I’m currently (somewhat belatedly) showcasing each track from my latest album Coming Home in a “behind the song” blog series. I hope some listeners find it interesting or helpful. “You Could Do Anything” is the fourth track. For convenience, the lyrics and YouTube & Spotify streams are at the bottom of this post.
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I actually finished this song a year or more before I released it. It was another one that either didn’t fit into the theme of a release, or I just wasn’t sure how much I liked it. Honestly, I liked the lyrics because they were very relevant to my life, but wasn’t sure the music was compelling. I thought it was another one of those songs that only I would appreciate because it was so idiosyncratic to me. However, I got better feedback than I expected, including from one of my worst critics, my sister, who got emotional over how relatable she found it! It turns out I can never predict how my songs will be received, no matter how much experience I get.
This was one of those songs that took a while to write because I was trying so hard to get it right. Most of the words came pretty easy, but I tweaked them from the first draft all the way up until recording. I think I’m satisfied with the final result! I suppose my favorite part is the bridge, plus the way the verses are 100% true. My dad has literally been telling me to become an author and buy him a yacht with my bestseller money since I was 8 years old, when I used to write stories for fun. I grew out of that, but unfortunately my dad never grew out of his dream for me. I guess I should just be flattered he thinks I’m that much of a world-class writer, when I think it’s pretty clear by now that I’m not, haha.
Music wise, the first melody I wrote was quite boring, so I went in and shifted notes up here and there, and I guess I’m sometimes surprised how effective those little tweaks can be. I did the same with the strumming pattern, which I tried to make slightly more varied than the Old Faithful and I think I succeeded at that, at least.
I made this one of the more “produced” tracks on this release, although I’m not sure how much any of them can really be labeled that way. I added some pretty little electric chords and riffs (which still often just sound like keys no matter what I do) along with a bit of power chords and percussion just to make my genre more confusing. Nah, just because I liked all of it.
I’m not gonna lie. I just went and listened to this track myself, and it’s pretty good! Probably one of my favorites. I might have underestimated it, as I often do with my songs…
LYRICS
My dad always told me to be an author
He said I’d get so rich I could buy him a yacht
But is it really easier to pen a bestseller
Than make a living wage if I give this everything I’ve got?
My mom was more patient, she’d just say…
You could do so many things
You could do anything
What do you want to do?
I always had a knack for numbers
So if it was just money
I would have been an engineer or a CPA
But it’s hard to find the space inside my mind
For those numbers
When I’m writing a song in my head every minute of the day
Everybody’s always getting at
Some different way that I should be
But I’m not here to please anyone
I’m only here for me
And the more this life disappoints
The more certainty that I seem to find
This is what I want the most, by a catastrophic landslide
You could do so many things, you could do anything
And this is such a simple thing
Might never lead to anything
But it’s all I ever wanted to do