‘Atardecer’ concludes the use of sun-related imagery throughout the album with a final sunset. I based the piano composition on the outro melody from ‘Fuego’. I found it fitting to use that melody since, even though in the case of ‘Atardecer’ it is instrumental, the words to the melody in ‘Fuego’  has the perfect sentiment to end the album with: 

‘Our time is now
This is the greatest moment of our lives - right now. 
Don’t let it go to waste.’

© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Adventure Book

Atardecer (Antigua, Guatemala)

Atardecer (Oaxaca, Mexico)

‘Paper Planes’ is a cinematic sun-drenched pop ode which blurs the lines between organic and electronic elements. The warm tones of an antique Yamaha pump organ steadily move like thick molasses over a sticky groove while the song tells of two lovers, unbound by the constraints of time and seemingly lost to the world, sharing moments in the small forgotten beach town of Puerto Escondido, Mexico.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
Sun goes down 
twilight found us sitting on the beach.
Another day melts away
and I can’t wait to fall asleep…

…with your sunburnt skin next to mine
and the windows open wide
while the ocean air ripples through your hair
and my fingers trace your spine

CHORUS
Ooh Ooh - I am yours and you are mine.
Ooh ooh - you and me till the end of time.

VERSE 
Late at night under dim streetlights
seems like neither of us knows the way. 
Around every corner another road unfamiliar, 
but with you I don’t mind being lost anywhere

CHORUS
Ooh Ooh - I am yours and you are mine.
Ooh ooh - you and me till the end of time.

BRIDGE
I’ll walk with you
till the end of time I promise you.

VERSE 
Let’s fold paper planes
write on them all the names of the places that you and I will go
We got plans, we got dreams, we’ve got hopes, we got these
promises wrapped around our fingers.

CHORUS OUT
Ooh Ooh - I am yours and you are mine
Ooh ooh - you and me till the end of time
Ooh Ooh - I am yours and you are mine
Ooh ooh 

I am yours and you - are mine and we - will be us till the end of time

© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Paper Planes

This introspective pop ballad is about an all-consuming desire and hopeful pursuit to return to, and make whole again a neglected relationship. On a very personal level, it touches on my journey through faith and my relationship with God. I teamed up with my friend and brilliant Film & TV composer, Kristjan Bergey, on this tune. We hid so many little gold nuggets in the production, but my favourite elements remain Kristjan’s orchestral arrangement and the haunting vocoder throughout the song.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
Sailing away from shore
how I long to be lost in your sea. 
Throwing my sails open wide
to the wind and the sky
light ‘em up with the northern lights

I’ll follow the southern cross
let the push and pull of your tide take control
surrendering all of me
give in to your rise and your fall
you’re the calm in my storm

CHORUS
Oh I - I’ll abandon my boat
‘cause I need you to wash over me. 
Oh I - I’ll give you my soul
‘cause I know you will carry me home - carry me home

VERSE 2
I’ve travelled a million miles
tried it on my own, but it left me tired and worn. 
I can’t do this on my own. 
I need you to carry on

CHORUS
Oh I - I’ll abandon my boat
‘cause I need you to wash over me. 
I - I’ll give you my soul
‘cause I know you will carry me home

BRIDGE
…and oh, when it all is over
I will walk on water with your arm around my shoulders.
When it’s all said and done 
you’re the only one who really knows me. 

OUTRO
Sailing away from shore
how I long to be lost in your sea.
© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Sailing

This song was a last-minute addition to the album - I wrote it very recently and, in comparison to the rest of the songs on the record, spent the least amount of time writing it. The story behind this song is also from my trip to Guatemala. With very little and broken Spanish, a backpack, and sunburn, I took a minibus from Rio Dulce to Tikal. The minibus, side door flung wide open, was packed to the brim with young families, workers, a couple of elderly folks, and a few live chickens. Though I looked completely different from everyone in the minibus and only barely spoke the language, I distinctly remember everyone’s kindness toward me. At that moment, in spite of our visible differences and backgrounds, these complete strangers reminded me of my own family and made me feel at home. It is a moment in which our sameness as fellow humans was so beautifully unmistakable that I felt like I was among family - it is a memory that will stick with me forever.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
There’s something warm in your smile
and in your eyes a look familiar
it reminds me of my brother
it takes me back to my mother’s arms

Oh hey there - Hey there stranger
There’s something deep beneath my skin
that tells me I was once my sister’s keeper
now she’s the one who saves me in turn

CHORUS
Oh we are from the same dust
oh we are all we’ve got
just a dot of light in the ocean 
of our vast and beautiful universe

Oooh

VERSE 2
So all this to say 
that I need you more than I could ever say. 
We were once on the same land
before we drifted apart
but together we can rise, we’ll rise up from the dark.
Together we will rise up from the dark.

CHORUS
Oh we are from the same dust
oh we are all we’ve got
just a dot of light in the ocean 
of our vast and beautiful universe

Oh we are from the same dust
oh we are all we’ve got
just a dot of light in the ocean 
of our vast and beautiful universe

Oh we are from the same dust
oh we are all we’ve got
just a dot of light in the ocean 
of our vast and beautiful universe

Oh we are from the same dust
oh we are all we’ve got
just a dot of light in the ocean 
of our vast and beautiful universe
© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Beautiful Universe

My initial idea was to keep the production very bare and limited to only trumpet pads and vocals. However, once Andrew McAnsh tracked the beautiful trumpet parts I felt that it deserved something special around it. I approached SafeSpaceship Music, a team of three very talented producers, and there you have it - a sweet lullaby with a syrupy groove. I wrote Bedtime Stories for my younger sister and brother. There is a 13-year age gap between us which meant that I had a front-row seat to see them grow up. As toddlers, they used to visit my room around bedtime insisting that I tell them stories about all kinds of mythical creatures. That memory serves as the inspiration for the song, but ultimately the song tells of the dreams, hopes, and fears that go along with being a kid and growing up, and the promise that I will be there for my siblings no matter what.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
I’ll tell you all the tales I know
of a kingdom in a land unknown 
so you can sleep sound tonight. 

I checked for monsters ‘neath your bed
only found the kind that lends a hand
when you need to tame the dragons in your head. 

Go brave into the night
you know that you got all the light 
that you need inside ya’
so you can sleep sound tonight. 

INTERLUDE

VERSE 2
I know the world’s not always kind
but you should know that I will always be by your side
when there’s a wolf tryna’ blow your dreams to the ground. 

And if he does, so what. You’ll get up
and build bigger dreams than you have ever known…
so, you can sleep sound tonight

INTERLUDE (Solo)

BRIDGE
Go on a trip through the stars. 
Take a sip of the milky way.
You can sleep sound tonight

While I count all of the blessings that I found in you
more numerous than the stars
and I thank God for you. 
and I thank God  
I thank God
yes, I thank God for you. 
and I thank God for you.
© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Bedtime Stories

The idea for this coming-of-age song came about as I was getting lost in a box filled with letters and old film pictures of me and my high school best friend. We’ve been friends since the days of oversized surf T’s, baggy jeans, and Dawson’s Creek mix CDs. When inspiration came knocking to write a song about the formative moments of our youth together, it seemed like the appropriate way to honour my friend and the friendship we’ve shared for so many years. I had a permanent grin on my face as all the memories slowly came back to life during the writing process, and couldn’t help jumping up and doing a little dance the first time the chorus groove in the production came together. One of my favourite elements in this song is the nod to South Africa in the guitar and background vocal parts towards the end of the tune - guitarist Heather Crawford took us in that direction during our guitar session, which in turn inspired me to lean into that world even further during the background vocal session. I had a blast making this tune with producer Sean Wharton (On Planets). I hope it takes you back to amazing times spent with special people.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
I really love you
that won’t ever change. 
Still write your name in the sand
like I did when we were young. 

I can still recall each moment, 
each memory that we’ve made
like scenes from a movie
ingrained forever in my head. 

CHORUS
Oh Cecilia - You were there from the start
Oh Cecilia - engraved forever on my heart. 

Ooh - Ooh
Ooh - Ooh

VERSE 2
Dreaming big dreams in a small town
and walk our bikes home after school. 
A pack of menthols and a single beer
down by the ocean in the pouring rain. 

I will hold on to those moments, 
the memories that we made, 
all your letters and some photographs
tied up neatly with a ribbon - you’re close no matter where I go

CHORUS
Oh Cecilia - You were there from the start
Oh Cecilia - engraved forever on my heart. 

Ooh - Ooh
Ooh - Ooh

Ooh - Ooh
Ooh - Ooh

Ooh - Ooh
Ooh - Ooh
© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Cecilia

‘Pirates’ is a stadium anthem in which I further explore the themes of wanderlust and youth. It centres around reconnecting with the adventurous and free-spirited child that we all used to be. I was inspired by the ‘dia de Los Muertos’ celebrations in Oaxaca City which, in turn, provides the backdrop for this song. It also serves as a reminder of our mortality while the song urges the listener to be adventurous again, to live life to the fullest, and to be free again - like when we were kids who would dress up like pirates and astronauts ready to take on any adventure.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
I spend my whole life waiting for someday
but I’ll bet all my money it’s all ‘bout today.
Making plans for the future, yah that’s OK
but I wanna make sure we don’t miss out on all…

PRE
the sunsets in places we’ve never been before
the adventures we dreamt up when we were barely four.

CHORUS
Let’s dress up like pirates
let’s fly in our spaceship
together we will take on the world.

We’ll get drunk in Oaxaca
on mezcal and tequila
these are the moments that we’re living for

POST
just me and you together
just me and you forever

VERSE 2
I’ll write us an anthem. You’ll draw us a house
and we’ll fill it with all of the things that we love. 
We’ll kiss undercover, hold hands in the dark
and maybe someday we’ll tell all of our friends ‘bout

PRE
the sunsets in places we travelled to before
the adventures we’ve been on since the day that I met you.

CHORUS
Let’s dress up like pirates
let’s fly in our spaceship
together we will take on the world.

We’ll get drunk in Oaxaca
on mezcal and tequila
these are the moments that we’re living for
© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Pirates

Fuego is a carpe diem pop anthem that sprang to life off of a page in my travel diary. The song recounts a hike up Volcán de Fuego just outside the small town of Antigua. An invigorating driving electronic beat, soaring strings, and gallant vocals beckon you up the mountains & volcanoes of Guatemala.

LYRICS
VERSE 1
Waking at five in the morning
and the city’s already up. 
Tiny streets bursting at the seams, 
a bus roars over the cobblestones. 

Traces of coffee and gasoline 
like a fading memory in the morning air
beckons us out into the colourful city.
Come and go with me.
The world is waiting for us. 

CHORUS
The world is waiting 
The world is waiting
The world is waiting, waiting

The world is waiting 
The world is waiting
The world is waiting, waiting

VERSE 2
Leave everything behind
and answer the call of the unknown. 
Let’s go into the mountains, 
up the volcano, 
lose our way just to find ourselves…

surrounded by old cathedrals
caught in the rain in the market square 
dance till we’re soaked
don’t care that we’re broke.
Come and go with me. 
The world is waiting for us

CHORUS
The world is waiting 
The world is waiting
The world is waiting, waiting

The world is waiting 
The world is waiting
The world is waiting, waiting

© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Fuego

'Amanecer' is the Spanish word for sunrise. This is a lush string-driven instrumental intro which sets the stage for the rest of the album. It was inspired by the vibrant colours of the sun rising over the volcanoes just outside of Antigua, Guatemala.

© ℗ 2021, Francois Clark Mulder (SOCAN, ASCAP)

Amanecer (Antigua, Guatemala)

Please Stay (Extended Orchestral Version)

South African Born, Canadian Singer-Songwriter/Producer based in Toronto, Canada | Universal Music Award Winner | LISTEN & WATCH HERE: https://linktr.ee/francoisklark

FrancoisKlark

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