Coming Home was released on November 26th, 2021. I wrote, performed, produced, and arranged it completely myself. The title track refers to that glorious first concert back after the global live music shutdown — for me, it was Frank Turner opening for Counting Crows!
Though you can stream and buy it anywhere you like, the best way to support me is direct from my store. For your convenience, direct Spotify and YouTube streams are below. A few other links (not exhaustive) are at my smartlink here. You can read the lyrics and song explainer blogs at the bottom of this page.
Lyrics
1. COMING HOME (song blog)
If I would have known that show was the last one
I would have danced like there was no tomorrow
I said that I’d see you next week but wouldn’t see you for 18 months
I wish I could go back and tell myself to smile
Because the good old days are here and now
There were times when I thought
That I was never gonna see you again
I can’t believe this day is finally here
Feels like I’m coming home
And there’s nowhere in the world that I would rather be but home
Feels like I’m coming home
An honest song on a stage, body heat on my shoulder
These are some of the things that make my life worthwhile
Some say that it’s not essential but for us it’s worth more than gold
And if we’re fading away then let’s do it in style
Because we finally got our passion back
There’s nowhere else in the world
Where you can feel a connection like this
And now that it’s back, we’re never gonna let it go
It’s not the end of everything we’ve ever loved
This song is gonna live to be sung another day
2. COME BACK AROUND (song blog)
I’m swinging on a swingset like a little kid
Soaring through the air
A plane goes by, my mind goes wandering
I dream of anywhere
In four short months I’ll be up there
Soaring high above the ocean
And my whole life’s up in the air
And every option’s open
I’ve waited my whole damn life to be up there
My whole damn life, for it to come back around
I’ll be walking through the streets of the city once again
Smile at everyone
I know I’m never gonna regret
A day I spent out and having fun
And someday this will be a distant memory
And I’ll have all I ever wanted in my hands
In four short months I’ll be up there
In four short months, it’s gonna come back around
3. BRONZE (song blog)
I remember the first time I realized
That anyone could play at this game
And maybe it wasn’t so hard
To achieve every one of my dreams
But I’ve come up against too many obstacles to count
And every day it just seems harder but I’ve figured out
That I can be happy with the bronze
I can be happy with so much less
I’m lucky to be in this game at all
Feeling like this song is my life purpose
I can be happy with the bronze, I can be happy with the bronze
I remember a time I thought
That every step in this journey would be fun
And it would never have to feel like work
As long as you were doing what you love
But it’s a slog just to get by
When you don’t know if you’ll ever be great
But you can still be happy
If you just accept your fate
There are feats that are nearly impossible
For a normal person like me to complete
I won’t ever win a Grammy
And I won’t ever be Paul McCartney
I will never be the best
So now my only goal is to sacrifice everything I have
Just to do what I love for a living
I know it was never gonna be easy
But at least I’m not dreaming about winning the Olympics
4. YOU COULD DO ANYTHING (song blog)
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
5. RUNNING ON EMPTY (song blog)
Sometimes this whole thing
Feels like I’ve gone on a road trip
Without the resources
That I actually need to make it to my destination
Still don’t know if I’ve got what it takes
But I feel like whatever I can give I already gave
And I don’t know how much farther I can go
Running on empty
But I won’t give up until the engine blows
I don’t even know if I mind where I end up
When I reach that time
I’ve heard it said that it’s about the journey
And that just might be
And I know I’ve always wanted to get there
But wherever I stop
At least I got to feel the wind in my hair
I’ve already made it so much farther
Than I ever dreamed in my early days
You never know until you try
That little tank might just make it all the way
6. I DON’T LOVE SONGS (song blog)
The scent of beer-soaked pine makes me think of live music
Makes me think of a world of friends and the best days of my life
Makes me think of my inner power and of knowing how to use it
And of calming meditations and dreams bursting from inside
Music’s made me fall in love with everything
Again and again and again
It used to be my reminder that I was alive
But I don’t love songs anymore
I only like them now
And I don’t dream of open doors
Because I only wear them out
And I’ve always wondered how common it was
To get sick to your stomach
At that perfect mix of passion and purpose and harmony and rhyme
Because it happened to me all the time
It happened to me all the time
I’m not so happy with how these past few months have been going
But I’m not gonna lose my mind because I’ve felt like this before
It’s all gonna be okay because there’s a comfort in the knowing
That there’s always an ebb and a flow but I always come back for more
Music’s made me fall in love with everything
Again and again and again
And when it comes back around then I’ll come back to life
7. SEEING STARS (song blog)
You could see them in my eyes
In every old picture
Mirroring the night skies
A timeless, boundless fixture
And when I’d get my wish
I’d stay content for all of time
Though they say everything dies
Seeing stars, I was seeing stars
They told me to give up
Those lights were getting dimmer
I started to get stuck
They all knew I’d never be a winner
But nothing’s ever certain
So why can’t we just keep trying?
And everything might be all right