The emotions in these tracks are just so beautifully expressed. It is no wonder that I find myself coming back to Lisa Ritchie’s music again and again. I am impressed and blown away over and over again.

I don’t think I need to preface my oft crazy and scattered thoughts anymore, I am not looking to decipher anything merely relaying what thoughts came to mind as I studied each track.

Falling For You

“Taking my time as I sort through these thoughts

It had seemed black and white

But I'm finding it's not

Is it true - am I falling you for you?

I’ve been thinking too much, as I lay here awake.

Wondering if you’re still up,, and if we’re on the same page.

Because through and though, I can’t stop falling for you

I laugh too loudly at your jokes,

My hands shake when I sit too close,

I’ve tried to keep it hidden, but they all can see, what you mean to me.

I bite off more than I can chew

I talk too much and speak too soon

And here I am, spilling out every thought I’ve had, the good the bad,

the proof,

That I’ve been falling for you.

Taking these turns, like I knew what I'd find,

I had hoped it’d feel wrong, I'm more scared it feels right

Now it's true - I've been falling for you

I laugh too loudly at your jokes,

My hands shake when I sit too close,

I’ve tried to keep it hidden, but they all can see, what you mean to me.

And words and songs are all I've got,

it's not nearly enough but God,

it's honestly the only thing I have to show you so you know

The truth

I have fallen for you.”

This could just be my experience but I feel that when talking about love people seem to talk about it as if it's an either or experience. If you break up with someone they may say things to the effect of “well you weren’t really in love” or they “didn’t really care about you” or “you were simply in love with the idea of” or any number of other ridiculous stuff. They often paint love as something that must be unequivocal and clear cut. I haven’t found that to be true.

There are varying degrees of love; when you are in “love” with someone it is a constantly evolving experience for both parties involved or at least I feel that it should be. I am not saying I have this magnificent grasp on exactly how it works I just simply don’t believe that just because a relationship doesn’t work with someone that it means it wasn’t real or that you weren’t truly in love and didn’t care deeply about each other. Of course sometimes it could mean that there is no definitive answer that works every time. Not only because love is complex; people are also complicated creatures.

Back to what I mentioned about degrees of love; which I also feel vary and while it is probably obvious it can apply to relationships that aren’t romantic in nature as well, it starts at differing points and leads to differing points as well. I have seen love progress to a point where you are so connected with someone you can connect without even speaking. This may sound ridiculous to some; however, I think you can get to a point where even when you sit in silence it's as if your hearts are having their own conversation. Not to say this is the pinnacle; as I don’t know that there is one.

Another thing this track brought to my mind is the many ways love can be expressed. There is the line “I’ve tried to keep it hidden…” it certainly can be written all over your face but it could also be subtle. It could come out in a creative outlet or be something that you express only to your closest confidants. How it is expressed doesn’t denote the intensity of what you are feeling, merely that you are expressing it in your own way. I know I have said this many times but it's just as true every single time I say it; love is perplexing. You cannot pin it down or lay out a perfect definition of exactly what it means or what it looks like. This is why authors, musicians, and poets have spent millenia after millenia speaking on it. I don’t think that at least most of them are trying to understand it as much as they are striving to express what it means to them and how it makes them feel. This is done in hopes that perhaps they can help someone else understand some certain aspect of what love means for themselves.

Still too soon to

_

catch the whole view

_

I’m not quite the same..

_

Still too soon to _ catch the whole view _ I’m not quite the same.. _

Write It Down

I cannot believe I have waited this long to dive into this track. It is so meticulously crafted and far more substantial than so many other songs out there that I hear. There is much being said here and it's saying it in such an authentic manner.

“I’m not afraid to admit I’m wrong,

I’m not afraid to admit I’m wrong

Like you thought I would be

Like you wanted so it seemed

I’m not afraid to fall apart,

I’m not alive without these scars,

Like you thought I would be,

Like you wanted so it seemed”

Placing blame is often where songs go when it comes to the subject of breakups. Instead here there is an acknowledgment that after it has all been said and done who said and did what doesn’t really matter. Regardless of who did what you must work through it and deal with the pain and the difficulty all the same. It is important to process it, to learn from it and move on.

“I’m not afraid to find your things

Tucked in between the cushion seats

Their only worth the memories

moments that made up you and me

But I’m still afraid to write it out,

Every word from the last round,

Cutting remarks inside my head,

All of the things, I should’ve said”

You can check out the Expectations EP here

There is no hiding from it as much as you may want to and there must certainly have been good things that you want to remember in spite of how things may have ended. This ending part here isn’t placing the blame but it is giving some insight about what seems to have ended things. “Every word from the last round, cutting remarks inside my head.” I would assume there was a fight whether it was the first one or one of many as the song is saying it doesn’t matter. Things were said and perhaps even more things weren’t said “All of the things, I should’ve said.” You often don’t think of everything you want to in the moment; emotions are high and there is much to process. Writing it down is a way to say the things that you didn’t get to say in the moment.

“I’m not afraid to hear our song,

playing aloud I sing along,

thinking about the late night drives

driving around just to waste the time

But I’m still afraid to write it out,

Every word from the last round

Cutting remarks inside my head.

All of the things you should’ve said

And every word has held me down:

I’m not trying to place the blame,

I’m not trying to set the side,

I just need to find a way,

That I can get you out my mind.

I’m not trying to call you out,

I don’t care who’s wrong or right,

I just need to write it down

so I can get you out my mind.

I can get you out my mind

Tonight

Still too soon to, catch the whole view, I’m not quite the same..”

I thoroughly enjoy all the honesty; it’s agonizing and you can feel it. “I’m not afraid to hear our song…” “But I’m still afraid to write it out…” “All of the things I should have said and every word has held me down.” That is such a compelling line and it perfectly expresses what it is like when something is occupying your thoughts so intensely you feel like you cannot do anything else until you deal with it. I can certainly empathize with this type of feeling.

In case this happens to be the first time you’ve read one of my posts about Lisa’s music you can check more music here.

Falling