The Drifter - This is a metaphorical guide to life. A take-off on the philosophy that we are all visitors on this planet, so we might as well act like it. I don't claim to be an expert, I just put to song my observations as if I were an outsider looking in, instead of the active participant I am. (See Lyrics)
Forget About It - Hehe...It began with Andy's spurt of pessimism. When he first played the guitar part for me, he said "Just forget about it" right afterwards as if it was some hideous piece instead of the masterpiece that it is. I told him he couldn't do that because I was going to write a song called "Forget About It" to the tune. OK, enough of that...what was it about? I think it came out of a fantasy of mine that all those guys who I had crushes on who were absolute @#!!&@$# to me came crawling back and I got to mercilessly reject them. (See Lyrics)
Giving Up - Honestly, this has never happened to me. I had many a rejection but very few relationships so I have never actually been dumped. But I was always the shoulder to cry on and soon I learned there was only healing once they learned the relationship had flaws which led to its ultimate demise. This begins as a torch song about being dumped but eventually turns into a song about the recovery. (See Lyrics)
Know Yourself - This song is the second in the "She Is" series (See "Starry Night" below). In this song, her trauma lies far in the past, yet she continues to pick men who treat her as less than she is. Is she cursed? Hardly. She's simply seeking out men who reaffirm her own opinion of herself. I have much sympathy for her, and urge her take time apart from the endless line of relationships to "meet" the beautiful person she is. (See Lyrics)
La Ventana - The translation for this (from Spanish)is "the window". Why didn't I call it The Window? Well, originally, before any lyrics were added (long ago in a galaxy far far away) Andy was referring to the song as "Ode to my Burrito", so the compromise was La Ventana. The theme is autobiographical...although we all feel inadequate at times and the only real course of action is to keep on plowing through life hoping you don't fall on your face...too many times. (See Lyrics)
Mini-Rebellion - This is the theme song for the misfits. Don't let anybody act superior to you based on their normalcy and your uniqueness (I think I'm making up words again). If anything, they should be kissing your feet, but I digress. This is not to be taken as a Marxist "We will rise up and crush the upper classes" anthem, just don't let yourself be stepped on in the name of popularity. You know the saying, "What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular." A side note: I don't swear in songs because that's not my speaking style...and here it's purposely avoided to give a sense of maturity to the heroine. (See Lyrics)
No Road - This is a rare song because Andy wrote the guitar part to this after it had already been written a cappella. How I revised this song from a quasi-suicidal one is a mystery to me. I was very depressed over the rejection of a crush who didn't even feel the desire to continue to be my friend. I think these rejections prepared me to face worse disasters later on, and it no longer bothers me considering he wasn't such a great guy after all. During painful times like these, you can only reassure yourself that "This too shall pass." (See Lyrics)
Nothing Is Everything - This is another song which began a cappella. It was born from wishful thinking...Is it actually possible to have a loved one who can fill the void in your life? It has multiple meanings, so try to find your own. Not necessarily a love song, whatever "does it" for you is your everything. (See Lyrics)
Rarest Kind - This was our very first song, and a perennial favorite it seems among the groupies. I wrote it about my best friend, who really is the Rarest Kind. A separate stories page is called "Rarest Kind" to speak about how this song launched A Thousand Young. (See Lyrics)
She Is - Just a warning, this song is deep. She is the girl who goes through a traumatic experience (such as rape or molestation) and is then confronted by an insensitive population, a population which believes she "asked for it." She is forced to bear the guilt of the very crime that was committed against her. This is my lash against blaming the victim, in hopes that in the future "she" will be greeted with hope in place of despair, and may finally find the path to recovery. (See Lyrics)
Sleep with Caution - I write how I feel...usually how the song sways my mood. On a few occasions, however, factors other than the guitar affect my mood and thus my writing. This is one of those occasions. I was sitting in a Hotel room at 1 AM, nearly dead from sleep deprivation yet completely engrossed in writing down lyrics about how tired I was (kinda ironic, huh?). In the dim lighting and half-conscious state I was in the verses became these short grammatically incorrect phrases. In the morning, I was sort of enchanted by how quaint my "sleepy talk" had been so I left it alone and finished off the parts I didn't get to (because I fell asleep on my lyrics book). (See Lyrics)
Starring You - This lovey, dovey song isn't meant to be anything but romantic...because not every song I write can be a deep, psychological look into the human psyche. Something needs to clear the palate in between songs where I'm cramming observations down your throat. It does however point out some relevant truth: There is a point when doing what you've done before doesn't work anymore. That you must break pattern in order to progress. In this situation, waiting before leaping into a relationship and getting hurt again is the best advice you can give yourself. (See Lyrics)
Starry Night - Never to be confused with Starring You, this is serious song that is the first of the "She Is" series I plan to write. "She Is" was inspired by the stories of at least 6 strong women I knew and I plan to write 6 songs to tell each of their stories. This story is from the point of view of the friend who tried to warn her. Watching a friend jump into danger and not being able to stop it is an experience I know all too well. In the end we all make our own mistakes. (See Lyrics)
Unearthly Quiet - The theme of this song is backwards from my usual style, where I begin powerless and through the course of the song become empowered. It begins empowered, with a decision to leave a guy who is full of himself (thus treating his girlfriend like dirt), and then when the decision is thought over, it is thrown out because she is weak of willpower. I don't have the experience of living this (again, my relationships have been few) but I do have the experience of hearing this, time and again, from cases varying from an unhappy friend to an abused one. The message is to keep your strength, burn the bridge and don't look back. (See Lyrics)
Used To - How many friends have been lost to a personality change? In the land of high school, the answer is many. How could I expect my sweet and fun-loving friend to stay the same in the company of vultures? When left to decide between conforming to those around him and staying the same uniquely shaped person he was, he chose the easier path and killed off the companionship that we had, so much like old friends. In that way, the song speaks of him as being so distant he might as well be dead to me...but never forgotten. (See Lyrics)
Waste - This song was written about something I do have all too much experience with: Those friends that are so far removed and spiteful of you that you wonder why they consider themselves your friend at all. I've been in and out of many failed best friendships (until I met my Rarest Kind) and even more regular friendships, and my only recourse is to confront the person with how they truly feel about me. If they have been living a title and not a relationship, then I say a tearful good-bye. If they have been living through a temporary hate for mankind then I stand behind them and wait. There is no reason to be unknowing: There is no reason to waste a true friend or waste your time on a false one. (See Lyrics)
When I'm Not Me (I'm You) - This odd title explains itself within the song. I spend the whole time criticizing a "you" when later on I reveal it is actually "me"...when I'm not me. I wish I didn't have so much experience with this one either, considering how many times I've looked back at my actions or words and regretted them, knowing that a sane version of myself would never have even considered them. (See Lyrics)
