There are those moments when you have to deal with waiting anxiously for something, while also having to deal with things that seem unbearable; things that at some point you just need to leave it behind...

What's the song about?

This song is about putting nagging thoughts out of my mind to help me cope with the frustration of having to wait for something I really need, but can’t do much else about it. I knew the wait was about to end and that I’d then learn to leave some heavy feelings behind.

What was I feeling as I was writing the song?

I was still feeling sad and alone, but also very tired. It was a situation that took a lot out of me and the ones close to me. I just couldn’t wait to get passed that point in my life and move on to better things.

The Writing Process

This song was written back in early 2014, right after I finished Far Away. It came out of me sitting down with my acoustic guitar and playing whatever seemed to fit what I was a feeling.

Musical Influences

Much like what happened with Far Away, I wrote To Leave It Behind heavily influenced by Blaze Bailey’s Russian Holiday EP. With this song, though, I wanted to keep it acoustic-only (different than with Far Away, where I thought it’d be only acoustic and ended up adding quite a bit more to it).

Writing the Lyrics

The lyrics came out naturally based on the precise thoughts and feelings I had at that specific moment of my life.

Writing the Vocals

The vocals were sort of tricky for me. Singing in a song where it’s just my vocals and one acoustic guitar is sort of intimidating for me. I’m not that great of a singer, and what I had in mind was Blaze Bailey’s powerful, passionate vocals on this type of song, so how could I make this work?

I do believe the more songs I write and record, the better I’m getting at it, and while I’m sure a real singer would make this song sound a lot better, I’m quite happy with my results.

The Video

The video for this song has reminders for myself spread through it so that, while I wanted to get those things out of my system, I can still watch this and remember what I’ve been through and appreciate what I have now.

What have I used in this production?

Cordoba Acoustic Guitar
MXL condenser mic
FastPro audio interface
Mixcraft
Sony Vegas
iPhone camera

The Lyrics

It is an agonizing waiting game
Time slows down to a crawl
As we linger for a letter to arrive

We have waited like this before
But still it hurts unlike other times
Even knowing this is coming to an end

It was all for the Greater Good
Thoughts have been blurred by the distance
By every mile, by every trip I had to go on

Look at us, see how far we have come
Find the flaws and leave it behind
Let the shadows dissipate

It is an agonizing waiting game
But it is always good to know
That you will be there when I arrive

We have waited like this before
But still it hurts unlike other times
Even knowing this is now about to end

I wrote about our future
We hoped we were going to be together
But knew we'd have to be apart

It is now time to break that spell