The story behind the song.
Sometimes, I sit down to write a song and feel like I have nothing left to say. It’s a terrifying thought—this fear that maybe I’ve already written my best work, that I’ll never write another song I love again. Very dramatic, I know. But that’s exactly where I was mentally when I wrote “Table for Two.”
I remember sitting on the floor of my bedroom, staring at my songbook, feeling stuck. So I prayed. I asked Heavenly Father if He’d help me write something I could feel proud of. Then, I opened my Pinterest board—I have a board of random images I’ve saved over time as “song inspiration” (usually just things that sparked some type of feeling in me.)
And that is when I saw it.
A close-up photo of a man and a woman with their foreheads resting against each other, their eyes locked. What was really fascinating to me was the space between their eyes—the shape it made, the electric tension. That unspoken conversation happening in that tiny gap. It was so intimate. So charged. And in that moment, the first lyric of the song hit me:
“In the space between our eyes.”
From there, everything started to fall into place. The lyrics and melody pretty much came at the same time (although I definitely struggled a bit to figure how to phrase the first lines and still keep the satisfying rhythm I had in mind), and suddenly, I was writing again.
The Writing Process
I wrote Table for Two in January of 2023, just after I turned 18. I was sitting in my high school bedroom, on the shaggy white rug—I did, in fact, beg my mom for, and I loved, even though I’m pretty sure it was never truly clean. At the time, I was counting down the months until graduation, itching to move forward (and to Thailand where I was heading to teach English that summer!) while still holding onto the life I’d always known.
The song came together fast. The first verse and chorus were written in a single afternoon, though some lines needed more time to marinate. I remember knowing it was special as I was writing it. That’s rare for me. Usually, I second-guess my songs, pick them apart, and take forever to fully love them. But this one? I was vibing from the beginning.
That doesn’t mean it was all smooth sailing. The song’s main tagline—“Goodbye, table for two”—didn’t come right away. Originally, I had written “Oh, what’s a girl to do,” which… yeah, I’m really glad that didn’t make the final cut.
the meaning (to me)
This song feels like nostalgia bottled up in two minutes and forty seconds. It’s about reminiscing on the happiest moments of a relationship after it’s already over, and trying to make peace with the fact that those moments are gone. That’s hard. Especially when your heart doesn’t have anything new to hold onto—when you haven’t moved on yet.
But there’s another layer to it. Sometimes, when we look back on something that ended, we see it through rose-colored glasses. We remember all the good and none of the bad, and suddenly, we start convincing ourselves that we lost something perfect. But it was never perfect, was it?
Okay, here’s something kinda funny that I’m maybe a little embarrassed to admit—I wrote this song before I had ever even dated anyone. So a lot of its lyrics were based on this kinda hypothetical situation I’d cooked up in my imagination. But since then I’ve had a little bit more experience with life and love. I’ve had a relationship fail, that I really was giving my all to, and so ‘Table for Two’ has definitely had some aspects redefined in my mind. Just to be clear, though, ‘Table for Two’ is NOT about that relationship! LOL! There are some definite key differences, but for sure some parts of the song became more relatable, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to find new meaning in my song.
The Studio Process
Recording this song was honestly magical. It was my first time working with a producer, Velvet Year, and we really clicked. We both describe music in a super visual way, so I could say things like, “I want the vocals to sound warmer and maybe… fuzzy?” and he’d immediately understand what I meant. It made the whole process feel effortless.
Also, a fun little behind-the-scenes moment: When I was working on the demo, I randomly decided to yell, “It’s table for four now, baby!” at the end of a take. For no reason other than to be silly, but the little girl I nannied at the time heard it and would yell it every time the song ended from then on. Iconic behavior.
THE response
From the moment I first played this song for my family in our kitchen back in January 2023, to sharing sneak peeks with my friends in the last few months before it was released, the response to this song has been so special. People have told me they connect to it in ways I never expected—not just in a romantic sense, but in that universal way we all experience loss. We’ve all had to say goodbye to someone who shaped a whole era of our lives.
To me, that’s the best feeling in the world—knowing that something I wrote in my bedroom, on a rug that was probably not clean enough, could make someone else feel seen.
The song’s Aesthetic
If Table for Two had a color, it would be red. Deep, romantic, layered with frills and ribbons. A little ethereal, a little tragic. Honestly, I feel like the music video perfectly captured the aesthetic I see in my head, so you’ll just have to wait and see it.
I once was asked “if the song had a taste what would it be?” Which is such a weird but amazing question. I’ve thought about it and tried to figure it out. The best I could come up with is maybe, chocolate-covered strawberries with a nice finishing salt? I have no idea if that makes sense, but I’m rolling with it.
Final Thoughts
I started writing “Table for Two” from a place of fear. Fear that I’d never write another song I loved, fear that I had nothing left to say. What came out of that moment was something I’ll always be proud of. It’s a song about love, about loss, about the way memories take on a life of their own.
At the end of the day, this song is proof to myself that there will always be another song waiting for me.
Goodbye, table for two.
XOXO, Attalie
“Table For Two” is available on all streaming platforms!
Check it out, along with my other music here!