“Come Home Soon” is about missing someone. I wrote it shorlty after my boyfriend left Maui for a surf trip to Tahiti. That feeling of missing him “hit me like a wave” like the song says. It’s crazy when a wave of emotion comes on like that. If there is one thing songwriting has taught me, it’s to embrace all of these feelings that make us human and create something beautiful with them. This was one of my favorite songs to record because of the dreamy string section.
“Come Home Soon” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music.
“Revival,” was an idea I tried to write after attending a worship night where a number of Christian churches came together to sing praise and worship songs. I had never been to an event quite like it, and the next day the word “revival” kept coming to my mind. My original intent was to explicitly make it a worship song, as I was getting tired of my happy song/sad song routine and wanted to try something different.
The opening lyrics, “I’m gonna dust off the vinyl,” were originally, “I’m gonna dust off the Bible.” From there, it morphed into what it is now. Songwriting is a lot like solving a puzzle. And as I got further and further into working on this one, I realized I just had to let the song be what it is - a positive, light, upbeat and groovy love song that can lift people’s spirits and take them to another place. For me, it’s still a worship song :)
“Revival” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music.
Those who know me well are not surprised by the theme of “Right.” It has a fun, melodic groove while making light of my tendency to overthink and worry. I’m guilty of wanting certainty and control in life, which as we know are two things that life just doesn’t give us. The song is my own quarter-life-crisis anthem in which I’m just wanting someone to tell me that I’m making the right choices, or “living it right” as John Mayer would say.
I was twenty-five when I wrote it (as mentioned in the song), about nine months into my Maui journey. The song is an honest depiction of where I was at the time. I would wake up most days and go on walks to clear my head and check the surf. At night I would stare at the ceiling thinking about all of the things that I could be doing to move forward, but instead I would do nothing, paralyzed by fear and indecision. Sound familiar to anyone?
“Right” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music.
“Nobody’s Girl” is an anthem. It represents a time in my life when I was confident and proud to be single. It is also a response to the fact that for whatever reason, feelings aren’t always mutual. While this song is fun, sassy, and not technically that serious of a personal story, I think it can speak to many women on an emotional level. Whether we are in unhealthy and possessive relationships, or caught in an awkward one-sided romance, I think we can all relate.
“Nobody’s Girl” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music.
About 6 years into my Nashville journey, I sat on the couch with my guitar and the readiness to move on poured itself out into this song. “Run Away” was the official beginning of the end of my time in Nashville (at least temporarily). Obviously, in a perfect world I would have just written “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson (written by Matthew Gerrard, Bridget Benenate, and Avril Lavigne), because that song says it all! But this is my unique spin on a similar idea.
I will admit that though it’s fueled by the yearning for something new, the song is also fueled by the fear of stagnation. My growth felt stunted in Nashville and I was itching for a growth spurt. I feared that if I didn’t make a move, that I never would. I’m sure I could have figured out a way to start a new journey there, but my mind was on the fast track to a complete 180 degree change. I surprised myself with how serious I was when I admitted it, singing out loud to myself (and my wall…my most faithful audience). It’s funny to think back on, because at this point moving to Hawaii had not crossed my mind. I just knew I needed to get away.
“Run Away” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and AppleMusic.
“In the Making” is a response to the infamous question, “what are you doing with your life?” I wrote the song fresh out of college, and the seemingly constant question had me on high alert. I graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Studio Art and Managerial Studies and it seemed like everyone had a job or career path, except me. I, by this point, had accepted that I’m an artist and would be paving my own way involving art, music, and fitness. I felt strangely confident, but alone in this decision.
I wrote the song while feeling this intense pressure to know exactly what I wanted to do (and get paid for it), and the pressure to acknowledge my desires and creative ability to structure my life how I wanted to. The song is my response to those pressures, and the realization that I am and always will be “in the making.” I saw so much potential in what I could do with my life, and knew that to find my purpose, it would take time…maybe a lifetime! “In the Making” is my own personal validation that I will always be growing, evolving, and making decisions unique to my dreams that others may not always understand. Through the contemplative and conversational lyrics, I give myself permission to *not* have it all figured out. I’m in the making…aren’t we all?
“In the Making” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and AppleMusic.
“Over You” is about the rare moment of feeling absolutely free and unattached to something previously held on to - a person, a place, a feeling…anything.
I originally wrote the song about a relationship that I pursued for far too long, expecting that I would get what I wanted out of it if I just kept trying. One evening, I sat in my Nashville apartment, looked out towards the sunset and felt completely peaceful about letting go of that relationship. The new feeling of relief reminded me of what it feels like to fly in a plane, way up high where things that normally seem big actually seem small. So I wrote a song about it. Flying is always such a mind-blowing experience for me. I’m definitely not one for physics so I’m not quite sure how it works, but when I’m up in the air I gain new perspectives looking down at the earth with a bird’s-eye view. It’s exactly what being “over” that relationship felt like. I could finally see it with clear vision, from an unobstructed point of view. And the outcome was so much better than what I’d dreamt up for myself.
Fast forward a few years, I actually “got on a flight” (as the song says) and headed towards Hawaii with a one-way ticket. Ironically, “Over You” applies to my life in more ways now than it did when I first wrote it. My move to Hawaii had a lot to do with letting go of expectations for myself, learning to trust and to see life from a different perspective. The song was almost like a premonition of what was to come, and I never would have believed that the music video would capture such amazing footage of the life in Hawaii that I currently experience on a daily basis.
Mahalo to No Ka Oi Media for working with me again, and for capturing my vision for this song. Thank you to Mokulele Airlines for the amazing flying experience!
“Over You” is available on all streaming services including Spotify and AppleMusic.
