FEEL IT:
Sometimes you write something and you feel just "okay" about it. Just OKAY isn't good enough so you sit on it. Sometimes a week or longer goes by and you let the song breath. That's what happened when I began working on this song. There was just something about the lyrics that didn't feel right. I guess I wasn't "Feeling It". The words weren't hitting the mark.
Funny Story. In April 2016 I was asked to share a few songs on an episode of Voices From The DMV on an Arlington radio station. Being the optimist that I am, I planned to play this unfinished material on the air. To make the performance extra special I asked a friend to join me with her lap steel, maybe this would force the lyrics out of me. What on earth was I thinking. The day arrived, and when we got to playing this song, I had nothing. NOPE. I sang the lyrics just the way I had written them the first time around. You can listen to the song and the full episode HERE. In my mind it's a terrible version I should have not played on the radio but what's done is done, and I had fun. A few months later I found the right words to convey the message I wanted to share through this song.
"A Voice Floating On A Breeze..."
The MESSAGE is for people like me. People who ignore that little voice calling out from the soul. It's like "A voice floating on a breeze calling help me help me". I'm asking you to acknowledge the feeling inside. You know the feeling I'm talking about. The one that makes you anxious and excited and scared all at the same time. The feeling that you want something more because you know in your heart it's what you should be doing. It's what you need, but you hold back.
"Take A Shot In The Dark..."
I'm calling you to ACTION. The chorus repeats "Feel it coming feel it coming soon, feel it coming feel it coming for you" because I believe that the feeling or the force inside each of us will never leave us. You can stuff it down, you can drown it out with excuses, try to ignore it but there it will be. So why not "Take a shot in the dark... till you feel a spark"? For me, I took a shot after a comment my husband made about a famous and successful musician who (though I don't know their life and all their struggles they had to get to where they are now) is living their dream. It occurred to me that I had never put myself out there to see what I could do. I had no trouble trying out jobs to see if I liked them but I wouldn't acknowledge the ache inside myself to do something creative. Once I took that step, my "shot in the dark" I felt the SPARK. I also found that the further I pushed myself and the more I accepted that this was my passion and my purpose, I wanted more and wanted it all. It was a little easier to overcome my insecurities and fear because there was just no other way to live. This whole song is my personal experience that I think others might understand and be able to relate to. If only you will "Reach for something you never knew".
"Just Breath In"
A year ago I started practicing yoga. Yes, I know, everybody does yoga, but do you know what they do a lot of in those classes? It's a lot of breathing. You have to breath in order to live, but there are different types of breath. No I'm not going into a rant about the benefits of Y-O-G-A, that's not the purpose of this space. I'm just making a connection with something I believe and something I learned which confirms my beliefs. I believe whole heartedly the words in the bridge of this song, "Out of the darkness say goodbye, see the light and come alive and just breath in". Oh My Gosh, letting go of negative thoughts, letting go of fear and giving ourselves a chance at the purpose instilled in all of us will allow us to have a much more enriching light giving breath. "Just Breath In". I believe that listening to that voice calling out to you and taking action is like coming out of a type of darkness that you didn't even realize you were in. Or maybe you did. Either way, saying goodbye to the darkness and stepping into the light of who you are is like a revelation that you never want to smother because you have come more alive in who you were meant to be.
I hope you enjoy this track and getting to know the story of this song. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. What's that voice calling out to you saying?