Done.
Finished.
Submitted.
Fingers crossed.
The 5 Songs:
To See You Happy, Into You, Something More, Name the Fear and Find Me.
I'm going to share all 5 with you here...together, in one spot. I'll throw in some context of when and why each was written...I'd love to know what you think...so, be in touch.
In researching what songs I wanted to submit, I went back...way back...through years and years of songs. Ultimately, I went with songs that were written in the last couple of years. I felt closer to them and they still resonate inside me.
-JDH
To See You Happy I wrote in about 10minutes - and I love when that happens. When a song comes together like that, so quickly, it is almost always an indication that I didn't censor myself. I wrote this song after the end of a relationship and seeing my Ex moving on. At first I didn't know how to feel...then I realized I was happy just to see them happy.
To See You Happy
v1
So this is how it feels
When enough time has passed
Making things real
Get a little distance
Allow the hurts to heal
From here
I can look at you and finally understand
I was many things
Just not enough to be your man
Chorus
It’s good
To see you happy
And now
To see you happy
Means so much to me
It’s right
To see you happy
So good
To see you happy
As you deserve to be
v2
I will let the future thaw
And just rest outside the past
Though it still feels raw
Trips my tongue
And sticks to my jaw
It isn't easy to call you a friend
Given our history
But our lives will let us write the end
Bridge
I can hold the memory
It will be him holding you, instead of me
It’s gentle ache
To acclimate
Myself to
A quiet break
I appreciate
When I see you
Into You is a song about just letting go and falling in love. I write lyrics, so I have to say that in my mind I hear this as a fun...upbeat song...a song that's got a free-spirit, driving down Hwy 1 in California vibe to it.
Into You
v1
Seems like
I’m stepping outside
Stepping away from everything I know
So bare with me
While I let go
Seems a little
A little unlike me
But when you know, you know
So here I am
And I know
Do us both a favor
Don’t wait for an engraved invitation
Baby, this is your permission
Chorus
Tie me up
Tie me down
Bind me, graft me into you
Into you
Let me in
Shut me out
Hold me, keep me with you
Into you
A four-leaf clover, Hailey’s comet, solar eclipse
It’s that rare for me to fall like this
But here I am
Falling, falling
Into you
v2
Seems like
This is just meant to be
Just this way, uncomplicated
Like my favorite jeans
Fit right and faded
Seems a little
This side of perfect
How our hearts easily navigate
So I follow
Take the bait
Do us both a favor
Let my touch be my indication
Baby, this is your permission
Chorus
Bridge
I’m not saying
Clip my wings
I’m just saying
Know
I’ll always fly right back to you
I’m not saying
Brand my skin
I’m just saying
Know
You’ve already left your mark
Something More is another fun, love song...or, at least, that's what I hear in my head. When I was reading and re-reading songs that I've written over the last few years - I could always find songs about heartache and heartbreak. So, I made conscious effort to find some songs that focused on being in love. I wanted to put that energy out there...and see what comes back.
Something More
v1
I like your toothbrush in my bathroom
Your clothes left on my floor
These everyday
Throw away’s
Make me think there’s something more
Yep, I'm pretty sure, there’s something more
v2
I like how you just go to things in my kitchen
When you slip and say “our” bed
The little things
You just bring
Make me thing there’s something more
Yep, I'm pretty sure, there’s something more
Chorus
Something more
About you
Something more
About me
Something more
You feel
Something more
You see
I've got no clue what will follow today
But that something more makes the unknown feel ok
I'll gladly settle for
Something more
v3
I like how your head always finds my pillow
Your shoes kicked by my door
You're in the way
Most everyday
Makes me think there’s something more
Yep, I'm kinda sure there’s something more
Chorus
Bridge
Stay
And let’s drive each other crazy
Stay
And let’s make each other sane
I'll make room in my closet
I’ll make room in my bed
Why go back to your place
Stay
Right here, let's make this Our place instead
Chorus
Name the Fear I wrote as support to my friends...friends of survival. I have many friends who are survivors...of abuse - in various forms - physical, spiritual, emotional, sexual and psychological. This song I wrote as I moved through therapy and addressed abuse I had sustained. Abuse that left me in need of discovering new ways to cope and process.
The previous songs I felt confident submitting in the lyric competition...they seem radio-ready with the right tune and beat. Name the Fear and Find Me are the two I was the most unsure of. They're both personal and they aren't really love songs. But they're real singer/songwriter songs and, at the core, that's who I am.
I'm partial to the lyrics of the second verse especially the line about being "cornered in a round room." In therapy that was how I felt, at times. When I was writing this song and I wrote that line, I remember exhaling. It was exactly what I needed it to be.
I wanted to include these songs in the competition because they hold more truth, at this time in my life, than the love songs. Understanding the truth and weight of these last 2 songs meant I had no choice but to include them.
Name the Fear
v1
Look me in the eyes
Sit your soul down
Inside my voice
Nothing you say can surprise
Things will shine through
It’ll be clear
When you find the words
To name the fear
Chorus
Baby, name the fear
Nothing can reach you here
What you’re facing
Has to get by me
To get to you
And I’m not letting anything through
I swear
All you need to do, is name the fear
v2
That vow of silence, bend
I’m not that far ahead
Of where you are
How it starts, how it ends
When what was far
Comes dangerously near
Cornered in a round room
Forced to name the fear
I am always amazed at how well we know each other...really know each other.
I remember a friend saying they thought I had it all together. I laughed. I said, I don't even know what that means. I don't want to have it all together. I like the questions of life and faith.
We all have insecurities. Hurts. Scars. Some of us are better at hiding them than others. I write Find Me because the more I talked to my friend, the more convinced they seemed to be that they had me all figured out.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Find Me
I’ve been right
I’ve been wrong
Come up short
And it’s taken long
To find me
I’ve been a saint
I’ve been a sinner
Lost everything
To feel like a winner
Still I find me
I’ve been there
I’ve been back
Surrendered
Only to attack
So I find me
Chorus
You say
Time always tells
You say
You know me well
Truth is
You know only
What I let you see
Truth is
I’m still my own discovery
And I
I don’t even know all of me
So you
You only get to know
What I let you see
You’re so far ahead, you’re behind
You’re the first person, standing in the wrong line
Only to start again
So count back from ten
Close your eyes, then you'll see
Look the other way and then
You'll find me