Inspired by a young couple I saw on the sidewalk, running towards each other and jumping in each other's arms, like something out of a movie. 

Produced by Martin D Fowler and Arthur Lewis 
Mixed by Steve Bone 
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios 

All instruments by Martin D Fowler and Arthur Lewis, except:
Guitar by Oscar Bautista and Martin D Fowler 
Horns by Sky High Horns

Cover Art by Laura Palese

Hello Love

Back In March 2016, I had this gig called The Plunge where I was supposed to do something "risky". As a notoriously slow songwriter, I decided my risk would be: write two new songs in 2 weeks, and perform them at the gig. It went surprisingly well. This was one of them.

Fast-forward to August 2016. I'd been working on some other tracks, but again, notoriously slow. So when I hit 1000 Twitter followers, I decided to give myself a little push: I tweeted that when I hit 2000 followers, I'd release a new track, exactly a week later.

I got a little bit of a response, but nothing huge. My followers kept growing at about one a day, so I still had a good, oh, 3 years to make good on my promise. Until September 30th — when my friend Lin finally saw my original tweet. He asked his (yikes) 800K followers to "make this happen by tomorrow". It took 18 MINUTES.

So I started work on this track the next day. It took a little more than a week, but here it is! Hope you like it!

We Made It

This version is from April 29, 2007.

LYRICS:

Collared shirts and fancy shoes
We all want someone to stay the night
But two dollar beers and glasses of booze
Are all we remember by daylight

There were days when we weren't afraid 
Of all the things we wanted to be
In the days of rhythm and fantasy

Parked outside the coffehouse
And you can't believe you made it this far
But you're scared, you want to drive off
Your mouth is too dry
And you can't even play this guitar

So you turn the key
And you drive home
the windows and the stereo high
You sing along to yourself and try not to cry

There were days when moments stood for themselves
And we were all we seemed
In the days of light and childhood dreams

When all we had to do
Was live like we wanted to
And dream about the day
When we could look all around us and say

"I know what I want, and I know where I'm goin
I'm in control of my life and I did it all on my own"

But it didn't turn out to to be so easy
So you stumble from day to day, saying "someone deceived me"
And it's hard to let go of the dreams that you had
But it's harder to keep on trying
And there are days when it isn't so bad
And days when you feel like you're dying

Could this be all there is? (4x)

Where are the days when everything is new
And love is all you need
Where are the days they told me were waiting for me?

So you hide yourself away 
You think you're an ember undiscovered in a pile of ash
You tell yourself your secrets
And you dream you'll make it through the looking glass

But what good is dreaming of angels and mysteries
Waiting for something new to take the place of your history
How long can you wait before you start to fade?

So here we are
Alive and free
And I don't know about you
But I'm tired of waiting around for something new

These are the days when the world begins to change
If you make it so
These are the days you have
So don't let them go

In The Days (Demo)

This version is from February 24, 2008. There's another take on the same tune at https://soundcloud.com/arthurlewis/perfect-moment-demo-a.

Lyrics:

CHORUS
Waiting for the perfect moment
But there is no perfect moment
You're too busy waiting for it

Words came easily when she was seventeen
And now she's scared
Can't remember what she's done since then
But now she's unprepared

So she wonders
Should she save herself the disappointment and just
Give up on the life
That she's wanted for so long
And five years later, something still seems wrong

She's still waiting for the perfect moment
But there is no perfect moment
You're too busy waiting for it

You know me
Tucked under a wing
Just a little thing in a big man's bubble
If it happens to be that things just happen to me
Then why make trouble?

So I'm biding my time
Until the planets and the stars and all the things I want align
And as I sit and sigh
I wonder why

I'm still waiting for the perfect moment
But there is no perfect moment

And how long can you wait for it?
How long can you…

Her gaze follows the waiter
The ice in her glass
The spots on the tiling
Avoiding the question of what it means that
She is here and I am here
And now she's smiling
For the first time in a long time…

But she can't appear
To be captivated by my subtle charms and blurry atmosphere
So as we say goodbye, I wonder why

Waiting

Perfect Moment (Demo B)

This version is from March 26, 2007. There's another take on the same tune at https://soundcloud.com/arthurlewis/perfect-moment-demo-b.

Lyrics:

CHORUS
Waiting for the perfect moment
But there is no perfect moment
You're too busy waiting for it

Words came easily when she was seventeen
And now she's scared
Can't remember what she's done since then
But now she's unprepared

So she wonders
Should she save herself the disappointment and just
Give up on the life
That she's wanted for so long
And five years later, something still seems wrong

CHORUS

You know me
Tucked under a wing
Just a little thing in a big man's bubble
If it happens to be that things just happen to me
Then why make trouble?

So I'm biding my time
Until the planets and the stars and all the things I want align
And as I sit and sigh
I wonder why

CHORUS

Her gaze follows the waiter
The ice in her glass
The spots on the tiling
Avoiding the question of what it means that
She is here and I am here
And now she's smiling
For the first time in a long time…

But she can't appear
To be captivated by my subtle charms and blurry atmosphere
So as we say goodbye, I wonder why

We're still waiting...

Perfect Moment (Demo A)

This is an alternate version of the bridge from Perfect Moment (https://soundcloud.com/arthurlewis/perfect-moment-demo-b) that more closely resembles the live version. This version is from May 19, 2007.

Perfect Moment Bridge (Demo C)

This was a germ of an idea that never got developed into a full song. This version is from January 19, 2008.

Drum and Bass Piano (Demo)

This was just a germ of an idea that never got developed into a full song. This version is from November 4, 2005.

Breath (Demo)

This was just a germ of an idea that never got developed into a full song. This version is from May 30, 2007.

Ride Out (Demo)

This is the instrumental background to a song I wrote called "Never Catch Up". I never liked the song itself that much, but I've always liked this production. This version is from January 20, 2006.

Never Catch Up (Instrumental Demo)

Everybody Here Wants You (Jeff Buckley)

Live at Rockwood, 4.12.13. Dan Asher on bass, Akie Bermiss on piano and vocals, Marie Lewis on vocals.

Something Beautiful

Everybody Here Wants You

Indie soul singer, songwriter, and keyboardist from Queens. Founding member of Broadway's Freestyle Love Supreme.

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