Have you ever been in a relationship that ended badly? I think most of us have. This is the type of emotional experience that, despite the pain, can forge a great song. This is good because A) it can be therapeutic or cathartic for the songwriter, giving them a way to get it out of their system, and B) it’s a highly relatable topic because most people have been through this type of experience. I have three songs on my album that fall into this category.

‘Do You Remember?’ This was my first attempt at collaborative songwriting for my album. This song and the others I’ll share stem from a high school relationship. She and I used to talk about marriage and kids and I really believed this one was a keeper. However, the relationship ended abruptly and for reasons I was never told about. Without giving away too much lyrically the end of the chorus says “Do you remember the way we first kissed? It was on a night like this, you said we’d always be together, do you remember?” This is basically the song in which the narrator can’t believe the relationship is over.

‘I’ll Be Gone’ is next. This is the anger after the break-up song. The chorus lyrics say “I’m so tired of the games that you play, you’ve left me in disarray, guess I’m on my own so when you’re needing somebody to love you… I’ll be gone”. It’s all the anger from inside coming out; a decision to abandon the affection that the other party’s already betrayed.  There’s no way back to how things were.

‘Don’t Talk to Me’ This track, composed by Calgary-based songwriter Danny Beer, represents the realization that I was wasting time in that relationship and that I’m better off without them. The chorus lyrics say “Don’t talk to me, I’ll be gone tomorrow, take my only pain and sorrow and leave you alone”. It’s a kind of epiphany moment, that it’s better not to have anything more to do with this person but to move on and, by the same token, free them to also move on. These three songs have a bit more anger in them but of course that suits the topic.

Waiting around for COVID-19 to be eliminated and for society to return to normal is somewhat tiresome, right? Patience is the key in this. Things will eventually open up; being able to perform shows so that people can hear my music live will eventually happen. In the meantime we all need to take care of our physical and mental health and do what we can to better ourselves. I’m excited for possible future outcomes and hoping for the best in the interim. I’m loving what I’ve heard so far for the final mixes of this album and I know you will too.