Welcome, you are listening to Every Song. A series where I play songs I’ve written throughout the years and share the stories behind them.
In the last episode, going through songs I wrote for Amoska and The Mantis, I realised that none of them were from 2008. It might seem like I wasn’t writing at that time but I was. And whenever Antoinette and I would play together that year, it would be our older songs. But here is one that I wrote in 2008, called The L Word.
It is centred around the idea of the L word, “love”, being a really big deal to say to someone - especially as a teenager. I remember one of my best friends back then, Frances, and I would joke around and say “Alufu” to boys and to each other instead of “I love you”. A, L, U, F, U.
This is The L word, written on the 3rd of January 2008.
080103 The L Word
I’d love to make you laugh one dayI’d like to see you smileI’d love to take the pain awayI’d love for you to shineOne whole year without you, loveI can’t take another minuteI’d love for us to be againBut I’d love for you to change
You’re just a boyWith a ladder to my heartSo, when you feel the needClimb down from where you areBecause there’s nobodyI’d rather say the L word toThan youAnd I’m just a foolCause I’ve loved you for too longThough when I was with youI still felt aloneBut there’s nobodyI’d rather say the L word toThan you
I’d love to tell the whole world howMuch I’m missing you right here, right nowI love the fact that you don’t know me well enoughTo make you proudA second thought of what we could have beenIf it hadn’t ended ever so tragicallyI love, I want, I need, I adore youSo say you feel the same way too
The next song is one that I wrote in an attempt to hype myself up, to keep going with music. This song is a response to a lot of the negativity one recieves when one pursues music as a career, including from people who you thought were onboard with you on the journey. This was written at a time when the High School Musical trilogoy was at its peak. So, the lyricism and delivery is quite theatrical and Disney-esque. It is called Broken Harmony, written on the 5th of July 2009.
090705 Broken Harmony
You walk away, I say goodbyeBut I can’t help myself I still tryI need to be under that spotlightYou turn it down, I crank it upAbandoned melodies hurt me too muchSo, drop that bass line and that guitar
Well if you don’t wanna roll with the punchesThen I can’t make you stay with meBut let me see you try to denyThat groove when you feel it
There’s no hiding from the musicIt flows right through my veinsWhen I hear that beat I’m freeI belong on the stageBut on the contrary you seeThat broken harmony you hearIs your negativityStopping you from hunting down your dreams
You're giving up but I can’t stopEven if I wanted toThere ain’t no substituteNo alternative - just let me entertainYou go on homeI sold my soul to the devilAnd I don’t want it backSo, I lay down another track
Well if you don’t wanna boardOnto Rock Stardome ExpressThen I suggest you stay right where you areYou’ll always be third best
Hey fame, it’s a little bit addictiveIf there ain’t no pain, there ain’t no gainBut only half these people understandFortune, it’s like a sun that never setsI gotta make the world taste itI won’t settle for any less
Thank you for listening to episode 16 of Every Song. Until next time.
