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Here's a sample of a song that was written for the explicit purpose of processing some very personal feelings about a very specific experience. Probably not a song I'll ever play out because the verses are too specific to be relatable, but I think everyone can relate to the chorus. We all have to go through life figuring out how to let go of pain and anger. Sometimes it feels better to just throw up a white flag and peace out on a situation that doesn't feel right. Other times it feels more worthwhile to stick around and see what can be salvaged. Either way, you just gotta go with your gut. Lyrics: 1. Right this way ma'am to the finish line I was never in your lane, you were never in mine Do what you gotta do Girl go get that win Did you do it the right way? Honey let's not pretend CHORUS sometimes you must choose to lose with a shrug and a grin 2. Come with me friend to the starting line You know I got your back, I hope you still got mine Do what we gotta do to begin again I won't fight for a prize But I'll fight for a friend CHORUS 
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This one's pretty self-explanatory. A little love letter to my wife for being just the absolute best thing a person could ever come home to. Lyrics: Ain’t nothing new today Ain’t nothing profound to say Nothing of consequence achieved Nothing that I lost was retrieved CHORUS But I came home to you And you came home to me That’s more than a lot of folks can say There’s something to being with you At the end of a nothing kinda day Ain’t nothing crossed off the list Ain’t nothing worth my unclenched fist Nothing made work more than a check Nothing made my head less of a wreck CHORUS  My former partner and bandmate recently had an article come out for her solo record, and I objectively observed how 6 jam-packed years of shared experiences with her was so easily whittled down to a few sentences. It didn't make me feel sad as much as it made me feel so distant from a place I was once neck-deep in. I started thinking about how that kind of stuff happens over and over again in our lifetimes. How stories we're so immersed in become tiny little footnotes. How each skin we shed is full of so many experiences that are just left to die in order to grow new skin. So much gets left out in order to make room for more. Who's the real author? Are we writers or our own destiny, is it fate, God, a mix? That's sort of what I'm alluding to with the whole "dot above the i" thing. Lyrics: When the novel becomes a chapter When the chapter becomes a line When the story you’ve been chasing after Becomes once upon a time CHORUS Tear it up and let it fly Tell it to somebody in the sky Punctured and punctuated by The dot above the i When a friendship becomes a footnote When a hug becomes parentheses When the story you thought you wrote Becomes whose words were these CHORUS  A simple little self-reflective song that speaks to the unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves. Sorry, only audio for this one! Lyrics: If I wore all the bells If I blew all the whistles If I drew the parallels If I called my officials Would you want me? Would you want me? If I cashed a bigger check If I cooked a better dinner If I slept more or less If I went to bed a winner Would you want me? Would you want me? If I lost all the weight If I started medication If I stopped to meditate If I understood creation Would you want me? Would you want me?  This one is kind of about how you (or people consoling you) try to rationalize and stay positive in grief. I try to tell myself to feel better because a lot people have it a lot worse. For example, I often think "don't be too sad about all that debt; some people don't even have a credit card" or "don't be too sad you had a shitty relationship with your mom as an adult; at least you had a good childhood and a lot of people don't even get that." Problem is, sometimes this makes you feel worse. It's like adding a thick layer of guilt to a grief sandwich. Soooo, I've been feeling some of the depression more now since the initial shock has worn off. I know (I hope) I'll climb out of that but it can be more comfortable and comforting to hang out with the familiar/negative stuff than exert the energy required to find the positive. Depression contradicts with all the things we learn about trying to be a good, virtuous person, so I leaned on some imagery about Justice, Prudence, Courage, etc. to try and illustrate how they don't quite matter or even make a whole lot of sense in my current reality. Grief/loss is a pretty prevalent theme in my songwriting, but it's just extra raw right now. Hence the crying. Lyrics 1. I’ve got nothing left I can balance on That lady with the blindfold is gone Her scale and her sword have nothing more to say It was just us then, it’s just me now Where’s the justice in time running out I’m trying to transcend but it sinks further in every day CHOURUS So I keep company with well-known cons I’m confident they’re my confidants And the pros won’t speak to me They are prone to secrecy And I don’t know if I’ll ever get through it Cause I’ve been the only one swearing them to it 2. There’s no wisdom now, no prudence here If I’m reckless or cautious, I really don’t care This snake and this mirror just slithered nearer to prey I don’t feel courage and I’m not in control I can’t produce faith and I won’t be consoled And I’m losing all hope that I’ll ever know better todays  Here's a quick little thing I wrote based on one of my friends who has a monster crush on someone but is too painfully shy to do anything about it. I thought geez, that sounds agonizing. I'm bad at many things (including writing songs in ten minutes), but flirting usually comes pretty easy and thankfully helped me snag a hot little wifey. Lyrics: 1. Asking you to think of me sounds so absurd Girl I could never work up the nerve Your lightning smiles and thunder eyes are elements I crave But I could never bring myself to brave CHORUS Cooked up some big plans for you and I They’re burning up like a pie in the sky We're not getting anywhere but goodbye Once smitten I’m twice shy 2. I could be the one to give love like you deserve But honey I could never work up the nerve Dreams of us superfluous in this reality Being conscious of you made a coward of me CHORUS  Now that my mom is gone, I'm struggling with reconciling our estranged relationship all over again. In her last 6 months or so, I truly accepted the fact we were never going to be close as we both hoped. Since she died, I think I have to process the same thing, only this time I have to accept that we will never be physically close again. It's a whole new ballgame where I don't feel entitled to my own grief, like I don't deserve to miss her as much as I do. She had a very tough life and scrapped her way through it with such strength and fearlessness and conviction in her faith. It was such an incredible armor for her but it was also the barrier between us. I'll save the rest for therapy but here are the lyrics. Lyrics: 1. Her life was a boxing ring She never took off Her gloves She never stopped swinging Not even for love CHORUS From the very first round To the very last bout She boxed her way in She boxed her way out I never got too close I never knew how Everything’s different With the lights out 2. Her faith was a lonely home She never took off From that place She never looked out the window Not even to see my face CHORUS From the very first brick To the very last grout She boxed her way in She boxed her way out I never got too close I never knew how Everything's different With the lights out  Happy to share the story behind this new little ditty written in honor of my friends Nikki and Janet, and their new little bundle of joy who will be arriving on planet Earth very shortly! I wrote the original "Net & Key" (a play off their names) for their wedding a few years back, so I decided to continue with the theme. The lyrics are pretty straightforward and simple since I was going for a lullaby feel. I just wanted to highlight how sometimes kids grow up to absorb so many of their parents' traits, yet they still develop completely unique personalities. I also wanted to express how happy I am that Nikki and Janet are the kind of people who I know will commit to parenting with total grace and support for each other, and total love and encouragement for their child. Can't wait to meet the baby bean! Lyrics: 1. Maybe you’ll like telling jokes Maybe you’ll like reading poems Maybe you’ll like something we don’t We’ll probably mess something up Like misplace your best sippy cup If it gets hard enough to give up, we won’t CHORUS We’re building a home for you A place you can grow into Anything you want to be You will be safe with us We’ll earn your faith, your love, your trust Give you our heart, net, and key 2. Maybe you’ll cheer for the Bears Maybe speak French, eat Eclairs Maybe you’ll do something brand new We’re gonna learn as you grow We’re gonna teach what we know If you wonder who loves you the most, we do  The other day I was looking through the "Notes" app on my phone and saw one that said "Play dead for a bear, fight a squid." That's literally all it said. I had a long wtf moment, and then I remembered a conversation I had a few years ago with a neighbor who was listing ways to survive animal attacks. I'm about 99% sure alcohol and/or weed was involved in this conversation, which probably made me think it was hilarious, which probably led to me writing down two phrases before being distracted with something else. Years later I'm sitting on my couch, guitar in hand, idea in mind, Googling about wild animal attacks. You know that whole "you're your own worst enemy" thing? That's pretty much me in a nutshell, so that's what I was going for in this song. I wrote a similarly-themed tune called Hunting Season a million years ago. I'd like to think I'm making some progress because at least this song ends on a slightly positive note. Maybe in another 10 years I'll write an even more positive version, so stick around for that. Lyrics 1. back away from a snake play dead for a bear howl at a wolf climb a tree for a deer i know all the protocol when something wild’s coming at ya got no clue what to do when i’m the attacker CHORUS do i run do I hide do i dig a big hole and climb down or stand my ground and lock eyes do I demand apologies or do I apologize when it comes to my beast I’m just doing my best to survive 2. eat for a cold starve for a flu ice for a sprain take an aspirin or two i know these remedies for the sick and bed-ridden got no clue what to do when I’m the affliction CHORUS  This song is what happens when you have 2ish chords and 3ish beers. All last week, I kept running into the phrase "don't overthink it" so I thought I'd sit down and figure out how to write a song around it. The end result mimics my typical anxiety-driven thought pattern. I'm constantly telling myself to just chill out and be in the moment, but somehow I find myself surrounded by a swarm of worry and doubt and endless questioning. It builds and builds until I have to tell myself to chill out all over again. I kind of dig the chorus and first verse, but was stuck on the last part. So I went out for a few beers with my friends and then came home to write the shitty slurry second half. I might revisit that part. Or maybe I'll just leave it alone and not overthink it. Lyrics: CHORUS don't overthink it, don't overdo it sometimes it's good enough to get up and get through it you don't have to kick every single wall down sometimes it's good enough to get up and walk around 1. what's all this talk of getting on the saddle what's all this talk of climbing back on the horse what if the saddle's not compatible what if the horse threw you off your course what if the thing that you need currently is to stop indulging worry so repeatedly question marks circle like sharks in your anxiety but their fins are only figments of the swim you see CHORUS 2. what's all this talk of persevering, all this outrageous talk of getting ahead If persevering's too severe today, it was courageous just to get out of bed what if the thing that you need currently is to stop indulging worry so repeatedly question marks circle like sharks in your anxiety but their fins are only figments of the swim you see CHORUS  |
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