Last week I wrote about the idea of contrast, how all things in life, from the seasons to our emotions, are characterised by opposing forces.
This week I figured I’d try something a little different, yet related. This week's post will be lyrically inspired, more so than usual. The reason is that I’ve been inspired to share insights into my music creation process, because, in case you missed my announcement earlier in the week, I’ll be releasing a new record soon.
Since last week’s post explored the idea of contrast, I can’t think of a better song to write about this week than a song I wrote earlier this year, called Live and Learn, which captures the idea of contrast in life in the first verse.
I long for joy ‘cause I’ve known pain I long for the sun ‘cause I’ve been soaked in the rain I long to laugh ‘cause I’ve spent time crying And where I’ve failed I’ll keep on trying
In the second verse, I come at this idea of contrast from another angle. Life throws all sorts of curveballs at us. Unfortunately, when faced with these challenges, the first instinct is to tackle them head-on in isolation, as opposed to leaning into our support systems – family, friends, and loved ones.
They say life is one long hard road But you don’t have to go it on your own I find it helps to share the load In the end it beats being all alone
It is a curious phenomenon, that we often don’t act in our best interests, and even often do things that are antithetical to our goals. This is one of many things I find puzzling, and it makes for a world that can sometimes seem upside down. Still, through the clouds and fogs of confusion, the one thing I’ve come to believe is that we find what we look for. There’s so much love around us in the world – love for one another – and all we have to do is to be open to receiving and reciprocating it. This is the feeling I tried to capture in the bridge.
Sometimes the world feels upside down It makes no sense to me And yet I find love all around It isn’t hard to see
I recognise that all this is easier said than done, and that’s the whole point. We’re all living life day to day, learning from our experiences, and through the highs and lows, the laughter and woes, all we can do, is continue to live, and learn.
You can watch/listen to a home recording of the song here, and find the full lyrics below. A studio version should be available sometime in the next year, hopefully. In the meantime, please listen, share, and let me know what you think.
Song: Live and Learn Verse 1 I long for joy ‘cause I’ve known pain I long for the sun ‘cause I’ve been soaked in the rain I long to laugh ‘cause I’ve spent time crying And where I’ve failed I’ll keep on trying Chorus Live and learn x4 Verse 2 They say life is one long hard road But you don’t have to go it on your own I find it helps to share the load In the end it beats being all alone Bridge Sometimes the world feels upside down It makes no sense to me And yet I find love all around It isn’t hard to see
Just a reminder that the lead single of the new record comes out everywhere on Friday, October 21st. If you use Spotify, you can pre-save it here. If you don’t, please consider subscribing to the newsletter (below), my YouTube channel, or wherever else you listen to music.