single “Peaches.”
“There are peaches growing on my trees,” Simon sings in the opening verse, across sparse percussion. “No one has ever seen peaches quite like these.” According to a statement, the track is about “the gap between what should come naturally, the things everyone takes for granted, and the parts of yourself that just don’t cooperate, no matter how obvious or ‘correct’ the feeling should be.”
“Peaches” is the second glimpse of Simon’s upcoming album Comes in Waves, following the lead single, “Howl.” The record, out Aug. 14, is Simon’s first in nearly two decades, after 2009’s Never Been Gone. Comes in Waves was produced by Simon’s longtime collaborator Paul Samwell-Smith and features her children, Ben and Sally Taylor.
Simon gave a health update to fans on Monday, where the 82-year-old icon shed light on her recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. “It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly,” she wrote. “Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.”
The singer admitted that her diagnosis — as well as the basal cell carcinoma on her face she recently treated, effectively removing the cancer — caused her to withdraw from the public eye. “I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine (check out the irony of having written ‘You’re So Vain’),” she said. “And this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material.”
Comes in Waves contains nine new original songs and a couple of tracks written earlier in life. “There were melodies, verses, and ideas written down and tucked away for some unknown future when I would have the time and attention to finish them,” Simon said. “Apparently, that future is now.”
