



"It was an interesting challenge to find a song that could be flipped a bit with a change in vocalist. It's funny how different the lyrics sound when read in an unfamiliar voice. I always knew Tom Petty's “American Girl” as a happy classic song, so when Jay Levine and I sat down and dissected it a bit it was surprising to find this kind of sadness. There seemed to be such an innocence about it, which now reads as a poignant contrast to the world as we now know it." - Catey
Catey Shaw
ARTIST
Why Instant Love?

Catey Shaw
Catey Shaw truly got her start underground - in the New York City subways. She played a beat-up ukulele for spare change until Jay Levine scooped her up from the train platform and into the recording studio.
Catey released her debut EP “Clouds” in 2013, ringing with lyrics of love, family and the freedom of her bohemian, NYC lifestyle. In 2014 she released “The Brooklyn EP” featuring viral hits “Human Contact,” “Brooklyn Girls,” and “Night Go Slow,” cementing herself into the indie pop scene. That momentum continued through the release of her third EP, “The Ransom,” and will carry on toward the highly anticipated release of her first LP.
Catey’s influences span from hip-hop to disco, Billie Holiday to Bob Marley. By channeling her well rounded understanding of the world into pop music, Catey makes her unique voice impossible to tune out. Aside from music, Catey Shaw is a lifelong painter and true artist. She creates all of her own visuals, viewing everything she makes as self-portraiture and sharing with her audience unapologetically.
In her own words:
"It was an interesting challenge to find a song that could be flipped a bit with a change in vocalist. It's funny how different the lyrics sound when read in an unfamiliar voice. I always knew Tom Petty's “American Girl” as a happy classic song, so when Jay Levine and I sat down and dissected it a bit it was surprising to find this kind of sadness. There seemed to be such an innocence about it, which now reads as a poignant contrast to the world as we now know it."
SONG
The Original

Lyrics
"American Girl" written by Tom Petty
Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin' that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, an d if she had to die
Tryin' she had one little promise
She was gonna keep
Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
It was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
She could the cars roll by
Out on 441
Like waves crashin' in the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach
Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl