Stories

Welcome to the second part of my 2storeytreat series 😀

(Tonight You Are) My Star

Three lane highways
And the road to your house is dark
I’m driving slowly
I’m reaching your front gate

The stars are shining brightly, I hope this night goes well

I don’t know what you’re thinking
But i saw you smile
When you hopped in the car
Tonight you are my star

You dressed up for me
Oh you dressed up so nicely
I know this, I do
I noticed, I noticed you

The stars are shining brightly, I hope this night goes well

I don’t know what you’re thinking
But I saw you smile
When I told you
“You look amazing tonight”

The street lamps
(They aren’t turned on tonight)
Fire works
(Illuminate the night)
You hold
(My gaze and all my thoughts)
In those
(Beautiful shining eyes)

Tonight..tonight..tonight
You look amazing tonight

This song was written (surprisingly) after I broke up with my girlfriend- even though its about the night we got together. And it isn’t a sad song! When I play this song live I usually mention ‘this song is about the best date I had’. The song starts off with me driving to her place to pick her up (three lane highways..) and me thinking about what she would say if I asked her to be my girlfriend (I hope this night goes well). The chorus and second verse is basically about how beautiful she was that night out, and how she felt like a star to me.

The bit about the fireworks refers to the night when we got together, we drove out into the city and for some strange reason there were fireworks going on. It wasn’t a special holiday or anything, so to me it was like the city was celebrating us getting together. haha! Corny? Yeah, but wasn’t everyone with their first girlfriend? Anyway, when we were on speaking terms after we broke up, she told me I should have written the song sooner and then we laughed about it.

So, I promised all you 2sh fans (all 3 of you :P) a treat, and here it is. Over the next few days or weeks, I’ll be posting the lyrics of my songs that will be on my upcoming EP. In addition to the lyrics, I will also be writing about the songs- the stories behind them, and what they mean etc. I know I don’t talk alot during my gigs (that’s a skill I need to work on- interacting with the crowd), so if you’ve been dying to find out what a song is about, this will be your chance 🙂

I’ve checked out a couple of studios, and gonna check out another one next week, and make my decision about where to record the EP. I want to finish recording the EP by the end of March, and then work on the designing/packaging after that. So today, I will be posting the lyrics to Paperback Romance.

Paperback Romance

I can’t dance, though I’d love to dance with you
Melt in your eyes, as I mirror the way you move
Till the end, till the song starts to fade
Envelope you in my arms where I’d like you to stay

I’m not as smooth, as the slender curve of your back
I’m quiet and shy, maybe you like boys like that
I’m a hopeless romantic, I’m a wishful thinker
You’re the reason why my heart beats faster

And I’ll wear my heart on my sleeve
Just for you to see, for you to believe
Me when I tell you, when I tell you
I meant every word, every word I said

I know I can’t write lines to make you smile
But I can try, or fail trying- with style!
I don’t know what you want, or what you need
So I’m trying the locks with all of my keys

Who knows if goodbye lasts forever?
But I do know this fire inside of me,
Won’t burn out, it won’t burn out
Anytime soon

What can I say about this song? I started the song a long time ago when TJ was telling me that he wanted to learn how to salsa (I think it was cos the girl he liked loved doing salsa). Thats how the line ‘I can’t dance, though I’d love to dance with you’ came about.

I didn’t do much with that line till awhile later when I was getting into the groove of songwriting that I decided to do something with that line. I was going after a girl at that time and I didn’t know how to tell her, and so I decided to write the song for the job. Sad thing is, she didn’t get to hear the song when I had a rough version of it- she hooked up with someone else while I was idling. (this is the story of George, Raelene, Win Yew and Samantha btw, if you’ve heard it, you’ll get it haha). I managed to finish it for Raelene, and she wasn’t too impressed with it (haha).

Basically the song lyrics are pretty straightforward and easy to understand- a hopeless guy trying to be smooth as he can, confessing his love to the girl he likes. The only abstract part of the song would be the bridge ‘who knows if goodbye lasts forever..’- basically its about saying goodbye after I dropped her home, and me thinking to myself ‘did I screw up? will I get a next date?’. And ‘the fire inside’ not burning out is me not giving up hope we’d get together.

This song was orginally called ‘3 syllables maimed a heart’- the 3 syllables referring to Sa-man-tha (haha) cos she got together with Win Yew. I only renamed it to Paperback Romance around last year when I recorded the song with James for Silence! The Avenger. This is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written, mainly because of the line ‘I’m not as smooth as the slender curve of your back’. I haven’t been able to write another poetic-yet-not-cheesy line of that caliber recently.

So Hani and Ferhan, here are the lyrics for you guys to sing along at the next gig!