Who says it can't be yours?

If I were a 20-something-year-old woman, I'd like to think that I'd sound like this:

When your streets are paved with coal
But you walk around ‘em just like they were gold
Some jerks are gonna call you a crazy fool
If you're not gonna do what they all do

You gotta chart the course you want
Let the sheep all laugh and doubt and taunt
Believe that when your ship heads out to sea
They’ll all be drowning in envy

Let courage scream, cuz talk is cheap
Let haters hate while dreamers dream

CHORUS
There’s a new wave rolling over that old ocean
There’s a fresh wind blowing in an ancient sky
There’ll be new sparks flying off of every fire
Until the last, lone ember dies

Who says, who says, who says it can’t be yours?
Who says, who says, who says it can’t be yours?
Go in search of more — make it yours

Well everything comes with its price
A champ is never born without a fight
You’re gonna have to take some to the chin
And lose a few before you win

So punch until your knuckles bleed
You’re Rocky, not Apollo Creed

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE
Keep kicking and climbing and digging and screaming
And kicking and climbing and digging and screaming
And kicking and climbing and digging and screaming
Till it’s yours

REPEAT CHORUS

Rumours Of Spring

Aside from a cowrite with my friend Smudge in February, and edits to a couple of my existing tunes, I haven’t written a complete song since October 27 (which was the title track for my new album launching June 1… stay tuned for more on that).

I s’pose it’s been a long, cold winter in more ways than one. So it’s only fitting to dust the cobwebs off with this new one. Had the hook idea a few weeks back when walking on a very cold Toronto beach. Wrote the lyrics this past weekend. It’s melancholy, but I still dig it, especially the chorus.


Rumours Of Spring

Even the weather man says he can’t recall
A year when we had it this bad
I swear we’ve been frozen since fall
By February we were nearly mad

Annie said we just needed a break
So I bought us a week in southern sand
March crawled by, oh how long did it take
Till April came, fool’s day in hand

CHORUS
Now I’m down by the lake where the dogs run free
Sunday morning with my back to the breeze
Coming off the water, so the tears on my cheeks don’t freeze
There've been rumours of spring
But it’s something that I just can’t see
There’s been rumours of spring
But it’s something that I just can’t see

Right about now, she’s got her lips on a drink
And an old straw hat to shade her from the sun
I should’ve gone anyway, I know what you think
But some islands just have room for one

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE
Well, things ’round here still feel icy cold
Yeah, Annie picked the perfect time to go

REPEAT CHORUS

Move Mountains (rev)

Nearly a year ago, I had a demo recorded for this song and I was super pleased with it. But the more I listened to it, the more the bridge lyric rubbed me the wrong way:

          They say, standing behind
          Every great man is a bride
  Telling him he’s strong...

This came straight from the song’s concept starter, “behind every great man is a great woman.”

But I happen to know some perfectly great fellas who don’t have women behind them. Some have male partners. Then there's the great women with men or women behind them. And many of the women I know who are in longstanding relationships were never brides. Besides, you’re only a bride for a day, and this song’s about love stretched over a whole lotta days.

I didn’t want my song to exclude any of these folks! I hated the idea of the song getting picked up with that line in it, and perhaps that the line might actually rub other producers or artist the wrong way too. Heck, I couldn’t even bring myself to sing the song anymore. And I really wanted to record it myself on the new album.

So I rewrote the lyric in September:

           There’s nothing he can’t rise above
           When he’s lifted by her love
           Telling him he’s strong...

It sounds more natural, it’s not so cheesy (to me anyway) and doesn’t exclude anyone. It’s still about a man and woman, but in the context of their story in the song. It doesn’t exit to some soapbox plane like the original seemed to do.

Yesterday, the folks at Beaird music got Matt Dame back in to sing the new lyric. I Skyped in and chatted with him before and between the takes. Took all of 7 minutes. The other really cool thing is that, although the music never changed a bit, my new melody really jacks up the energy at the beginning of the bridge where the old melody brought the intensity down. So it’s a positive change all around.

I got the remix today and it sounds great.


And my own acoustic version is happily residing at track #5 on my own new album currently being mixed. I'm blessed to have Nathan Smith playing fiddle, Don Kerr on drums and Jerry Stamp adding harmonies. Stay tuned!