Don't Go

This song sprung out of nowhere when I was messing around with Garageband. The spontaneity probably accounts for the generic pop song feel, but personally I'm just really proud of the thing. Sure, it's wide-ranging, it could mean a lot of things, but isn't that was a good pop song's about?

Besides, this is the first song I actually physically demoed, so I can post a link. I think that this sound is slightly where All These Lost Pictures is going, but is also a bit of a step in what'll be my writings over the next year. Meaningful and special, but with this infectious pop vibe. I'll just have to see. In the meantime, we could consider this a bit of a hidden track, despite its five minutes running time.

I guess the story behind "Don't Go" is simply that I wrote the song while thinking about every girl I've ever loved, and the song chronicles the attraction, the flirtatious stage as well as that lingering thought of never wanting her to leave. It's generic, it's pop, and while the demo doesn't sound great right now, at least it's something, right?

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=b64a965f98523863d0d290dca69ceb5ce04e75f6e8ebb871 (Original Demo, without lyric/duration change)

Don't Go (Also known as Oh Dear, Silly Bear (Don't You Think There's Something There?))

And I will fall for you
Just one more time.
Just one more time.
Dear God, pull me through
Just one last time.
Just one last time.

And you’ve got me spinning
Round and round
And round and round again.
Yeah, you've got me spinning.

And oh, oh, oh,
What’ve you got to say to that?
Oh, oh, oh,
There’s something in the wind tonight.
And oh, oh, oh,
I can't live without you now
So please don’t go.
So please don’t go.

Sitting here bathed in starlight,
There's something special about how
I’m thinking of you tonight.
Tell the rain who cares
Because it's only more romantic:
Just the two of us,
Just the two of us.

There’s something in here
I know it’s true
So don't lie to me, oh,
Don't lie to me, oh.

And oh, oh, oh,
What’ve you got to say to that?
Oh, oh, oh,
There’s something in the wind tonight.
And oh, oh, oh,
I can't live without you now
So please don’t go.
So please don’t go.

There’s something I’ve gotta say to you
But I don’t know how.
In this mess you pull me through,
So thank you for that.

And oh, oh, oh,
What’ve you got to say to that?
Oh, oh, oh,
There’s something in the wind tonight.
And oh, oh, oh,
I can't live without you now
So please don’t go.
So please don’t go.

Acknowledgements

I always thought the whole acknowledgements thing for liner notes was a slightly trivial process, yet here I am penning a page after four months of hard work. First and foremost, this thing wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Andrew McMahon and, in turn, Jack’s Mannequin and their latest record “The Glass Passenger.” That album was the basis for the project as it stands today, and wouldn’t exist otherwise.

While we’re on the music, huge thank you’s to Ben Folds, Something Corporate, MGMT, The Killers, The Academy Is..., Hey Monday, Coldplay and The Fray among others for the huge amount of lyrical and musical inspiration I drew from them which often led to me sitting down and going “I’m gonna write like this artist today.” Music has always been a big part of my life, and it’s thanks to them I constantly strive to write music that helps get people through whatever it is they’re going through.

And so came the time to thank everyone around me: Alyssa, Amie and Anti for always reading my lyrics and giving me feedback; Saskia, Sofi and Azille for putting up with my constant whining about my music some nights and supporting me through it all; My family, of course, for providing so much material I ended up writing about and my friends Calvin, Luke, Adrian and Ryan, in particular, for giving me hope musically to get this thing done.

Last but not least to the girl I call Annie, for being my muse, best friend and everything I needed to get me through the downtime when I felt like maybe this thing wouldn’t even get finished. Without her I’m not sure I’d even be here right now, so this one’s for her.

Lastly, to everybody reading this and everybody who followed the album’s progress: Your feedback kept me going as much as everybody else I’ve thanked, so this one’s for you, too.

Changes

This song ate at me for a couple of weeks before I finally found the inspiration to finish it, and I'm still not too sure where that inspiration came from. Either way, it came to me and I finished the 20th draft and final song of All These Lost Pictures, but more on finishing the project later. This song is really just dealing about loss; that journey towards a moment of transcendence and finally being okay with everything. Big ups, personally, to one of my favourite movies of all time, Bridge to Terabithia, my old friend Megan, who I lost "just when things got interesting" back in 2006, and everybody else I've personally lost over the years. This one's for you guys.

(Otherwise known as Life Without The "F")

The night went quiet
Five seconds ago.
She was buried under this life
And six feet of snow;
She was right, and she was just;
She was young, just like us.
So why did the day come
And break her away?

There's a fire somewhere,
Burn it down, burn it down.
I can feel the light shifting in me.
What can I say?
I miss you, I miss you,
But now you can't hear me.

The flame went out,
Just so you know.
It was buried underwater
With an everlasting glow;
It felt right, and it seemed just;
But it was young, just like us.
So the Spring came
And washed it away.

There's a fire somewhere,
Burn it down, burn it down.
I can feel the light shifting in me.
What can I say?
I miss you, I miss you,
But now you can't hear me.

Your plane touched down
In the middle of the night.
You were buried under promises
And an ever-shifting light.
You were just, but you were lost
In New York's winter frost.
So the oceans called
And you flew away.

There's a fire somewhere,
Burn it down, burn it down.
I can feel the light shifting in me.
What can I say?
I miss you, I miss you,
But now you can't hear me.

And when it rains here,
Every word of every song I hear
Reminds me of you.
The night went quiet,
I can hear every drop,
But I'll pull through,
Yeah, I'll pull through.

There's a fire somewhere,
Burn it down, burn it down.
I can feel the light shifting in me.
What can I say?
I miss you, I miss you,
But now you can't hear me.

The night went quiet,
I can hear every drop,
But I'll pull through,
Yeah, I'll pull through.

Stars And Black Holes

This song was a watershed for me in that in writing it I wasn't trying to please anyone. I was just dreaming, and dreaming big, so Two Lefts Right of Wrong got a bit of a creative appearance as far as "my band" is concerned, and hey, this song's just about having fun and living, you know what I mean? It's different, and that's what stands out for me. That and the lonely piano melody in the first verse, but you guys won't be able to hear that just yet.

I'm proud of this one. It came from the heart, and if it doesn't make the album, it'll make the EP, so, in a way, it's a win-win situation.

So here she is, finally. I needed this song.

(Otherwise known as The Life And Times Of a Rock-Paper-Scissors Star)

I spent my nights wishing
I could write songs like a
Rockstar, oh, rockstar
And in my dreams I learnt
How to play guitar;
Now the piano's all I've got
But we've all gotta start
Somewhere, somewhere.

My friends and my band,
La da di, La di da,
And those late, long summer days.
Play our shows, take a bow;
California's sold out
But eachother's all we need anyway.

I spent my nights dreaming
I could sing my heart out
Real loud, oh, real loud
And during those nights
I found my voice.
All my friends gather round
My piano now,
Somehow, somehow.

My friends and my band,
La da di, La di da,
And those late, long summer days.
Play our shows, take a bow;
California's sold out
But eachother's all we need anyway.

So I spent my days hoping
We'd go somewhere fast
In the back of our American jet.
With our bass line and our
Good vibe
Here's something I'll never forget.

Because oh,
My friends and my band,
La da di, La di da,
Help pull me through the days
Play our shows to the crowds
And they cheer us all out
So sing with me just one more time:

My friends and my band,
La da di, La di da,
And those late, long summer days.
Play our shows, take a bow;
California's sold out
But eachother's all we need anyway.

Drive The Freeway

One thing I love about this song is how it let me reuse parts of the unfinished "American Air" scribblings from "That Girl From The Bar At Two In The Morning" for the chorus. The other was how positive the song eventually seems for a break-up song, and how it is, effortlessly, "That Girl From The Bar" part two, in a way. I didn't know I was writing about the same girl, but I was.

It also let me vent this sort of helpless feeling of how you feel when one relationship ends - you just want to get away, and I guess that was a younger me, back from the era of heart-makes and heart-breaks, speaking through this song. Hopefully it resolved some of the issues from my past in the process.

(Otherwise known as Misdirection And Miscarriage Are Not Mutually Exclusive)

"Excuses, excuses," she whispers
As she leaves her coat by the door;
Two years and she still doesn't know
What she's looking for.
He's too reckless with her heart
And too reckless with his head
So now the coat's snatched up
And she's driving again.

And she's driving,
Trying to forget him,
But she's goin' nowhere fast.

She's going nowhere, driving her car.
Ten miles to nowhere, never too far.
Screaming "I wanna forget the world."
Yeah, "I wanna forget the world.
Won't you give me a sign cos I,
I don't know where to turn."

"Miss me not," she whispers.
She knows he can't hear anymore.
A map of the freeway's
Spread out on the floor.
With the coffee to guide her
And a book she's never read,
The coat's on the back seat
And she's driving again.

And she's driving,
Trying to forget him,
But she's goin' nowhere fast.

She's going nowhere, driving her car.
Ten miles to nowhere, never too far.
Screaming "I wanna forget the world."
Yeah, "I wanna forget the world.
Won't you give me a sign cos I,
I don't know where to turn."

A freeway exit,
"Turn left for a new life
Cos now the times are changing."
Tell me that the snow changed what you know,
Like the leaves turn from Summer to Autumn.

And she's driving,
Trying to forget him,
But she's goin' nowhere fast.

She's going nowhere, driving her car.
Ten miles to nowhere, never too far.
Screaming "I wanna forget the world."
Yeah, "I wanna forget the world.
Won't you give me a sign cos I,
I don't know where to turn."

One day you will find
Some peace of mind to believe in.
So drive towards nowhere;
I know you can forget;
I know you'll forget the world.

She sings "Now I'll forget the world,
Cos now I know where to turn.
Now I'll forget the world,
Cos now I know where to turn.
Now I'll forget the world,
Cos now I know where to turn."

Life Is Meant For Living

This song is a bit of a risk for me in all honesty. It's experimental in every sense of the word and that thing that scares me the most about it is how it didn't seem to come from me - no personal experience and a metaphor that even I don't understand. I mean, punk rock's not dead, so I think in this sense it's got a very wide net of explanation for different people in different situations, one of which may be a bad relationship, and the chorus telling you "Listen, who the hell cares? It's over, you're alive, and there's so much more to live for, so get out and do it."

In that way it could possibly be the most positive song I've ever written, even with the slow tempo and sad tone of the verses and this really punk rock/modern rock chorus and bridge. It's different, it changes, it's experimental. Big ups to the movie "Across the Universe", as well as Jack's Mannequin, The Beatles, The Academy Is... and most 21st century modern rock.

(Otherwise known as A Watershed Is More Than Just A New Name For Tears)

Somewhere I heard in a song,
That everything's a piece of everyone.
The piano on my porch was rusted,
On the night punk rock was hung.
The clubs were closed,
The lights were low.
Ghosts wandered the halls.

Punk rock's dead,
But we're alive,
And I think we should
Pour a drink for this town
And go out with a fight,
So tell your mothers, your brothers and sisters:
Live on,
Live on.

Somewhere I heard in a song,
That the innocent die young.
And I had just met you,
On the night punk rock was hung.
The Summer glistened,
The Autumn glowed.
Winter wasn't in sight at all.

Punk rock's dead,
But we're alive,
And I think we should
Pour a drink for this town
And go out with a fight,
So tell your mothers, your brothers and sisters:
Live on,
Live on.

Somewhere I heard in a song,
Somewhere a war was won,
There was love across the universe
On the night punk rock was hung,
And we weren't sure
Where we'd been before.
But it's over now, we've arrived.

Punk rock's dead,
But we're alive,
And I think we should
Pour a drink for this town
And go out with a fight,
So tell your mothers, your brothers and sisters:
Live on,
Live on.

Live, live on and fight,
Just because something's wrong
Doesn't mean something's not right.
Live on, find forgiveness
In the smallest of worlds,
The smallest of places
And I, I believe
Everything's a part of you,
And everything's a part of me,
Right here and right now.

Punk rock's dead,
But we're alive,
And I think we should
Pour a drink for this town
And go out with a fight,
So tell your mothers, your brothers and sisters:
Live on,
Live on.

Come on, come round,
Swoop in and drop out,
Live on, live on.

Amelia Jean

This is a song for my piano. Yes, you read correctly - it's a song for my piano, Amelia Jean. She's named after the song composed by Andrew McMahon for the short film "Choke, California" and after watching it the other night this thing just came to life. Sure, there's the story about the guy chasing the girl who's lonely and perhaps confused, but it's actually a song for my piano. Oh yes. This is a song for my piano.

(Otherwise known as There's A Reason His Motto Is "Just Do It")

Oh Amelia, Amelia Jean,
sitting with her blue jeans and tight sweater,
Amelia,
I heard your boyfriend's taking off
Into the atmosphere tonight
And you need someone to help ease the pain.

Amelia's sending me letters
From her palm-housed beach,
Saying "Oh, I wish you were here."

Come around, come around,
I'm not sure what I'm saying,
But watching the stars fall
Sounds like a good plan, good plan.
Why don't you come and
Watch the stars fall with me
As we travel off into the night?

Oh Amelia, Amelia Jean,
Could no boy know you better,
Amelia,
I heard that we were pretty close
In the Summer,
And you need someone to call your name.

Amelia's sending me letters
From her palm-housed beach,
Saying "Oh, I wish you were here."

Come around, come around,
I'm not sure what I'm saying,
But watching the stars fall
Sounds like a good plan, good plan.
Why don't you come and
Watch the stars fall with me
As we travel off into the night?

So would you like to hear this melody
Unfold like a fine wine,
Drop by drop?
As I'm writin' this song,
You're singing along,
'Cos in truth you're all I've got, Amelia,
Amelia, Amelia,
Oh!

Come around, come around,
I'm not sure what I'm saying,
But watching the stars fall
Sounds like a good plan, good plan.
Why don't you come and
Watch the stars fall with me
As we travel off into the night?

Baby I can't wait to
Kick out my baby grand to
Play you that song I wrote.
And you're still writing me letters
From your palm-housed beach,
And I'll play this for you just one more time...

Come around, come around,
I'm not sure what I'm saying,
But watching the stars fall
Sounds like a good plan, good plan.
Why don't you come and
Watch the stars fall with me
As we travel off into the night?