Parting Gift

Fiona Apple
Extraordinary Machine (2005)
Moderate 92 BPM
AI-analyzed — check another song
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
92
BPM

Parting Gift by Fiona Apple is 92 BPM — Andante (walking pace).

Half-time 46 BPM · Double-time 184 BPM · released 2005

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Fan image for "Parting Gift"

An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.

Fan-driven abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of Parting Gift by Fiona Apple
The prompt that made this image Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: cathartic, emotional, melancholy, reflective. Visual style: 2000s digital editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format.

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"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: cathartic, emotional, melancholy, reflective. Visual style: 2000s digital editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."

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Song DNA

Dynamic Range6/10
Sudden Changesmild
Texturelayered
Predictabilitymedium
Vocal Styledynamic vocals
Notes: Fiona Apple's distinctive vocal delivery carries emotional intensity through a controlled yet expressive performance. The production balances intricate instrumentation with clear vocal presence, creating an intimate yet polished soundscape.

Misophonia Triggers

Mouth Soundsnone
Percussive Clicksmild
Breathing Soundsnone
Repetitive Micro-soundsnone

A bitter breakup song where Fiona Apple addresses an ex-lover with sharp wit and conflicted emotion, acknowledging both the pain of the ending and her affection for what they shared.

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Hear it the way it was made

The right gear changes everything.

Moods: cathartic, emotional, melancholy, reflective

Traditions: alternative pop, art pop

At a glance

"Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple

92 BPM, dynamic range 6/10, layered texture, dynamic vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.

How this song sits on each sensory axis

A dynamic range of 6/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.

Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.

Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.

Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.

Vocal style: dynamic vocals.

Where this sits in Fiona Apple's catalog

We have 46 songs from Fiona Apple in the library. Of those, 3 are rated Safe, 32 Moderate, and 11 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 6/10 sits below the artist average of 6.7, making it the #31 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.

Other tracks from Extraordinary Machine

We have 10 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.

2005 context

Released in 2005. We have 363 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.2/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2000s.

Explore by mood and tradition

Moods
cathartic · 1429emotional · 2198melancholy · 5408reflective · 5797
Traditions
alternative pop · 22art pop · 110

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How fast is "Parting Gift"?

92 BPM — Medium (midtempo / pop ballad)

For running

Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.

For workouts

Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.

For daily life

Morning coffee, deep work, commute wind-down.

Browse more songs at 92 BPM.

When "Parting Gift" works, and when it doesn't

Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.

~
Focus / studying

Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.

Running / workout

No — 92 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.

Sleep / winding down

No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.

Driving / road trip

Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.

Cooking / dinner background

Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.

Emotional release / catharsis

Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.

Related reading

Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.

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Why this rating

We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.

This song in the Music Studio
47/100 intensity

See how “Parting Gift” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.

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Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →

Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-13. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.

Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 49% of songs, calmer than the other 51%. Its intensity reading of 47/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and dynamic vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 79% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout3/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype3/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

2005 in context

The 363 songs we’ve measured from 2005 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity47
Dynamics56
Tempo29
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load13

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Frequently asked about "Parting Gift"

Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.

What is the BPM of "Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple?

"Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple has a tempo of 92 BPM (Andante (walking pace)). At half-time that is 46 BPM, and at double-time 184 BPM.

What is the sensory intensity of "Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple?

"Parting Gift" by Fiona Apple rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 6/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.

How loud is "Parting Gift" — what is its dynamic range?

"Parting Gift" has a dynamic range of 6/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.

Does "Parting Gift" have sudden or surprising changes?

"Parting Gift" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.

What is "Parting Gift" best for?

In our library "Parting Gift" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release, meditation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.

When was "Parting Gift" released?

"Parting Gift" is from 2005, on the album "Extraordinary Machine". It appears in our 2000s catalog.

What is the emotional mood of "Parting Gift"?

We tag "Parting Gift" as cathartic, emotional, melancholy, reflective. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.

What is the vocal style of "Parting Gift"?

The vocal style is dynamic vocals.

Is "Parting Gift" good for running?

Not really — at 92 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.

Is "Parting Gift" good for studying?

Only partially. The song's dynamic range (6/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.

Can I use "Parting Gift" for sleep?

Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.

Should I listen to "Parting Gift"?

"Parting Gift" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.

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layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.

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Safer alternatives with a similar feel

These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.

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The National safe
Your Mind Is Not Your Friend
The National safe
When All Is Said and Done
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What this song means to people

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Where to next?

You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.

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