All About the Songs From “Songs On The 17th” Vol. I

Because you guys have been so supportive of “Song on the 17th,” this album is really for you. We write these songs every month because you have supported us and encouraged us to keep writing and making music. So we wrote a little bit about each song to give some details about why we wrote them or when we wrote them, etc. The track listing is below with an explanation of the song along with the lyrics to each song. Thanks again for your support. We couldn’t be more thankful for you guys.

Much love–

j&k

 

 

***Guess I Better Move On***

This song is a realization that something you have been fighting for to change is not going to. It’s not about giving up completely, but really about finally settling within yourself that sometimes no matter how hard you fight, things aren’t going to happen the way you hope they will. This song was written as a kind of final exhale…a final letting go of the hope that a situation would turn around. We remember being at the end of our ropes and needing the “therapy” that came from putting our frustration into a song.

 

LYRICS

I think I’m going just a little bit crazy
You’re never gonna change
And I’m a fighter but it’s getting late
And I’m just about to break

I’ve been tripping on every step
Ever since I put on these shoes
And all the roads we take
How come they never are the roads we’d choose

I’m falling fast
I don’t think I’m gonna last

But I hold on til I hit the bottom
Then I let go ’cause it’s all I know
And it’s not like I haven’t fought it
But if everybody says it’s over
Guess I better move on
Guess I better move on

These are only words
But they’re all that I have left
I’ve been chasing you climbing your ladders
You don’t ever stop to rest
And I don’t want to give in
‘Cause I don’t want you to win

But I’m falling fast
I don’t think I’m gonna last

So I hold on til I hit the bottom
Then I let go cause it’s all I know
And it’s not like I haven’t fought it
But if everybody says it’s over
Guess I better move on
Guess I better move on

I’m fighting for every word
I want it so bad it hurts
But you have stolen every bit of hope I had and I don’t think I’m gonna last

So I hold on til I hit the bottom
Then I let go cause it’s all I know
And it’s not like I haven’t fought it
But if everybody says it’s over
Guess I better move on
Guess I better move on

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Things I Like***

We were driving from Nashville to Chicago and we had to have a new song to post for that month’s Song on the 17th. We decided it would be fun to give ourselves 20 minutes and come up with a fun, spontaneous song. I (Jill) was driving (at a generous speed) and Kate brought it to my attention (in the nicest way possible) that I should slow down. My reaction was: “I like driving fast!”

Kate said: “That’s the first line of the song.”

…And so “Things I Like” was written in the next 20 minutes–somewhere on I-65 North. It was one of the most fun times we’ve ever had writing a song.

 

LYRICS

I like driving fast
And I like kicking aaaaaaa
I like my friends who make me laugh

These are the things I like
And I wonder if you just might
Like them too ’cause I like you

I like shooting stars
And I like cool guitars
I like taking jokes too far

These are the things I like
And I wonder if you just might
Like them too ’cause I like you

I like staying up late
And I like birthday cake
I like writing from mistakes I make

These are the things I like
And I wonder if you just might
Like them too ’cause I like you
Like them too ’cause I like you
Like me too ’cause I like you

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Bring You Back To Life***

This song is one of those songs that seems bigger than yourself. Sometimes when writing I (Kate) can see a video playing out in my head. This is one of those songs. I could so clearly see a man standing in a graveyard, dead flowers in his hand, screaming at every star he saw…just desperate for something or someone to bring back his wife.  Then, as the second verse portrays…he is standing outside her front door somehow convincing himself that if he goes through the familiar motions of her past, he might somehow bring her back.

 

LYRICS

On many dark days I have held my breath and driven past the graveyard
Stood outside searching in the sky
Shouting at the shooting stars
Staring at the clock every time it hits
11:11 I have made a wish for you
I wish you back to me

And I tell myself that I’m alright
But I know it’s a lie
So I try to bring you back to life
To bring you back to life

On many cold nights I have driven to your door hoping it’ll open
Standing with flowers in my hand
Wilted, waiting
65 days 300 more and nothing’s gonna change
Everyday I’ll wish you back to me

And I tell myself that I’m alright
But I know it’s a lie
So I try to bring you back to life
To bring you back to life

I’m blowing out your candles this year
I’m catching all your snowflakes
I’m crying all your tears

And I tell myself that I’m alright
But I know it’s a lie
So I try to bring you back to life
To bring you back to life

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Chasing Storms***

We didn’t know people would like this song as much as they did! The reaction we got was surprising to us when we first posted it on our blog. This song was written about a friend of ours who was going through such a hard time, but couldn’t identify that the problems were self-inflicted. We were so frustrated watching them run in circles trying to figure out what was wrong. I think we’ve all been there at some point in our lives. Sometimes watching other people struggle is as hard, if not harder, than dealing with our own struggles. When someone is so frantically searching for the next thing that they think will make them happy, often they are over-looking what is right in front of their eyes.

 

LYRICS

You’re chasing storms
You cannot fight
Following the trail of lights
Starting fires
You touch the flames
You’re burning up
You don’t notice a thing

Cause you’re tired from chasing the wind
And your feet can’t feel where they’ve already been
Are you right back where you started again

It was all at your fingertips but you can’t feel it anymore
You’re running past what you waited for
And it’s knocking down your front door
But you can’t hear it and you can’t feel it anymore

When everything is not enough
You find your losses and count ’em up
You wanna get but you’ll never give
So afraid to fight for it

But you’re out there running around
And your eyes can’t see what they’ve already found
Are you right back digging up that same old ground

It was all at your fingertips but you can’t feel it anymore
You’re running past what you waited for
And it’s knocking down your front door but you can’t hear it and you can’t feel it anymore

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Sarah***

“Sarah” is a person that we strive to be. She is not an actual person, but a combination of all the heroes in our lives who have qualities that we want in ourselves.This song came out of us so fast, it was like it practically wrote itself. We love when that happens.

 

LYRICS

Sarah runs when everybody’s walking
Sarah never seems to second guess
She doesn’t care that everybody’s watching
Sarah never looks behind her back

And Sarah never feels the bruises
When she falls down she laughs
Sarah teach me how to fall like that

Sarah catches everybody’s glances
But Sarah never throws them back
She’s not afraid to take her chances
‘Cause Sarah dreams in more than white and black

And Sarah doesn’t care if she loses
She always bounces back
Sarah teach me how to lose like that

And she’s always first to say I love you
She looks you in the eye and never blinks
And she doesn’t hide and she doesn’t try
Sarah doesn’t care what anybody thinks

Sarah loves like it’s never gonna hurt
With her eyes wide open too
Sarah teach me, Sarah teach me
Sarah teach me, Sarah teach me
Sarah teach me how to love like you

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Don’t Feel A Thing***

This song is one of the most personal songs on the record.  When I (Kate) started this song, I had recently stopped seeing a guy who ended things pretty horribly. Honestly, it left me shell-shocked and undone.  It was right around the holidays and I remember the dichotomy of wanting to feel the excitement/joy from the fun-filled season, yet I was really unable to fully function or actually feel anything at all.

I was sitting on the couch, literally just listening to myself breathe…looking out a window…and I remember saying…”I don’t feel a thing…a broken heart has broken me.”

I felt defeated. I felt like a silly girl who had put her hope out there…and lost.  As family started to arrive, I got off the couch, grabbed my phone, locked myself in the bathroom and sang the melody into my phone. That’s how this song was born.

 

LYRICS

I don’t feel a thing
No I don’t feel a thing
All I hear is my breathing out and my breathing in

And oooh oooh
A broken heart has broken me
And oooh oooh
A broken heart has broken me
It might set me free
It just might set me free
But right now I don’t feel I don’t feel a thing
I don’t feel a thing

I don’t feel a thing
No I used to feel everything
My body numb
The face is painted but the doll undone

And oooh oooh
A broken heart has broken me
And oooh oooh
A broken heart has broken me
It might set me free
It just might set me free
But right now I don’t feel I don’t feel a thing
I don’t feel a thing

Do you feel a thing
Do you feel anything

And oooh oooh
You’re breaking hearts
You’re breaking me
And oooh oooh
You’re breaking hearts
You’re breaking me yeah
Oooh ooh
A broken heart has broken me
And oooh oooh
A broken heart has broken me
It might set me free
It just might set me free
But right now I don’t feel I don’t feel a thing
I don’t feel a thing

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Texas***

We were playing an open mic in Los Angeles a few years back and we played one of our songs called “Tennessee.” Our friend Ashley was there and when we got done with our set, she said to us: “Write a song about Texas! How come Tennessee gets a song, but Texas doesn’t?”

And there you have it. We wrote “Texas” that night in Los Angeles and the lyrics could not be truer. We love our Texan friends.

 

LYRICS

Everything’s bigger
Everything’s better
Everything’s fine in Texas
So send me a postcard
Write me a letter
Drop me a line
From Texas

Maybe down in Dallas
Or in Austin or San Antonio
Texas is the best place you can go

When I’m feeling restless
I call my friends in Texas
‘Cause you know they’re the best a girl can get
They’re the best a girl can get
And when I’m feeling restless
I call my friends in Texas
‘Cause you know they’re the best a girl can get
They’re the best a girl can get

And they understand
How to make me smile
How to make me laugh
How to put me back on my feet again
Even when I’m far
I’m feeling their big hearts
Feeling their love no matter where I am

Maybe down in Dallas
Or in Austin or San Antonio
Texas is the best place you can go

When I’m feeling restless
I call my friends in Texas
‘Cause you know they’re the best a girl can get
They’re the best a girl can get
And when I’m feeling restless
I call my friends in Texas
‘Cause you know they’re the best a girl can get
They’re the best a girl can get

And it’s true
Everything’s bigger, everything’s better
Everything’s fine in Texas
You know when I’m feeling low
You know when I’m feeling low

And when I’m feeling restless
I call my friends in Texas
‘Cause you know they’re the best a girl can get
They’re the best a girl can get
When I’m feeling restless
I call my friends in Texas
‘Cause you know they’re the best a girl can get
They’re the best a girl can get

They’re in Texas, yeah
They’re in Texas
They’re the best a girl can get

(c) jillandkate.

 

***I Can’t Remember What It’s Like***

We were on tour in Sydney, Australia and I (Jill) remember walking into my hotel room, hanging the “Do Not Disturb” sign, dropping my bags and thinking “My life is strange. Awesome, but strange.” I suddenly felt like I was having an out of body experience because I couldn’t believe how weird my life was. I called Kate and told her we needed to write a song about it.

When we’re on the road, especially overseas, we start to feel so disconnected from our friends and family at home. They’re halfway around the world living a completely different life and sometimes it feels so surreal. This song is basically a letter to our friends back home…a longing for connection…and normalcy.

 

LYRICS

Closing another hotel door
Drop bags on another patterned floor
I’ve seen this city once or twice
I’m sure

It’s all about me and I’m
Missing friends and losing time
Or am I losing friends while I’m gone this time
I’m not sure

What’s it like in your 9-5
While I’m chasing skies, earning miles
Are you counting down to Saturday night?
I can’t remember what it’s like
I can’t remember what it’s like

I hang a sign that says “please come back”
While you step out on your welcome mat
If isolation has a cost I know
The price of that

But it’s all that I could ever do
To go against the grain
And if I wanted to
I’d never stop
But it can’t hurt to ask

What’s it like in your 9-5
While I’m chasing skies, earning miles
Are you counting down to Saturday night?
I can’t remember what it’s like
I can’t remember what it’s like

38,000 feet high
Flying over your life

I can’t remember what it’s like
I can’t remember what it’s like
I can’t remember what it’s like

What’s it like in your 9-5
While I’m chasing skies, earning miles
Are you counting down to Saturday night
I can’t remember what it’s like
I can’t remember what it’s like

Closing another hotel door

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***East Coast Bound***

When we first started writing music together, we spent most of our time in New England. Jill grew up there and the music school that we met at was there so we really consider it our “musical home.”

When we wrote this song, we were out in California on a tour and it had been sunny and beautiful for weeks. Not one drop of rain. Everything seemed so “big city” compared to what we were used to and we were missing the simplicity and familiarity of “home.”

Even though this is the title track to our very first album, we wanted to put it on this album too because it’s one of our favorites and was written in such a memorable time at the start of our life on the road. Oh and we also wanted to make sure that everyone knows we are Red Sox fans. 🙂

 

LYRICS

I miss familiar things
The way my home telephone rings
The sound of the Atlantic waves
And how the air smells when it rains

‘Cause in California it never rains
And sometimes it makes me wanna jump on a plane
And just fly to Boston where the weather never stays the same
Catch a Red Sox game in the rain
Hey yeah, hey yeah, hey yeah

I miss the simple life
Where the only Interstate is 95
I miss dialing 603
Knowing when i say hello
You’ll know it’s me

‘Cause in California it never rains
And sometimes it makes me wanna jump on a plane
And just fly to Boston where the weather never stays the same
Catch a Red Sox game in the rain

Hey

September and October when the leaves fall down
Knowing everybody in my hometown
I’m getting outta here and I’m East Coast Bound
Took the first flight i found

Cause in California it never rains
And sometimes it makes me wanna jump on a plane
Cause in California it never rains

And sometimes it makes me wanna jump on a plane
And just fly to Boston, fly to Boston, fly to Boston
Fly to Boston
And fly to Boston where the weather never stays the same
Catch a Red Sox game in the rain
Hey I’m East Coast Bound today
Hey yeah, Hey yeah
Hey yeah, Hey yeah

(c) jillandkate.

 

***Your Way Back***

We find that it can be easier to write a song about someone than to actually tell them how you’re feeling. Maybe it’s cowardly, but it is what it is. Sometimes a song is the only chance you have of communicating to that person. Whatever the reason, this is one of those songs.

Relationships come and go in life and some losses are harder to swallow than others. We wrote this song together, but each of us wrote about different people.

So this is a combination of our attempts at reaching out to someone who we have lost touch with in our lives and communicating that the door is always open for them to come back.

 

LYRICS

I miss you so
And you’ll never know
I was too afraid to try to show you love
To give it up
To let you know I might

Care a little
Care a lot
Hold a place for you in this stubborn heart of mine
I hide it well

And maybe you’ll never see
But you’ve got me

And do you still remember me
Your long lost friend you used to need
I’m still hoping that you might find your way back
And if you ever think of me
I hope you know that it’ll never be
Too late for you to make your way back

Are you alright
Are you getting by
Do you still laugh out loud
Like we used to ’til it made us cry
And does it spark a memory
When you hear my name does it make you miss me
You hide it well

Did you close the door
Well I’m still yours

And do you still remember me
Your long lost friend you used to need
I’m still hoping that you might find your way back
And if you ever think of me
I hope you know that it’ll never be
Too late for you to make your way back

On a downtown street
(Your favorite song on repeat)
Drinking coffee late at night
(Your favorite show on tv)
Driving your car around all around
(Do you remember me)
All around

On a downtown street
(Your favorite song on repeat)
Drinking coffee late at night
(Your favorite show on tv)
Driving your car around all around
(Do you remember me)
All around

And do you still remember me
Your long lost friend you used to need
I’m still hoping that you might find your way back
And if you ever think of me
I hope you know that it’ll never be
Too late for you to make your way back

No it’s not too late for you to make your way back
No it’s not too late for you to make your way back

(c) jillandkate.

 

 

***Tired of Being Alone***

We wrote this song with our friend Reva Williams. The title speaks for itself. You get to a moment in your life when you decide to live whole-heartedly without holding back. This song is a reflection of that moment.

 

LYRICS

I’m gonna put my heart on my sleeve
And wear it ‘til it’s all worn out
Watch everybody throw it around
Then I’ll pick it up right off the ground
I just can’t keep it in anymore

I’m gonna play my favorite song
‘Til the words don’t mean a thing
All I hear is melody
I’m gonna sing out loud
All my life I’ve been such a coward
I can’t keep it in anymore

And I’ve spent all this time in hiding
Left me spinning like a siren
Left me silent like a stone
And I’m so tired of being alone

I’m gonna wake up one of these days
And it’ll have all worked out
That life just a bad dream in the background

I’m gonna step outside
See the sun and feel alive
I just can’t keep it in anymore

And I’ve spent all this time in hiding
Left me spinning like a siren
Left me silent like a stone
And I’m so tired of being alone

Love come take me break me now
Love come take me break me now
Love come
Love come

And I’ve spent all this time in hiding
Left me spinning like a siren
Left me silent like a stone
And I’m so tired of being alone

Yeah I’m so tired of being alone

(c) jillandkate and Reva Williams.