In case you missed the intro blog, this a series celebrating the five-year anniversary of releasing my original song album, Stay Awhile. For those who attended the Pre-Release Listening Party, you heard me tell these concise, personal stories about how each of the songs were dreamed up or created — how inspiration struck or released emotions that felt stuck. (And here I am inadvertently rhyming as I write this...)
So now you can read each blog and and then listen to each song with new ears. It's your behind-the-scenes view of how or why each of these songs was born, and I hope you enjoy sharing the journey of recalling these special memories with me. (Keep scrolling down to read...) Musically yours, Tara
The Art of a Song: "Stay Awhile"
This is the first song that I officially wrote and finished, other than maybe one other one I tried to write as a kid. I had various pieces lying around and a good deal of poetry I had been writing as long as I can remember, but none of them made it formally into a completed song. So, I decided that I should really try to finish something and see how it turned out. But where would I start? What feelings were on my heart?
As I was musing, I remembered trying to say to a guy I really liked once that: two people could have the potential for a great love, but, if one of them doesn’t want to stay around to see how it will turn out, it doesn’t really get anywhere does it?
It’s amazing, really, how much of our lives is dependent upon whether we choose to stay or go. Sometimes it’s wise to end things before they’ve begun—red flags waving at us in the wind—but often we give up before we’ve given things a chance. Sometimes it’s the deep down, subconscious fear of it actually working out that causes us to want to walk away.
So that’s where I began… the thing I had wanted to say but hadn’t said fully. I, for one, rarely seem to have the courage to say all that I should in those moments. So this was me, being brave after the fact. And hoping someone else could relate to this feeling and maybe even use this song to help them be brave in their moment.
It seemed fitting to make it the title track of my first, original-song album—the song that started the whole thing. I hope you find some time to listen as you grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle down on the sofa or, perhaps, as you take a long drive somewhere. Maybe it will pull a memory out of hiding and allow you to fully feel something you always tucked away or give you the push to say something you need to say. A little poetry, music, and time for reflection—the perfect combination.