Fiona Apple releases new song in support of mothers affected by the cash-bail system

Fiona Apple has released a handful of covers and collaborations in the five years since releasing her monumental 2020 album Fetch the Bolt Cutters, and now she’s put out a proper new original song. Titled “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home),” it’s written in support of mothers–especially Black mothers–affected by the broken cash-bail system, and the music video is made up of photos and footage shared by women who have survived pretrial detention. The song grew out of Fiona Apple’s recent years court watching. She explains:

I was a court watcher for over two years. In that time, I took notes on thousands of bond hearings. Time and time again, I listened as people were taken away and put in jail, for no other reason than that they couldn’t afford to buy their way free. It was particularly hard to hear mothers and caretakers get taken away from the people who depend on them. For the past five years, I have been volunteering with the Free Black Mamas DMV bailout, and I have been lucky to be able to witness the stories of women who fought for and won their freedom with the tireless and loving support of the leadership. I hope that this song, and the images shared with me, can help to show what is at stake when someone is kept in pretrial detention. I give this song in friendship and respect to all who have experienced the pain of pretrial detention and to the women of the group’s leadership who have taught me so much and whom I truly love.

Fiona also encourages fans to visit the Let Her Go Home website, where you can watch a video message from Fiona, and also to learn more about Free Black Mamas DMV, volunteer to court watch, and/or donate directly to the cause.

The video was produced by Zealous and Special Operations Studios. Watch/listen below.