Sara Bareilles on Her New Duet With Brandi Carlile, ‘Salt Then Sour Then Sweet,’ Theme Song for ‘Come See Me in the Good Light’: ‘This Film Is Medicinal — It’s Easy to Want to Amplify It’

An inaugural musical collaboration between acclaimed singer-songwriters Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile has been released, stemming directly from their shared role as executive producers for Apple's new documentary, "Come See Me in the Good Light." The film, which debuts this weekend, follows poet Andrea Gibson's experience with a terminal illness. It was this project that sparked the partnership, with Bareilles proposing a theme song based on Gibson's poetry and enlisting Carlile as a co-writer and co-vocalist. The finished track, titled "Salt Then Sour Then Sweet," is now available on all major streaming platforms.

Despite the documentary's serious context, the song itself is a surprisingly romantic piece that honors love and life in the face of immense challenges. This uplifting tone is drawn directly from the film's central narrative, which spotlights Gibson's inspiring relationship with fellow poet Megan Falley. Sara Bareilles, whose Grammy-nominated work for the musical "Waitress" established her as a master storyteller, explained her involvement to Variety. "I’m in a really beautiful, privileged position to help get art made that I love and believe in," she stated, adding that supporting such art is vital for "the health of humanity" and that Gibson and Falley's story was one she felt was profoundly worth telling.

The creative process moved swiftly after Bareilles saw an early version of the film. Inspired by the sound of wind chimes in a scene and pages of Gibson's unpublished love poems, she began composing a musical framework. She then sent a preliminary version to Carlile, whose reaction was both immediate and deeply collaborative. "She’s the easiest. She’s so great," Bareilles remarked about working with the nine-time Grammy winner. "The power of her forward momentum is really helpful. She’s a 'yes, and...' person, and I love that about her." Their mutual respect for the documentary's mission acted as a guiding "North Star," making the entire effort feel dedicated to the "greater good of this film."

Bareilles's connection to the project felt fated. A longtime admirer of Gibson's writing, she happened to be in Colorado at the same time the poet was giving a final live performance, a moment captured in the film. It was there she met authors Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach, and the group connected over their shared esteem for Gibson. Bareilles first discovered the poet's work on Instagram, moved by their "generosity and courage to share something so intimate, and with so much lightness." She views Gibson as a "beautiful teacher" with a unique ability to "hold the dark matter with so much light, and real love." This capacity to find hope in difficult circumstances makes their story a powerful beacon. As Dr. Anya Sharma, a professor of narrative medicine, notes, "Art that emerges from personal adversity often achieves a rare universality, allowing it to touch audiences on a fundamental level and fostering a profound sense of shared understanding."

The song's composition felt intuitive, as Bareilles found the poet's words to be inherently lyrical, requiring only minor additions to weave them together. A particularly poignant moment came when Bareilles performed the song live for Gibson at the Sundance Film Festival's welcome gala. "It was really tender," she recalled, describing the magic of watching an artist reinterpret her creation. She was determined to fulfill Gibson's specific wish for the film's conclusion: not a heartbreaking ballad, but a genuine love song for Meg. One of her favorite lines, lifted directly from Gibson's poetry, is "Grief is a shortcut to the truth." Bareilles, who has a new album exploring grief scheduled for early next year, finds the line profoundly resonant, explaining that while grief is devastating, it possesses a "tenderizing" quality that can break a person open in a necessary and ultimately healing manner.