Spotify Playlist - The Climb
Inception:
The main themes for “The Climb” are simple…resilience, perseverance, and empathy. This song isn’t as much a story, lyrically, as it is the expression of the themes. The themes and ideas are simple, and I wanted to keep the song that way.
“The Climb” came to me in a flurry. It served as an internal “pep talk”. Something inside saying “Just keep moving …things are difficult … they may get worse … they may not … either way … do not stop”. Over the years, I have found myself repeating this on a regular basis.
At the time of it’s writing, I was burning out at my job (again) and beginning to create art a legitimate endeavor, I was working through my own internal struggles and anxieties (a work that is never ending), the country was neck deep into maga/trump 1.0, and the pandemic was just around the corner. I was in desperate need of motivation and drive for the world that was directly in front of me and, unknowingly, for what was lying ahead.
I feel that perseverance and resilience have a lot of connection to faith and hope. I’m not talking about faith in a glorious white jesus to save us all, and hope that he comes to rescue us in time for the rapture. I’m talking about faith that the world will always be moving and changing, and while times can be very challenging, there is always a chance (and hope) that easier times are closer than they appear.
I’m aware this is nothing novel or profound. It’s common knowledge that life has a way of continuing to challenge us on all fronts, at all levels, and at any time. While it may be common knowledge, somehow, it’s still easy to forget. You think you’ve got things reeled in and under control, then the wind changes in an area of the world and shifts the balance in a totally different space; the next thing you know, you’re flailing around trying to figure out where the ground went.
We can’t control things happening outside of our sphere. We can’t control the actions others take and what effect they will have on us. We can’t predict the future. So, spending a great amount of time on any of these feels a bit pointless. We make decisions based on the information we have available, and we do the best that we can. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t, but we continue on all the same.
“Trust your gut, don't think too much,
The good days pass, the bad the same,
Eyes looking up, keep climbing,
Or you'll get caught up in all of the nothing...“
Music:
I wrote the music, lyrics, melodies, and composition, in about 3 hours. It was amazing. I usually take a lot of time to finish a song. Usually, the ideas or themes will come to me and spark my interest, then it’s a process of looking at different options and trying different approaches. It often includes getting REALLY weird and REALLY confused, just to circle back to the original idea. However, this time through, it’s like the song was already fully written in the back of my mind, I just had to focus on it and let it move my pen. Case in point, I’ve been working on this blog post for a few weeks, and many hours, just to end up trimming off most of what I wrote.
On a more conscious level, my reference points in putting together the music, lyrics, and melodies were songs I would play from my favorite albums that were calm and soothing. Songs like “Oceans” by Pearl Jam, “Nutshell” by Alice In Chains, “Good Times” by Willie Nelson, and several others you’ll find in the playlist I put together. While, lyrically, they don’t all scream “Resilience, Perseverance, and Empathy”, they do all have a calming effect on me and I can recall days of driving around and listening to them on repeat and getting lost in them.
The music is quite simple…it’s easily the most simple composition on the EP. Oddly, that was still a challenge. With my proclivity to over-think/analyze/complicate things, this song was an effort in really letting the song come to me and not allow myself to “chase it”.
One last note, this is the only song from the EP with an official music video. My inspiration for the video was the “Pied Piper” fairy tale, with a twist. Instead of luring children to their death, the “piper” or “uker” was luring people to be the person they always were meant to be. Click here to check it out - Music Video: The Climb (music video)
Lyrics
Hold on, don't let go
Of the rope swinging so,
Violently in the wind,
You didn't care back then, you don't again...
Do believe in your dreams,
Or what's the point?
Show us your grit, we can wait,
For the fight, resilient you...
Trust your gut, don't think too much,
The good days pass, the bad the same,
Eyes looking up, keep climbing,
Or you'll get caught up in all of the nothing...
It's a natural, a supernatural thing that keeps us moving on It's a natural, a supernatural thing that keeps us moving on…
Inspiration:
“The Boy Raised by Wolves” by Bruce D Perry and Maia Szalavitz
Brene Brown (Author/Scientist)
Pearl Jam (Band/Musicians)
Willie Nelson (Musician)
Sturgill Simpson (Musician)
Otis Redding (Musician)
Playlist: The Climb
Music Video: The Climb (music video)