1. |
Glen Raphael - Dear Me
02:22
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Dear me, here's a letter
I've been thinking you could do better
With a little help from me
Buy Apple, and hold it
When you've got a good hand don't fold it
Try to be kind to people you see
But don't you step on a butterfly
unless you should
A careless move could end this world
Don't want to be
misunderstood
Buy Apple, and hold it
you can underline that and bold it!
Maybe grab an internet domain or three
I'm learning how time works
But I don't want us to be jerks
So you shouldn't sell until you're me
We could try to talk about love
I don't know a lot
Maybe you could write me back and tell me what I've forgot
I've published; I've dated
But the wisdom of old is overrated
I don't want to seal you up in a box
If changes could matter
This letter might cause reality to shatter
We'd have a temporal paradox
<instrumental break>
There are ways that you could do better
But I'm asking you to disregard this letter
And just be yourself
Your original self
Just be yourself
Sincerely, me
P.S.: Buy Apple!
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2. |
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All The Way Up
Brian, listen, I am writing you this letter
Cuz reminiscing I think life coulda been better
I mean, don’t worry, things are going fine
But let’s interrogate the storyline
You go to school, you’re good at writing papers
But look at all the stuff you’re putting off for later
You’re a musician with pernicious inhibition
You’re just wondering and wishing but I’m asking you to listen:
Don’t let anybody stand in your way
Least of all yourself, least of all today
Listen don’t let anybody turn your spirit down
You gotta amplify the sound, yeah turn it all the waaaay up
I’m sorry if I’m coming down a little strong here,
But 2017 has kinda been a long year,
I think about you, all the things you won’t do,
Instead of living in fear I wanna help you break through
But you middle class white boys thriving in the nineties
Are bound for the white noise of existential crises
You need a mission not yr parent’s permission
So forgive the repetition but I’m asking you to listen:
Chorus
If I had a time machine I’d bring you here to 2017,
And show you everything will turn out fine, just fine
Yeah if I had a time machine, I’d take you back to when we were fifteen,
And turn you loose to redesign, to realign,
to redefine, I'd go back in time to redesign it all
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3. |
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Dear Me at 15...
I know you don't want to hear this, I remember how I used to be
Advice from someone older, on what they think you'll need
but I'm here to tell you, I've done it all before
and if there's anything I've learned it's there's always something more
You're gonna look around and wonder
"Just where to I belong?"
You're gonna try a lot of places
You're gonna get it wrong
But they're just stops you have to make
so be brave and see it through
and know that there's a place out there for you
The boy you'll cry over in college
The one you'll follow out West
The who'll teach you 3 chords
The one who'll think he knows best
They're just stops you have to make
so be brave and see it through
and know that there's someone out there for you
When you're feeling small, and unheard
Try and remember, these words
There will be a lot of joy
A lot of sadness in between
Plenty of second guessing while you wear your heart out on your sleeve
But they're just risks you have to take
so be brave and see it through
and know that there is room out there for you
know that there is room out there for you
Love me,
From 2017
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4. |
Jerkatorium - Steady On
03:30
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Dear me, I'm writing to inform you
your troubles will work out to be ok, today
Hear me, not fighting to reform you and
for the rules I think you should obey, okay?
Steady on
You gotta keep on fighting don't look down
Steady on
to the horizon
Steady on
Those high school pricks will try to grind you down
Steady on
You'll rise above them
Hey me, we know that this note finds you
all full of doubt, angsty and emo, ya know?
Yay me, although that's now behind you there's
a full amount of nasty stuff to go, and so
Steady on
You gotta keep on fighting don't look down
Steady on
to the horizon
Steady on
Those high school pricks will try to grind you down
Steady on
You'll rise above them
Everything is gonna be all right
Everything is gonna be all right
Things seem pretty bleak right now
but everything works out somehow
Yeah everything is gonna be all right
Steady on
You gotta keep on fighting don't look down
Steady on
to the horizon
Steady on
Those high school pricks will try to grind you down
Steady on
You'll rise above them
Steady on
You gotta keep on fighting don't look down
Steady on
to the horizon
Steady on
Those high school pricks will try to grind you down
Steady on
You'll rise above them
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5. |
Sara Parsons - Better
04:36
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Hey,
Before I say what there is to say,
It's gonna be OK
He
Wasn't all that we made him to be,
But now he's what you need
Please take this letter as a sign
You wish you were better, but just give it time
She
Will make your mind all foggy and blurred
But you'll get over her
They
Will find your heart torn open in fear
And they're still here
I wrote this letter as a sign
You need to get better, but just give it time
To breathe...
Stop and smell the roses
And sip a little wine
Hold yourself the closest
And always speak your mind
Never go out searching, cuz trouble always finds a way
You're getting better, day by day...
You
Have all you need, it's wrapped up inside
But it's OK to cry
We
Have seen the edge, we've been to the brink
We're stronger than you think
I hope that you'll read this as your sign
You're gonna get better, but just give it time
To breathe, and please...
Stop and smell those roses
And you can try wine
Know that what's the closest
Isn't always worth your time
Call off all your searches, cuz trouble's gonna find you anyway
But you're still better, day by day...
I
I'm doing fine, but I don't know why
I'm still afraid to cry
I love you, and goodbye
Sincerely, you and I
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6. |
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Dear “Fifteen-Year-Old-Me” . . .
YOU MADE IT THROUGH
MIDDLE SCHOOL.
CONGRATULATIONS.
THE WORST IS
BEHIND YOU NOW.
IT GETS BETTER FROM HERE.
THERE’S SO MUCH
AHEAD OF YOU.
SO MUCH TO EXPLORE . . .
What the fuck are you doing?
What?
What are you doing?
I’m writing a letter to “me-at-fifteen.”
Why?
It’s fun.
It’s stupid . . .
It is not . . .
Yeah it is . . .
Why is it stupid?
Well, right off the top of my head?
Uhhh . . . you’ll never get it?
“Fifteen-Year-Old-You” will never get it!
I know I’ll never get it --
it’s just a creative writing assignment.
No, see . . . that might make sense
if it was “Fifteen-Year-Old-You”
writing to “Almost-Forty-Three-
Year-Old-You.” That might be
worth something. This is just dumb.
Fine. I’m aware of your opinion.
But I’m doing this, so . . . okay?
Whatever . . .
SO MUCH TO EXPLORE . . .
THE THINGS THAT YOU’LL WRITE!
THE THINGS YOU’LL DO!
THE THINGS THAT YOU’LL LEARN
THAT MAKE YOU YOU!
THE TIME WITH YOUR FRIENDS . . .
What the hell --
are you writing a fucking musical?!
What?
What the hell is this?
It’s a first draft.
It’s a pile of crap.
It is not!
Please --
Bo Burnham would hand you your ass.
Shut up!
You want a better start to your song?
Try this:
“Dear Fifteen-Year-Old-Me”
IT’S THE YEAR
TWENTY-SEVENTEEN,
AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW
THAT THEY STILL HAVEN’T
gotten around to inventing time travel
so you’re never going to get
this stupid letter . . .
Okay, that’s enough. Just stop.
Why? Are you done being stupid?
No! I’m not being stupid!
It’s just a creative writing exercise!
Who cares if I’ll never actually get it . . .
It’s fun to imagine fifteen-year-old-me
reading it.
So this is just an act of imagination.
Yeah.
Like a parallel universe.
Maybe.
Where time-traveling letters are axiomatic?
All right . . .
No, no, it’s okay, I can work with that.
Let’s try that letter again.
“Dear Self” . . .
I KNOW EV’RYTHING ABOUT YOU.
BECAUSE I AM YOU . . .
Okay . . .
I KNOW WHEN YOU
WERE FIFTEEN
YOU HADN’T HAD
THIS THOUGHT YET.
BUT IF IT GETS INVENTED,
DON’T LET THEM
TELEPORT YOU.
‘CAUSE ON THAT END
THEY’LL CREATE YOU,
BUT ON THIS END
IT WILL KILL YOU.
AND THAT GUY WILL GO OFF.
HE’LL THINK YOUR THOUGHTS.
HE’LL HAVE YOUR
MEMORIES AND BRAIN.
HE’LL LIVE YOUR LIFE.
HE’LL LOOK JUST LIKE YOU.
WHILE ON YOUR END,
YOU’LL BE DEAD.
HE’LL LIVE YOUR LIFE.
HE’LL MEET YOUR FRIENDS.
HE’LL FUCK YOUR WIFE;
ENJOY HER BLOWJOBS . . .
Okay hold it -- hold it!
Why are you telling this
to a fifteen-year-old?
Oh, sorry -- no.
That letter wasn’t to him.
That letter was to you.
What?
Yeah.
Why?
‘Cause I’m trying to save your life.
What?!
(Our life . . .)
What are you talking about?
Well -- in a world where
time-traveling letters exist,
it’s real easy for an idiot like you
to kill yourself, or . . . wink yourself
out of existence, or kill off
your timeline or something.
What?!
Okay -- here. Imagine this:
I JUST GOT A LETTER.
IT CAME FROM THE FUTURE
WHEN I’M IN MY FORTIES.
I READ IT THIS MORNING.
IT SAYS THAT I’M AWESOME.
THE WORST IS BEHIND ME.
I’M SUCH A GOOD PERSON!
MY LIFE IS FANTASTIC!
SO I’M GONNA COAST NOW.
I’M JUST GONNA FAKE IT,
SECURE IN THE KNOWLEDGE
THAT I’M GONNA MAKE IT.
AND THIRTY YEARS LATER,
YOU WON’T RECOGNIZE ME,
‘CAUSE I’LL BE A DOUCHEBAG,
and you won’t exist any more . . .
Why do you have to be like this?
Change something in the past,
you create a new timeline,
which might mean the end
of your timeline.
You know you’ve taken
all the fun out of this . . .
All the fun out of what?
Your self-indulgent, masturbatory
gedanken experiment? Was this
just for you, or were you going to
share this sad little song with others?
Maybe . . .
Oh! This just gets better and better!
What makes you think that people
would want to listen to some showtune
where a guy performs the meaningless
act of dispensing vacuous wisdom
across three decades to a younger
version of himself whose future is now
already predetermined? I mean, the
least you could do is respect everyone’s
time and just distill your life into a
mercifully brief haiku:
I’ve built my whole life
on advantages I won
in a lottery.
You’re an ass.
Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
If you want to share your
reflections on your life with
a wider audience, at least
make it something meaningful
and resonant.
Can we just stop now?
No. You started this -- let’s do it.
Here’s the song you should write . . .
WHEN YOU’RE THIRTY-FOUR
YOU’LL DO SOME STUPID SHIT
AND SPRAIN YOUR ANKLE.
AND THEN YOU’LL
QUICKLY LEARN
YOUR ARMS HAVE MUSCLES
THAT YOU NEVER KNEW
WERE THERE.
AND FOR TWO WEEKS
ON YOUR CRUTCHES,
YOU’LL NO LONGER
BE AS ABLE
AS YOU WERE.
AND YOU’LL GET A
TINY GLIMPSE OF
WHAT A PERSON
WHO’S DISABLED MUST
ENDURE.
BUT THE OTHER
NINETY-NINE-POINT-NINE
PERCENT OF YOUR EXISTENCE,
YOU WON’T HAVE TO THINK
ABOUT THESE THINGS
AT ALL . . .
YOU’RE SO LUCKY . . .
WHEN YOU’RE TWENTY-FIVE
YOU’LL JUST BE STARTING OUT.
A BRAND-NEW TEACHER.
AND YOU’LL BE
UNDERPAID.
AND YOUR FIRST PAYCHECKS
WON’T BE QUITE ENOUGH
TO SPARE.
AND FOR FOUR WEEKS
BUYING GROCERIES,
YOU’LL DEBATE HOW
MANY ITEMS
YOU CAN TAKE.
AND YOU’LL GET A
TINY SENSE OF
THE DECISIONS
THOSE IN POVERTY
MUST MAKE.
BUT THE OTHER
NINETY-NINE-POINT-EIGHT
PERCENT OF YOUR EXISTENCE,
YOU WON’T HAVE TO COUNT
YOUR POCKET CHANGE
AT ALL . . .
YOU’RE SO LUCKY . . .
‘CAUSE YOU DIDN’T CHOOSE
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
YOU DIDN’T CHOOSE
YOUR HOME.
YOU DIDN’T CHOOSE
YOUR PARENTS
OR YOUR FAM’LY.
SO THE THINGS YOU’VE BEEN
AFFORDED BY
YOUR FAM’LY
AND YOUR HOME
WERE KIND OF RANDOM . . .
LIKE A LOTTERY . . .
TO SEE HOW MUCH
FOOD YOU GET.
TO SEE HOW MUCH
LOVE YOU GET.
TO SEE HOW MUCH
ACCESS TO BOOKS,
MUSIC, ART,
EDUCATION,
OR SPORTS YOU GET.
TO SEE IF YOUR
STREETS WILL BE SAFE
OR YOUR HOME WILL BE SAFE
OR YOUR AIR WILL BE SAFE
OR YOUR WATER IS SAFE
OR YOUR COUNTRY IS SAFE
OR YOUR FAM’LY IS SAFE . . .
OR IF YOU
GET TO TRAVEL . . .
OR SEE DOCTORS
AND DENTISTS . . .
OR SPEAK MORE THAN
ONE LANGUAGE . . .
OR YOU GROW UP
WITH LOVE . . .
WHEN YOU’RE FIRST CONCEIVED,
A LOT OF WHO YOU’LL BE
IS PREDETERMINED.
AND FROM THE
DAY YOU’RE BORN,
YOUR LIFE GETS SHAPED BY
FORCES OUT OF YOUR
CONTROL.
AND FOR THOSE WHO
HIT THE JACKPOT,
YOU CAN LIVE YOUR
LIFE LIKE NOTHING’S
OUT OF PLACE.
YOU’LL JUST SOMETIMES
GET AN INKLING
OF WHAT THOSE WHO
WEREN’T AS LUCKY
HAVE TO FACE.
BUT THE OTHER
NINETY-NINE-POINT-SOME
PERCENT OF YOUR EXISTENCE,
YOU WON’T THINK ABOUT
THIS LOTTERY
AT ALL . . .
LIKE BEING TALL . . .
OR BEING HALE . . .
OR BEING WHITE . . .
OR BEING MALE . . .
OR BEING STRAIGHT . . .
FUCKING. LUCKY.
So whatever, dude.
I’ve said my piece.
Do what you’re gonna do . . .
< sigh >
YOU MADE IT THROUGH
MIDDLE SCHOOL.
CONGRATULATIONS.
THE WORST IS
BEHIND YOU NOW.
Yeah, okay, this is fuckin’ stupid . . .
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7. |
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Good morning
7AM again
You're going back to school
With all your fake fucking friends
They don't wait for you
But you take it on the chin
So button up your ill-fitting shirt and let your Green Day albums carry you in
I'm writing now to tell you that you're still only 15
You're only getting started and there's much more you can be
You're not something to walk on and you are not alone
It's all gonna be OK when you get back home
And when they push you
And when they call you names
Don't go blaming yourself
You're perfectly OK
It's OK to be angry
Your anger's justified
It's only gonna make you stronger with the passage of time
I'm writing now to tell you that you're still only 15
You're only getting started and there's much more you can be
You're not something to walk on and you are not alone
It's all gonna be ok when you get back home
And when you dress up
Question your sanity
Asking yourself
What's fucking wrong with me
It's just the first step
To the woman you want to be
Do you remember
You've seen her in a dream
I want you to know
That dream it does come true
If you could see me now
You'd never believe it's you
I'm writing now to tell you that you're still only 15
And everything is changing here in 2017
And though there will be laughing and though there will be names
I need you to believe that you're gonna be OK
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8. |
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Time travel is a tricky sort of anxious hell
Trying not to make the universe fold in on itself
So I would really love to save you some heartache
But you and I know you make your own mistakes
At fifteen you know everything like most teenagers in time
So I know a futile fight but I guess I should still try
Don't waste all your time trying to be perfect
But even so, know good enough
Isn't always good enough
You should try a little harder
The world does not revolve around you
Happiness is mostly temporary circumstance
And you never will shake off your curse for games of chance
But you will find your love a little later than you'd hoped
Stick with the music In the meantime it helps you cope
She'll save your life and you'll start to resemble
Who you were always trying to be
And of course you're going to make a few mistakes
But I'll leave it how it happened because I think that's what it takes
Don't waste all your time trying to be perfect
But even so, know good enough
Isn't always good enough
You should try a little harder
The world does not revolve around you
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9. |
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Your mom's gonna give you $10 to let you pick out one cassette
This time when your hand goes for 'Hyesteria', put it back and buy Document
Don't worry about blowin' your first paycheck
On 45s and bleached pants
You still got that new order single,
Even though you never dance.
Don't let mom and dad sell all your vinyl
Keep your cassettes in that wooden box you built!
The time is gonna come when you'll wanna hear a song
on wax, the way that god intended it.
Don't let mom and dad sell all your vinyl
Keep your cassettes in that wooden box you built!
The time is gonna come when you'll wanna hear a song
on wax, the way god intended it.
You're gonna feel bad about the record club,
10 CDs for just one penny.
Too good a deal for a kid without any.
That fine print suckers in so many.
Guess what kid? It ends up ok.
You still got a few of them left
Camper Van Beethoven, Husker Du,
And the Replacements
And the Best of the Grateful Dead
Don't let your mom and dad sell all your vinyl
Keep your cassettes in that wooden box you built!
The time's gonna come when you'll wanna hear a song
on wax.....
on wax.....
on wax...... the way god intended...... it.
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10. |
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Hey Fifteen, this is Twenty-Five, checking in
to let you know how you've been
Things are cool, you got that job right out of school
all in all, it's all a win
But hey, gotta warn ya, when you get to California
you're gonna meet this girl who's like a curse
At first it's fun, but she'll cut your friends out one by one
and after that it just gets worse
Don't sweat it man, I've got your back, we've got a plan
you'll listen to me if you're smart
Stay out of Alameda, that way you'll never meet her, and
she'll find some other guy to tear apart
Hindsight is 20-20
that's what all the people say
If what it takes is cleaning up this one mistake
then it's gonna be ok
This is Thirty-Five, don't even listen to that guy
that girl is the best thing in your life
You were a jerk, but you patched it up and made it work
pretty soon she'll be your wife
But listen man, stop playing in that band
you gotta buckle down and make some dough
Put that guitar away, it's never gonna pay
and buy some Enron stock, it's gonna grow
and grow
Hindsight is 20-20
that's what all the people say
If what it takes is fixing one or two mistakes
then it's gonna be ok
For fuck's sake don't buy Enron
that's one thing I know at Forty-Five
The marriage was a joke, she cleaned me out and left me broke
now music's all that's keeping me alive
Fifty-Five has come around, I'm so glad I found
the one I should've been with from the start
But if I'd never been through all I've been through
I wouldn't be the man who won her heart
It might be nice, if I could give you some advice
but Fifteen, you don't need it anyhow
Just believe me, you're gonna wanna see
this fifteen-year-old kid I'm raising now
Hindsight ain't 20-20
don't care what the people say
It's gonna take at least a hundred more mistakes
Go ahead and do it, just gotta struggle through it
in the end I know it's gonna be, it's gonna be ok
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11. |
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Please bear in mind,
I promise you won't go blind
And your hands will not grow hair.
I wrote this note to you, a teen.
From you, two thousand seventeen
Your future self has this advice to share.
The fears, the stress, the loneliness,
The lack of friends but zit excess.
Listen to what I say to you: it'll get better.
Not giving a damn about being cool
Makes you untouchable in school
This is what I say to you in this letter
To my teen self.
Technically unethical:
But what you invest in Staar Surgical
In a week will grow eight hundred percent.
Sure, money can't buy you happiness
But your poor happy-self must profess
He would rather be rich and just a bit despondent.
The hopelessness of a bad address,
the endless distress of no romance,
Listen to what I say to you: it'll get better.
Stand up to the bullies no matter the size
'Tis better to be bloodied than terrorized.
This is what I say to you in letter
To my teen self.
Listen to what I say to you: it'll get better.
This is what I say to you in letter
To my teen self.
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12. |
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Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to me!
Since I’m You and you’re me Happy Birthday to we!
You’re fifteen and I’m older, by a decade or four
Plus 3 years besides- but who’s keeping score?
I’ve thought long and hard about what I should say
Of things that in life I have learned the hard way.
My only problem is- which should I tell?
If I say “Don’t do this” would my life go to hell?
I don’t want to lose all the good that I’ve known
To avoid looking dumb or feel left all alone
Bad times- there’s been loads
Good times- just the same
You’ll see both come along in your life
In spite of the pains I can see what’s been gained
As a mother, grandmother and wife
So here’s my advice
(musical pause)
Brush your teeth. No, I MEAN it
Twice a day! Even more!
Because root canals hurt just like hell.
Not to mention the cost.
So go brush and floss!
It isn’t that hard to keep well
Try to forgive, since you cannot forget
(I know, I have tried, it’s no use)
The ones who will hurt you are not worth your time
Walk away, don’t put up with abuse
There are times when you’ll feel like you’re stuck in a well
And a voice whispers “Why don’t you die”?
Don’t wait for somebody to see that you fell
Get some help-right away! Don’t just cry!
Hug your mom and your dad. Hug your brothers and sis
Don’t complain all the time- come what may
Compliment people whenever you can
It’s so easy to make someone’s day
Live, love and laugh, and help others laugh too
Learn all you can then go teach
Pick up all your messes
Hang up all your dresses…
But most of all
GO BRUSH YOUR TEETH! No I MEAN it!
Twice a day! Even more!
Because root canals hurt just like hell.
Not to mention the cost.
So go brush and floss!
It isn’t that hard to keep well
Go brush your teeth!
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13. |
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Hey there, kid
I know what it's like to be in your shoes
There's so much ahead
You don't really know which path you're gonna choose
But I've walked these roads, I know where they go
And how they'll shape your views
Because I've been there, I'd like to share
Some wisdom you could use
I could define
A timeline you could follow carefully
The times when you'll thrive, the things you'll survive
The things you can't foresee
I could improve, or even remove
Some hardships you're due for
But then again, my good intentions
Might end up hurting more
If I shelter you
I could soften you too much
And if I tell the truth
You mightn't take it as such
If I give you too many shortcuts you could lose touch
Yeah it's tough but it's true
It's a Catch-22
I just don't know what to tell you
There's tough times ahead
But focus instead on how they'll strengthen you
You'll suffer loss
But it's a cost we all must suffer through
Your very worst days
Will help you in ways you cannot comprehend
Take it from me
Someday you'll see it's worth it in the end
I could let you in
On all the tricks I now know
But it would be a sin
To deprive you of your chance to grow
If you don't make these mistakes
It'd be the biggest mistake you could make
And it's a risk you'll have to take
It's a Catch-22
I just don't know what to tell you
What things to share
What things that I should hide
What to be proud of
What to keep bottled inside
Any one of them
Might change your lot in life
You might not break your heart
You might not meet your wife
There's some thing I cannot tell you
I'm scared if I do
You won't catch twenty-two of the most meaningful years of your life
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14. |
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Dear 15,
It's me 45!
(I) just found this mixtape from ‘87.
It's a roadmap through hell on route to heaven.
Please forgive this diachronic crime,
You could use some tweaks while there's still time.
“The One I Love” and then “No New Tale to Tell”-
Your high school heartaches only last a spell.
Just relax, Christine is not the one.
You'll carry the cross, then you’ll marry the pun.
If you hold onto your stock, you'll become a millionaire.
There's so much pain ahead, but don't despair.
I know you know, that we really never should smoke.
But it's all the sugar that gets us, from all that Coke.
“Red Rain” goes into “One Tree Hill”
School work is worth it, if you can swallow the pill.
Mom will die soon, I wish we could save her life.
Enjoy her while you can, try to keep it light.
“Satch Boogie” and finished with “How Soon is Now?”
Be wary of your OCD, don't get lost in the clouds.
No one ever has long enough.
Smooth sailin’ can be so rough.
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15. |
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Take care of yourself
Let’s rewind to the mid twenty-ohs
See the kid with the runny nose
Yeah, the big funny nose
Shuffling around in his thrift store clothes
Snuffling and sneezing with yet another cold
That’s me, and mostly he’s doing okay
Smart boy, he’ll make something of himself someday
But if I could write a letter, try to make his life better,
Well I know just what I’d say:
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
Take care of yourself
Dear Micah, want to know why your colds last two weeks each?
Cause you still come to school when you’re too weak to speak
Drag yourself from desk to desk, your respiratory mess infesting the rest
Of the class, who would love to be home in bed
But their asses are stuck in homeroom instead
While you’ve got an excuse cause you look half dead
With your leaking nostrils, your swollen head
But here you are, never miss a day of school
And it’s weird, bizarre, you look like a fool
Yeah, a few years later you’ll get a special piece of paper
But no one thinks “Perfect Attendance” is cool
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
Take care of yourself
Take a look in the attendance book, you’ve got a spotless record
But your history of salubrity, well, that’s a lot more checkered
So if you feel like shit, stay home from school
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
If you feel like shit, stay home from school
Take care of yourself
Take care of yourself
|
||||
16. |
|
|||
Hey you
What are trying to prove?
You know this loneliness and pain it will not last
I'd tell you all the things I've been through
But that would rush you to the ending way too fast
Please believe me
Everything will be alright
Please don't lie awake throughout the night
Till the dawn
Some things
They just aren't meant to be
You should try and shape the future not the past
Trust me
You won't beat gravity
So get back up again don't wait until you're asked
Please don't lie awake throughout the night
Please believe me
Everything will be alright
I assume.
|
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17. |
|
|||
dear boy,
here is a letter
providing some advice
I can tell you who I am
I am old and not so wise
there are so many things
I'd like to tell
and rest assured
I know you well
15 is a joyous age
so much to learn
enjoy it while you can
it will never return
and
please
believe in yourself
have more confidence
follow your heart
and do what you want to do
try to stand more
on your own two feet
don't listen so much
to what other people say
stay in contact
with your friends
you might need them
and they may need you too
don't be so shy
loosen up
don't be so hard
on yourself
tough times will pass by
it's part of life
and
please
believe in yourself
have more confidence
follow your heart
and do what you want to do
please don't go to university
to study things you don't really like
take a year off
by plane or by bike
ask for advice, people will be nice
dear me
I know you won't listen
but I don't lie
please
give this a try
|
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18. |
|
|||
Hey me, now I’m twenty years older
I beg you attend to my song
It’s full of advice for the future
I promise this won’t take too long
I know that the future excites you
I know that you love all this tech
There’s good news and bad news on that score
But I’ll say now it’s not like Star Trek
So here is the first thing I’ll tell you
Biochemistry pays really bad
In two years you’ll swap to computing
A career that will make you quite glad
But there’s pitfalls and problems a-plenty
Just remember the number one rule
Don’t work where there isn’t a passion
For product or system or tool
Your social life’s going to get better
You’ll make new sets of friends on the way
You’re going to lose some as well
But there are more the very next day
There are things that you really must do
I one hundred percent don’t regret:
Go and make friends with the writers
And people who have cats as pets
Get head start on learning Aikido
It really is perfect for you
Not like the karate you just quit
Thoughtful and effective too
You’re going to find you like teaching
Might want to make it your career
My PhD was a failure
This path isn’t yours to adhere
And it turns out that you’re a musician
I know you don’t think that right now
I know that your sister’s much better
But you know if you think about how
She has practised and played and performed
And you’ve just not bothered at all
Of course she’s become so much better
With that three-year head start while you crawled
But here is the crux of the matter
It’s about what music you love
You need to look at traditional folk
That and baroque will fit you like a glove
Go learn how to play the recorder
It is most satisfyingly strange
And sounds good when played with conviction
Although it is lacking in range
There is one final thing I must mention
You’ve had much confusion inside
It’s not going to stop any time soon
But I can tell you now with some pride
You are gay and it doesn’t matter
To anyone vaguely smart
But just to admit it to yourself
Is an enormous weight off your heart
|
||||
19. |
|
|||
[Preamble]
This may sound crazy but in just about a decade
You’ll invent time travel, and the best way it’s displayed
Is to tell yourself back in the 11th grade
That you should write your school report about our 40th president.
[Verse 1]
Back in the 80s, a new administration
Rose from the ground in the heart of our nation
He wasn’t a saint, he wasn’t a pagan
Just a white actor with the last name of
Had a crazy idea about the way money works
If you’re off for the better, it’s better for the worse
It don’t flow up, it don’t flow down.
It don’t flow at all, it
[Chorus]
Trickles doooooown!
Son wipe that frown
Doooooooooooown!
All the clowns in the crowns say it
Trickles down
[Verse 2]
Well it didn’t work, needless to say
The rich got richer, the poor just paid
But our man don’t care, because he’s dead
Into the ground his body is laid
It trickles down.
(Chorus)
|
||||
20. |
|
|||
Stop!
You don't want him
You don't need him
Don't play the victim
cause I don't want it
and I don't need it
don't let me do it
Stop!
wake up girl cause I know just how this ends
this is the time when all your heartbreak begins
i know i know because I have lived what you lived
at only 15 you should be with your friends
You don't want him
You don't need him
Don't play the victim
cause I don't want it
and I don't need it
don't let me do it
You don't want him
You don't need him
Don't play the victim
cause I don't want it
and I don't need it
don't let me do it
Stop!
Get out girl don't have to cry all your tears
Save all the pride you'll lose from 10 wasted years
I know I know cause I have been there before
Save the girl I was from all that I'm payin for
You don't want him
You don't need him
Don't play the victim
cause I don't want it
and I don't need it
don't let me do it
You don't want him
You don't need him
Don't play the victim
cause I don't want it
and I don't need it
don't let me do it
|
||||
21. |
|
|||
Don't eat the 'shrooms!
Don't eat the 'shrooms!
Don't eat the 'shrooms!
Don't eat the 'shrooms! Hahaha.
|
||||
22. |
|
|||
[Verse 1]
Let’s keep it real
Somehow I feel
I am
Still just a child
Riding a wilder wheel
A youth full of dreams
The truth at the seams
Streams through
But it’s up to you
To muse what the music means
[Chorus]
Keep writing songs
They don't belong to you
Say what you saw
I know that it’s hard for you
They’ll hear it all
And choose what they want from you
As long as they choose
[Verse 2]
It’s hard looking back
To all that I had
Stay still
I know that you will
But I wish I could change all that
Take what you need
Make it a seed
Feed well
And someday they’ll tell
your words to your younger breeds
|
Spintunes Union, South Carolina
Spintunes is a semi-annual songwriting contest. Every other week, the competitors receive a challenge and a week to meet it.
Each album on this site contains the responses to a single challenge.
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