JusticeandMercy
February 15th, 2015, 09:57 PM
So I've written quite a few songs, and I currently have 11 or 12 I'd like to record. Here's a few of my favorites, with a little bit of background information. My songs are often personal, and can get a little dark at times. I tend to write about internal struggles or my friends, so if you're looking for love songs, I'm sorry to say that you're in the wrong place. (Unless you're looking for songs about platonic love. ;))
"Portraits" is a song I finished just a few days ago, written about a friend who's been struggling recently. I created the refrain in December-ish, but I left it alone for a while because I couldn't think of anything else. I picked it back up last week while I was scribbling in my notebook, and the rest just flowed out. I've shown the song to my friend, and though I haven't told her who it's about, she instantly clung to it, and insisted that I show it to everyone else in our group.
"Paint me a picture, black as coal.
They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul,
But what, with these eyes, am I to do,
When yours, painted closed, hide the cold, bitter truth?
Images of beauty, framed in shining gold,
Smiling for the camera, fitting yourself to the mold,
Cutting off your pieces till you finally fit in place,
Erasing all your feelings, drawing on a brand-new face.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Paint me a picture, white like the clouds.
You sit here in silence and still it’s far too loud.
This gold is just for fools, but it keeps their eyes away,
Gives them a distraction as you watch yourself decay.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Fatal forces,
Lying portraits.
It’s easy to color over all these wounds,
But is that really what you want to do?
It’s easy to say that everything’s fine,
But just how long can you keep up that lie?
It’s easy to color over all these wounds,
But is that really what you want to do?
It’s easy to say that everything’s fine,
But just how long can you keep up that lie?
Just how long till you fall apart inside, fall apart inside, fall apart inside?
Paint me a picture, a pretty little dream,
You smile for the camera while you burst at the seam.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Fatal forces,
Lying portraits.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Fatal forces,
Lying portraits."
"Enough" started as a way to make it look like I was taking notes in civics, and I feel like this contributed to the chorus being a bit lazily written. Still, I'm satisfied with the results, so I kept it. It's written more about my own self-doubt than other people's, but I feel like it could easily apply to someone who feels held back by their family, teachers, etc.
"You’ve shattered all my bones,
And tore me open.
I’m turning into stone,
A statue broken,
But I haven’t lost everything yet.
I haven’t lost everything yet.
Did you think that you’d defeated me,
When you know I won’t give in that easily?
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
Fly.
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my broken wings again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
I’m lying on the ground.
The rain is falling,
And underneath the sound,
A bird is calling,
And I haven’t thrown everything away.
I haven’t thrown everything away.
You know you won’t defeat me.
I’ll never give in that easily.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
Fly.
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my broken wings again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
You’ve always tried to keep me down.
You’ve always pushed me around,
And I don’t want to feel the way I do,
So I’m saving myself from you.
And I know it won’t be easy,
But listen to my words.
I refuse to let you silence me,
When I know I can be heard.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to…
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly!
Fly!
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my broken wings again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly!
Fly!
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my wings and fly again,
To stand up and try again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly!
Fly!
I know that I have what it takes to fly."
Written about another one of my friends, "Never Lose It" is about pulling yourself through the hard parts of life, even if it feels completely hopeless at times. Again, I've not told my friend I wrote this with him in mind, but he's read it and also seemed to like it a lot.
"Can anyone hear me out there?
Anyone show that you care?
Can anyone tell me where to go?
I lost myself and I don’t know.
These words, they scream inside of me,
Begging to be set free.
Maybe I should close my eyes,
Tell myself it’s all right.
If I can’t see, it won’t find.
I’ll be safe inside my mind.
I guess things could be much worse,
But even papercuts will hurt.
This is it.
This is it.
And I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Never lose it.
Never lose it.
Well, I don’t have a map to home.
I guess we’ll find it on our own.
But just how many mistakes
Can one person make?
I’ll lean on you; you’ll lean on me.
We’ll work together for this dream.
I’ll always be here at your side.
We can make it out alive.
This is it.
This is it.
And I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Never lose it.
Never lose it.
And maybe some things never change,
But I know we’ll find a way,
We’ll find a way to survive,
Find a place in this life.
And I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Hold onto this.
I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Never lose it.
Never lose it.
Never lose it."
This is the last song I'll post for now. "The Road Ahead" isn't about a specific person, and actually just started off as a chorus I wrote before bed one day, intending to scrap later. As I was writing it, I had two main objectives: work in multiple Wizard of Oz references without forcing them, and include the phrase "ready, set, go", a reference to my planned name for a debut album, "Ready, Set, Go".
"And now we say goodbye,
So keep me on your mind
As you go out and make your way in life.
Promise me you won’t forget
All the things that you said
About never giving in.
They say there’s no place like home,
So don’t forget where you come from.
Remember these words when you don’t feel strong.
And click your heels three times.
Tell me all’s all right.
Tell me that you won’t forget this
When the road ahead gets vicious.
Tell me all’s all right
In this life.
So put on your silver shoes.
This is the path you choose.
I want you to know I’ll always remember you.
And even if you stray,
I know you’ll find a way.
There’s a tomorrow for every yesterday.
So click your heels three times.
Tell me all’s all right.
Tell me that you won’t forget this
When the road ahead gets vicious.
Tell me all’s all right
In this life.
Ready, set, go, it’s the rest of our lives.
Sing with me one last time.
I’d like to think I’ll see you again,
I want to say this isn’t the end,
But only time will tell us this, my friend.
So click your heels three times.
Tell me all’s all right.
Tell me that you won’t forget this
When the road ahead gets vicious.
Tell me all’s all right
In this life.
And now we say goodbye."
I hope you liked them. Suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome. Maybe tell me your favorite, if you have one. :cool:
"Portraits" is a song I finished just a few days ago, written about a friend who's been struggling recently. I created the refrain in December-ish, but I left it alone for a while because I couldn't think of anything else. I picked it back up last week while I was scribbling in my notebook, and the rest just flowed out. I've shown the song to my friend, and though I haven't told her who it's about, she instantly clung to it, and insisted that I show it to everyone else in our group.
"Paint me a picture, black as coal.
They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul,
But what, with these eyes, am I to do,
When yours, painted closed, hide the cold, bitter truth?
Images of beauty, framed in shining gold,
Smiling for the camera, fitting yourself to the mold,
Cutting off your pieces till you finally fit in place,
Erasing all your feelings, drawing on a brand-new face.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Paint me a picture, white like the clouds.
You sit here in silence and still it’s far too loud.
This gold is just for fools, but it keeps their eyes away,
Gives them a distraction as you watch yourself decay.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Fatal forces,
Lying portraits.
It’s easy to color over all these wounds,
But is that really what you want to do?
It’s easy to say that everything’s fine,
But just how long can you keep up that lie?
It’s easy to color over all these wounds,
But is that really what you want to do?
It’s easy to say that everything’s fine,
But just how long can you keep up that lie?
Just how long till you fall apart inside, fall apart inside, fall apart inside?
Paint me a picture, a pretty little dream,
You smile for the camera while you burst at the seam.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Fatal forces,
Lying portraits.
Picture perfect,
Are you hurting?
Fatal forces,
Lying portraits."
"Enough" started as a way to make it look like I was taking notes in civics, and I feel like this contributed to the chorus being a bit lazily written. Still, I'm satisfied with the results, so I kept it. It's written more about my own self-doubt than other people's, but I feel like it could easily apply to someone who feels held back by their family, teachers, etc.
"You’ve shattered all my bones,
And tore me open.
I’m turning into stone,
A statue broken,
But I haven’t lost everything yet.
I haven’t lost everything yet.
Did you think that you’d defeated me,
When you know I won’t give in that easily?
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
Fly.
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my broken wings again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
I’m lying on the ground.
The rain is falling,
And underneath the sound,
A bird is calling,
And I haven’t thrown everything away.
I haven’t thrown everything away.
You know you won’t defeat me.
I’ll never give in that easily.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
Fly.
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my broken wings again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly.
You’ve always tried to keep me down.
You’ve always pushed me around,
And I don’t want to feel the way I do,
So I’m saving myself from you.
And I know it won’t be easy,
But listen to my words.
I refuse to let you silence me,
When I know I can be heard.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to…
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly!
Fly!
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my broken wings again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly!
Fly!
Don’t tell me I’m not strong enough to pick myself up again,
To mend my wings and fly again,
To stand up and try again.
Don’t tell me I’m not good enough to fly!
Fly!
I know that I have what it takes to fly."
Written about another one of my friends, "Never Lose It" is about pulling yourself through the hard parts of life, even if it feels completely hopeless at times. Again, I've not told my friend I wrote this with him in mind, but he's read it and also seemed to like it a lot.
"Can anyone hear me out there?
Anyone show that you care?
Can anyone tell me where to go?
I lost myself and I don’t know.
These words, they scream inside of me,
Begging to be set free.
Maybe I should close my eyes,
Tell myself it’s all right.
If I can’t see, it won’t find.
I’ll be safe inside my mind.
I guess things could be much worse,
But even papercuts will hurt.
This is it.
This is it.
And I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Never lose it.
Never lose it.
Well, I don’t have a map to home.
I guess we’ll find it on our own.
But just how many mistakes
Can one person make?
I’ll lean on you; you’ll lean on me.
We’ll work together for this dream.
I’ll always be here at your side.
We can make it out alive.
This is it.
This is it.
And I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Never lose it.
Never lose it.
And maybe some things never change,
But I know we’ll find a way,
We’ll find a way to survive,
Find a place in this life.
And I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Hold onto this.
I can’t tell you
How many times
I’ve lain in bed at night,
Wishing for some other life.
And I can’t make you
Stay if you want to go,
Stand if you’ll only fall,
Smile if you end it all.
Hold onto this.
Never lose it.
Never lose it.
Never lose it."
This is the last song I'll post for now. "The Road Ahead" isn't about a specific person, and actually just started off as a chorus I wrote before bed one day, intending to scrap later. As I was writing it, I had two main objectives: work in multiple Wizard of Oz references without forcing them, and include the phrase "ready, set, go", a reference to my planned name for a debut album, "Ready, Set, Go".
"And now we say goodbye,
So keep me on your mind
As you go out and make your way in life.
Promise me you won’t forget
All the things that you said
About never giving in.
They say there’s no place like home,
So don’t forget where you come from.
Remember these words when you don’t feel strong.
And click your heels three times.
Tell me all’s all right.
Tell me that you won’t forget this
When the road ahead gets vicious.
Tell me all’s all right
In this life.
So put on your silver shoes.
This is the path you choose.
I want you to know I’ll always remember you.
And even if you stray,
I know you’ll find a way.
There’s a tomorrow for every yesterday.
So click your heels three times.
Tell me all’s all right.
Tell me that you won’t forget this
When the road ahead gets vicious.
Tell me all’s all right
In this life.
Ready, set, go, it’s the rest of our lives.
Sing with me one last time.
I’d like to think I’ll see you again,
I want to say this isn’t the end,
But only time will tell us this, my friend.
So click your heels three times.
Tell me all’s all right.
Tell me that you won’t forget this
When the road ahead gets vicious.
Tell me all’s all right
In this life.
And now we say goodbye."
I hope you liked them. Suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome. Maybe tell me your favorite, if you have one. :cool: