Gerard O'Riley

This is meant to be a fun song. I was trying to live a bit vicariously through those olden days of Elvis maybe, and figured I'd write one fun and upbeat. I think lyrically it's decent, though, while the chorus is mainly just built on a phrase. The idea is that the "Gonna send it to you" is a separate vocal after suggesting what's being sent, so it doesn't break the flow of the song. Plus, it sounds better with the slight overlap.

This one started with the chorus, which is built on melodic alliteration. So it might be a bit tougher to grasp through just reading it. Though I think it stands up very well as a complete song. I tried to write verses that weren't just derivative nonsense leading into a stronger chorus; I think it holds equal weight throughout for what it is. Just note that "every" is phonetically "Ev-ree," and I think you can piece it together.

A few years ago when I was going through a period of being single and drinking heavily, I had one of those moments where I started reflecting back on previous women, and this is what came about. Not too sure how much it means to me on a personal level, other than to say this is the sort of stuff that ends up pouring out, good, bad or indifferent.

Not all that glitters is gold.... sometimes it's silver. Perfection isn't real, but suicide is.

My second ever contest win. Wrote this back in the late '90s. My cousin's wife was dying, and there was just something in his eyes that I couldn't explain. A sort of hollowness. This song is written from a woman's perspective (because I wrote it for a female to sing) whose husband is dying in front of her eyes, and the emotions are ripping her apart. Though, it's every bit as much about the sorrow she feels for him being without her, and life in general, as much as her being without him. The second part of the second chorus really explodes as a powerhouse vocalization of pain and angst. I rarely toot my own horn, but singing this back, I can see why it won a contest. It's quite the powerful song, yet simplistic in language and composition. I've always imagined a single piano, maybe an acoustic six string to start, with violins coming in on the 2nd part of the first verse, and full-on band for the chorus.