"Blessed"

Since today marks my 21st, I am making a promise to myself to track this next chapter of my life because God knows, it's gonna be a big one.  It feels like a lifetime ago that I've written one of these.
Reflecting back on my year, I have been so fortunate it's kind of nauseating.  Anyways, I had a great pre-birthday weekend in Boston seeing my songwriting idols, Music City Hitmakers, perform with the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Ahh what a 'moment.'  I know I can go on like a broken record how amazing Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Troy Verges, and Brett James are, but, an experience like this has to be witnessed.  Words cannot describe seeing a MCHM show.  You've never experienced or felt a so-called 'concert' like this before.

Words + Music = A Song.  Lies.  Words + Music + Emotion = A Song.  Writing a song is the most emotionally draining and satisfying thing I've ever experienced.  Once you realize what true 'music' is, your eyes instantaneously open.  I couldn't imagine my life without music.  Being able to play and create is what I will spend the rest of my life chasing after.  At 21, I've learned to not care about what the ideal career would be.  I believe that if I could do this forever, I somehow have that ability to capture lightning.  Yeah, I probably sound like a nut right now but hey, this is my blog.  Haha!

Listen to this song and feel every emotion and beautifully done string arrangement.    
 

FM Radio:

Singer: Martina McBride/Hillary Lindsey

Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges, Brett James

Song: "Blessed"

I get kissed by the sun each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

Across a crowded room
I know you know what I'm thinking
By the way I look at you
And when we're lying in the quiet
And no words have to be said
I think to myself, I think to myself
This love is a beautiful gift

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

When I'm singing my kids to sleep
When I feel you holding me
I know

I have been blessed
And I feel like I've found my way
I thank God for all I've been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones that love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed

"Where I Belong" & 1 Year MARK!

We did it!  Whoever you are out there, taking a few minutes out of your day to read my crazy blog...Thank YOU!  There aren't enough words I could write or a song that I could post that would tell you how much I appreciate anyone's eyes reading my words.  Today marks one year of doing this crazy thing!  And although I wanted to do 365 posts, life got in the way and I ended up with 100.  I mean come on this is one HUNDREDTH blog...amazing.  I couldn't have planned it this way, it wouldn't have been so sweet.

A year ago, I thought I was stuck.  Like really stuck between chasing this dream of becoming an esteemed Nashville songwriter/life changer, college and moving to Nashville.  My life was already in Plan B mode years before that but in the end it all brought me to this.
Day 1 of The SongBird Project: http://songbirdproject.blogspot.com/2011/08/this-is-me.html

So I sit here tonight, a year after I embarked on this 'SongBird' project and I can honestly tell you I really found more of myself.  There's still so much more that I have yet to learn but I've really changed in this past year.  I don't even know how to summarize where this blog has taken me.  From being halfway done with college and getting a degree, having some amazing, life changing experiences, all of my Nashville experiences, dragging my family to every music venue in Nashville, living in my dream and then having to walk away from it, being recognized by my idols for these little blogs I post at midnight over their gems of songs, basically...I really believe this is the year.  

I feel like 20 is going to be really, really, really good to me.  I hope.

After everything that has led me to this moment, I can only think of one song that would even scratch the surface of my mess of emotions!  This is one of the first demos I've ever heard of Hillary Lindsey's, back in the good 'ole MySpace days, when it used to be the coolest thing ever to jump from page to page and become fascinated with songwriting.  Truth is, I still do it just on a different platform.  

I really wish this demo still existed out there but this song was recorded by another incredible, forgotten, singer/songwriter - Rachel Proctor.  

FM Radio:

Singer: Hillary Lindsey/Rachel Proctor

Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, Chris Lindsey, Troy Verges (The Dream Team)

Song: "Where I Belong"

I've wished a million wishes on a big empty sky
And I've spent too many endless nights alone
Wondering if I was broken and why everything felt so wrong
And where do I belong

I see beyond the end of time when I look into your eyes
It's so much bigger than this life and everything's right
I feel so safe, safe as a child in your arms
This is where I belong

I've seen my share of troubles
And tears I've shed in vain
Watched my dreams crumble
But all along the way
Someone heard me pray

The house is quiet now and my, my heart is full
And all the ones I love lay fast asleep and I am complete
I turn out the light and I whisper goodnight
And i know, this is where I belong

Follow this link: Rachel Proctor's MySpace

"Every Time"

Nothing more I love than a song like this.  Speaking of disappearing country stars, where did Jessica Andrews disappear to?  I can envision Carrie Underwood & Jessica Andrews fighting over Hillary Lindsey songs and then getting the #1 & #2 position on the charts.  Yeah, I'm that obsessed but sorry, no one on this Earth writes songs like this.

At this stage, I feel like some people really try to get into the music industry for all of the wrong reasons.  Well, I want to get into it to make people feel the way I do about songs.  To change people's lives the way mine has been.  Everything about this song inspires me, from this amazing story that goes back and forth between creating a memory, reliving it, and the reality in between.  Every line of this song continues this story, not one line is in here without a purpose.  How come more people don't know about this song?!

 Leave me comments, let me know what you think!


FM Radio:
Singer: Jessica Andrews
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Tia Sillers
Song: "Every Time"


I laid the blanket there on the shorelineAnd saw the water shine with the moonWhat kind of fool would fail to noticeThe best thing shining was you
Oh, I laughed kinda nervous, I felt you move closerAnd felt the world unwindOnce was a stranger, not quite a loverBut steadily crossing the line
Carry me far away, don't hold backI won't break, leave the ghosts behindAll I know, wrong or right just the thought of this nightWill get me every time, every time
Well, the voice in my head said, "What are you doing?"I thought not listening to youYou see I, I'm taking a chanceI'm thinking about flying over the blue
And it's crazy to be this out of practiceAnd have it all come so naturallyDon't you love knocking logic right off its axisAnd watch it float far out to sea
Carry me far away, don't hold backI won't break, leave the ghosts behindAll I know, wrong or right just the thought of this nightWill get me every time, every timeEvery time, every time, every time
So now here I am reading my fortuneIn the winding lines of your handOh, and I see a lost unwanted orphanHead right for the promised landCarry me far away, I won't, I won't break
Oh, carry me far away, don't hold backI won't break, leave the ghosts behindAll I know, wrong or right just the thought of this nightWill get me every time, will get me every time, every time

"Windows On A Train"

There's something cathartic about sitting here listening to the first real thunderstorm this year, rain hitting the windows, lightning in the sky, and darkness in the house that makes me want to pour my heart into this blog.  I just want my sad songs, now.  Bring on the ballads.  When I think of amazing songs, I only think of one songwriter.  And if you have read any of my other posts thus far, you probably know who that is...Hillary Lindsey.  Well, this gem is hidden in Jessica Andrew's Now album from 2003.  World, put yourself in this song and think of the clouds releasing rain and missing the love of your life like windows on a train.

FM Radio:
Singer: Jessica Andrews
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges, Angelo
Song: "Windows On A Train"

It felt like just a moment
The way they never last
Where were you going’
That you had to leave so fast

We were supposed to wake up
One day when we were older
Holdin’ on forever
But we flew past each other

Like windows on a train
The flashing of a frame
I can’t hold on but I can’t let go
A snapshot in my mind
Of a love that’s stuck in time
I saw it slip away
Windows on a train

I’m not sure what happened
But here I am alone
Tryin’ to find a way
To find a reason that you’re gone

I don’t know if I’m shakin’
From the rhythm of these wheels
Or if its my heart breakin’
And this is how it feels, This is how it feels 

Like windows on a train
The flashing of a frame
I can’t hold on but I can’t let go
A snapshot in my mind
Of a love that’s stuck in time
I saw it slip away
Windows on a train

I’m on my way to kneel down with the truth
With my black dress on to say goodbye to you

Like windows on a train
The flashing of a frame
I can’t hold on but I can’t let go
A snapshot in my mind
Of a love that’s stuck in time
I saw it slip away
Windows on a train



Windows On A Train (Album Version)

"This Is Me"

Being honest with yourself sets you free.  Its like the deepest bit of fresh air seeping into your lungs breathing out again.  Its wonderful and so if this song.  I love Faith but not a soul could sing it with such conviction as Hillary.  Here's to an old forgotten demo that has disappeared somewhere in cyberspace.

Remember...Open Arms.  ;)

FM Radio:
Singer: Faith Hill
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges
Song: "This Is Me"

Yeah I have my addictions
I keep my share of secrets
And things you'll never see
Mmm I get selfish and defensive
And pay too much attention to my insecurity

Though I
I'm just like everybody else
I try to love Jesus and myself, yeah yeah


I don't know what you believe
What you think or what you see
But this is a part of me yeah
What I do and who I am
All about your impurities oh
I'm right here on my sleeve
This is me
This is me

Yes my heart breaks for the homeless
I worry about my parents
And all my bills are late
Yeah I I'm dealing with the changes
This complicated strangeness of seeing life this way

Hey yeah I
I'm just like everybody else
I try, Lord I try, to love Jesus and myself, yeah yeah
I don't know what you believe
What you think or what you see
But this is a part of me yeah
What I do and who I am
All of my impurities
I'm right here on my sleeve
This is me yeah
This is me

I laugh at silly movies
Tear up when I see babies
And I'm stubborn as a stone
Yeah I, I criticize my body
I wonder if I'm ready to ever be alone


Oh I, I'm just like everybody else
I cry yes I cry just like everybody else yeah yeah yeah
I don't know what you believe
What you think of what you see
But this is a part of me
What I do and who I am
All of my impurities
Are right here on my sleeve
This is me
Oh this is me
Oh this is me
I'm gonna celebrate it
I'm gonna celebrate it
Don't be afraid who you are
Celebrate who you are
What you do, what you feel, what you see, who you are
Celebrate, celebrate
This is just me
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
This is me 

"Young Love"

65 degree weather turns me into a mid-tempo-summer-love junkie.  Like what has gotten into me?  I heard Hillary Lindsey's demo probably like 5 years ago on Aimee Mayo's Myspace and then it disappeared, nowhere on Earth to be found.  If anyone knows where I can find it or if they have it...I have open arms.

There's something about this song that once you've heard it, you know it like the back of your hand.  The saddest thing in the music business = the death of a song.  Unfortunately, the trio that recorded this amazing song has faded into thin air and like this demo are nowhere to be found.  And with them went this song.  Someone, like Lauren Alaina, could totally get a #1 if not at least a top 5 hit out of this song...paired with an April or May release would be airplay's dream.

FM Radio:
Singers: Carters Chord
Songwriters: Scooter Carusoe, Hillary Lindsey, Aimee Mayo
Song: "Young Love"

Ya had the headlights off so no one could see
Ya sneakin' up the driveway; I was 'bout seventeen
Waitin' there for you at the window 'round midnight

Smilin', arms wide open, runnin' 'cross the lawn
That crazy dog barkin' like a fire alarm
I jumped in the car and said, "Boy, you'd better fly"

You said, "Don't you worry, had a story to tell
"'Cause if we got caught, we were gonna catch hell
"But I'd pay any price for that look in your eyes"

When we ran like wild horses through the night
Stickin' to the back roads and stayin outta sight
Makin' the most of what little time we had left
How sweet it is, how sweet it was
Young love
 ]
Not a cloud in the sky, only the heavens and us
That ole radio singin', the tires kickin' up dust
Oh, in all my years, I don't think I've known a better night

Faded jeans layin' in a field on the ground
You and me smilin' rollin' 'round and 'round
In all my life, don't think I've held on quite as tight

We ran outta time with the rise of the dawn
Autumn was a-callin' for us to move on
And now, I only see you on a memory or two

When we ran like wild horses through the night
Stickin' to the back roads and stayin outta sight
Makin' the most of what little time we had left
How sweet it is, how sweet it was

Makin' the most of what little time we had left
How sweet it is, how sweet it was
Young love

Young love, yeah

"Summer of Love"

I know I'm not alone when I say that I want that crazy summer love that seems way too good to be true in these songs.  But the crazy thing about songwriting is it doesn't have to necessarily be your truth, just someones.  Well, besides the fact that I am a die-hard Nicholas Sparks fan, I still want the brilliance in this song, just so I could write one like it!  The simplicity and open-end of this song is perfection.  I think this should be a single.  Be sure to listen for Jimi Westbrook's, of Little Big Town, amazing background vocals.

FM Radio:

Singer: Martina McBride

Songwriters: Tommy Lee James, Hillary Lindsey, Martina McBride

Song: "Summer of Love"


The summer wind was blowin' cold,
But our hearts were still on fire.
The harvest moon was takin' over,
And the long days growin' in time

"Kiss me one more time," you said
"Kiss me so I won't forget,
So I can have this feeling even when you're gone"

I remember how time stood still and how you made me feel
Like you were mine forever, lying there together, that summer of love
Tangled up in a big blue sky, like we could almost fly
And every now and then I wonder if you think about us
And that summer of love, that summer of love

Now and then I get that feeling,
And it pulls me back again.
Back to the night when you were leavin',
Prayin' it would never end.

"Kiss me one more time," you said
"Kiss me like you won't forget it,
Didn't wanna let go, just kept holdin' on

I remember how time stood still and how you made me feel
Like you were mine forever, lying there together, that summer of love
Tangled up in a big blue sky, like we could almost fly
And every now and then I wonder if you think about us
And that summer of love, yeah

The summer wind was blowin' cold,
But our hearts were still on fire.

I remember how time stood still and how you made me feel
Like you were mine forever, lying there together, that summer of love
Tangled up in a big blue sky, like we could almost fly
And every now and then I can't stop thinkin' 'bout us
And that summer of love, that summer of love 

"Feels So Real"

"I’m as bad as an old washing machine, 

Spinnin’ ‘round but I never get clean"

Sometimes, I wonder why I even second guess myself because 99.9% of the time my gut instinct is right.  I have this crazy, insane, chilling connection with songs that I will spend the rest of my life trying to figure out why.  I saw Eden's Edge on the Grand Ole Opry and was blown away.  There's something about these voices that feel so fresh, yet like I've heard them for the past 19 years.  Needless to say, I think there's something incredible here.  Anyways, I just listened to their EP previews and this is the only song that stuck out to me.  The title alone could be taken a million different ways.  Then, I listened to the full song and quite possibly one of my favorite lines/verses I have ever heard.  Well, after I heard 30 seconds of pure magic, I giggled and thought these newbies couldn't possibly have gotten their hands on a piece of Hillary Lindsey written treasure.  So...of course, I took to google, and my answer was right in front of me.       But thats all I really had to do was listen to the rest of the song and I would've heard the brilliance of 'painted shut heart', the glass shatters, "Oh the outside I'm not leather yet."  Like, come on?  Only one person could've possibly written that. 

FM Radio:
Singers: Edens Edge
Songwriters: Angelo, Hillary Lindsey, Tia Sillers
Song: Feels So Real

It was two years ago and it was yesterday
Might not make sense but that’s just the way it feels to me
I’m as bad as an old washing machine
Spinnin’ ‘round but I never get clean
Don’t you see

Cause baby you’re gone but you’re like the wind
Out of the calm you come back again
Rattling the windows of my painted shut heart
Feels so real

Inside I still got this breaking in my chest
Don’t feel like flesh, it feels like glass
And glass shatters

Oh outside I’m not leather yet
But these days I’m tougher than I ever thought I’d get
Or ever wanna be, and the heart of the matter

Is baby you’re gone but you’re like the wind
Out of the calm you come back again
Rattling the windows of my painted shut heart
Feels so real, feels so real

Pullin’ down Jupiter, would be much easier
Swimming in the sky that would be a breeze
Than finding a magic cure, help me remember
You’re nothing but a memory

Baby you’re gone but you’re like the wind
Out of the calm you come back again
Rattling the windows of my painted shut heart
Feels so real, feels so real
It was two years ago and it was yesterday
Oh it feels so real, oh
Might not make sense but that’s just the way it feels to me

"Tupelo"

Yes, I googled "Tupelo."  I fell so in love with this song that I thought Hillary Lindsey was brilliant enough to make it up.  Well, I was wrong...they also actually are known for their 'honey.'  Brilliance, pure brilliance.  Tupelo, Mississippi is also the birthplace of Elvis, bet you didn't know that!

Currently, it's the middle of winter, but with one listen, it's 98 degrees (no pun intended), top down, sun blaring...summertime in under 4 minutes.  I hope this is a single!  I heard this on Songs That Need A Home's reverbnation a while ago and fell head over heels.  Now I'm happy that I'm not the stalker that knows every word to an unreleased song.

FM Radio:
Singer: Lauren Alaina/Hillary Lindsey
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson, Steve McEwan
Song: "Tupelo"

Picked a wildflower off the side of the road
You put it in my hair
Two bare feet up on the dashboard
Hands waving through the summer air
Looking at you, looking at me
With the wind strapped to our backs
Flying as high as a bird in the sky
Don't get much better than that

And we sang all the way down to Tupelo
Love struck right on the money
Heartbeats a beating to the radio
Kisses sweet as the honey
Down in Tupelo
All the way down to Tupelo

Counting the white lines a mile by mile
Worries slipping away
Took a back road for a little slow down
Off of the interstate
We followed the river as far as it goes
Smiling in the July sun
Hearing you say, you were falling in love
I said, you ain't the only one

And we sang all the way down to Tupelo
Love struck right on the money
Heartbeats a beating to the radio
Kisses sweet as the honey
Down in Tupelo
All the way down

La la la la la la
Wind strapped to our backs
La la la la la la
Don't get much better than that

And we sang all the way down to Tupelo
Love struck right on the money
Heartbeats a beating to the radio
Kisses sweet, kisses sweet

And we sang all the way down to Tupelo
Love struck right on the money
Heartbeats a beating to the radio
Kisses sweet as the honey
Down in Tupelo
All the way down to Tupelo

La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

All the way down to Tupelo, yeah
All the way down to Tupelo
All the way down to Tupelo

"Coming Home"

As all good things come to an end, so did our trip.  Spare all the corniness, at the end of the day...well actually about 5 AM, we came home.  This song is more than just a drive home.  To me, this song is finding a place or a thing that gives you a sense of belonging.  And once you find that niche where you fit, it's about allowing yourself to surrender to it.  This song is brilliant, as are all Hillary Lindsey/Troy Verges penned songs.  Add Tom Douglas & Bob Dipiero into that mix and that is nothing but a hit.  I guess to everyone, this song can mean something different.  But to me, it should've won the Golden Globe & Oscar.  Totally got snubbed.  Oh and who knew Gwenyth Paltrow could sing?!  She is, of course, not comparable to Hillary, but I loved Country Strong.  

FM Radio:
Singer: Gwenyth Paltrow
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges, Tom Douglas, Bob Dipiero -            (Dream Team)
Song: "Coming Home"

It's a four letter word
a place you go to heal your hurtIt's an alter, it's a shelterOne place you're always welcomea pink flamingo, double wideOne bedroom in a high risea mansion on a hillWhere the memories always willkeep you companywhenever you're aloneafter all of my runningI'm finally coming
HomeThe world tried to break meI found a road to take meHomeThere ain't nothing but a blue sky nowAfter all of my runningI'm finally comingHome
Well they say its where the heart isand I guess the hardest part iswhen your heart is brokenand you're lost out in the great wide openlooking for a mapfinding your way backto where you belongwell that's where I belong
HomeThe world tried to break meI found a road to take meHomeThere ain't nothing but a blue sky nowAfter all of my runningI'm finally comingHome
Home...Home...
HomeThe world tried to break meI found a road to take meHomeThere ain't nothing but a blue sky nowAfter all of my runningI'm finally comingAfter all of my runningI'm finally comingHome