About The Song:
I wrote the opening verse just randomly one night--I didn't have a melody or anything yet, but I was thinking about a bad car wreck my Dad had when I was a kid. He was driving drunk and swerved, hit the pillar of a bridge and spun into a ditch where his vehicle wrapped itself around a tree. When the paramedics arrived he was pronounced dead at the scene. A paramedic performed CPR from the time he was pulled from the car until they got him onto the care flight chopper, which is when he came back. After I described the event to Justin he quickly came up with an eerie riff and last two verses. I think we captured that night in this song--this one is for you Dad. 

- Derek

Swerve

Verse 1
Wrap my hope around that tree,
strap it in with you in the seat.
Shove that poison down my throat,
and I’ll be with you when you
swerve off the road—

I’ll be with you when you swerve off the road.
I’ll be with you when you swerve off the road.

Instrumental Chorus

Verse 2:
Take off your shoes you can be my bride.
Wash your feet with a sense of time.
Lasting effects—Oh, the comforts of love.
But I’m not content until you’re my drug.
Grip the wheel til’ your knuckles are white

Focus those Eyes – Focus those Eyes

The bend has no railing on the mountainside.
Here it comes, the blackest of ice.
Well, here it comes, the blackest of ice.
Here it comes the blackest of ice.

Music & Lyrics Written By: Justin Eckerd & Derek Ellis ©

Swerve (Demo)

Note: This song was featured on Under The Radar's 307th episode and praised by host, Dave Trout, as being "a cut above what we sometimes receive". 

Prayers

Verse 1:
Open my eyes look at the time.
From toe to heel, if I could rewind—
Oh I’d be there, Oh I’d be there 
to take it all back—everything I did.

At the top of the stairs, behind your hair,
I could see your brow and you weren’t proud.
I’d never admit I needed you—
But I’m so scared, what else can I do?

Chorus:
So I left you there just to soak in it,
I know those words fell hard like a ton of bricks,
I’m glad you pray to God and you stick with it
Cause I never would’ve changed when it came to it.
You used to hold me so close and rock me to sleep 
When I fell to trouble you were there to teach 
But I lost my way— I hope your prayers bring me back today.

Verse 2:
The girl I met when I was in school,
Oh, I loved her and she loved me too—
and you could see, it was never really meant to be.
You’ve always been good like that.

I know it was hard to keep me still.
All that running around against your will.
It got easier, just to separate,
then to let you down again and again

Chorus 

End Refrain:
In these four wheels,
I’ll knock it all down—
the walls I built to keep you out.
I’ll drive it home again and again.

Music Lyrics Written By: Justin Eckerd ©
End Refrain Written By: Derek Ellis ©

Prayers (Demo)

Rest.

Verse 1
I’m standing on the corner,
looking for an answer in 
all of these streetlights.
I’m finding hope in places—
like bottles of cheap champagne.
I wrote my number next to your name
on a bathroom stall, I never got a call.

I told my brother it’s all the same,
We’ll all get carried away.

Verse 2
I hear a train coming,
on the east side of town—
a whistle winds me down.
It feels like the sky’s crushing,
all the wind from my sails.
I never fought to fail.

I tell my brother it’s all the same,
We were all, buried that day. 

End Chorus
The wind blows hard
on the avenue—leading back to you,
leading back to you. 

End Refrain
Shut Off.
Rest. 

“LIV
That Light whose smile kindles the Universe,
That Beauty in which all things work and move,
That Benediction which the eclipsing Curse
Of birth can quench not, that sustaining Love
Which through the web of being blindly wove
By man and beast and earth and air and sea,
Burns bright or dim, as each are mirrors of
The fire for which all thirst; now beams on me,
Consuming the last clouds of cold mortality.”

- Percy Bysshe Shelley 
“Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats” 

Music & Lyrics Written By: Justin Eckerd & Derek Ellis ©
End Refrain: Percy Bysshe Shelley

Rest. (Demo)

Sounds

Verse 1:
I came to find you 
with the fire on my breath— 
I came to find you 
and I’m not even dressed for this. 

A funeral in a field is where we left our name
A wedding in a box is where we’ll find them again 

Chorus 1:
How do we prepare out hearts 
for the worst when it comes around— 
Is there a truth from above  
to give us a hint, or a sound? 
Oh, ‘cause I need it now. 

Verse 2:
My soul will carry the fire 
enough to keep us both warm. 
Tell me you know my name—
that I’ve become something more. 

As waters wash all the guilt from the depths of my heart, 
I beg for sleep and dream of being torn apart. 

Chorus 2:
How do we prepare out hearts 
for the worst when it comes around— 
Is there a truth from above  
to give us a hint, or a sound? 
Oh, ‘cause I need it now. 

End Refrain:
" Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow

Life is very long

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
                                   
For Thine is the Kingdom
...
  
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper. "

- T.S. Eliot “The Hollow Men” 

Music & Lyrics Written By: Justin Eckerd & Derek Ellis ©
End Refrain: T.S. Eliot 

Sounds (Demo)

Phone Call

Intro:
I’ve been sitting in this cell alone,
wastin’ all my phone calls on anyone but You. 

Verse 1:
This bed is just too cold, the plastic just don't do.
It sticks to my skin, as it pulls and tears.
You forgive me of my sins and I’m still stuck in here
I need of light to lead me out—
I promise my promises aren’t empty now.

Verse 2:
I’ve been wondering where you went;
my body’s tired and cold—and spent.
I bruise my knees on this concrete floor—
selfish prayers like I deserve more.

Bridge:
It’s a sad disposition and I take the blame,
I’d dig myself out but I don’t see the gain.
Be the compass to my lost heart,
and rest my soul and give me strength to trust who you are

End Refrain/Chorus:
Douse my body in holy oil—burn off my flesh.
I’ll know I was right, when I reach the end.

Music & Lyrics Written By: Justin Eckerd & Derek Ellis ©

Phone Call (Demo)

The Letter

Verse 1:
With a heavy heart and a heavy hand 
and the faith that I would understand
You draw it out, make a plan—
A string from your heart to reel me in
It’s so much more,
and I know you’re scared—
Me, myself, I’m not prepared,
But I know what I want
and with patience I wait
‘Til I broke, and ran.

-Break-

Verse 2:
Then I fall on the sight of your words—
you made it clear that you want me here.
A simple note, with a simple fold—
That truthful voice inside
You thank me for what I’ve given you,
there’s nothing left to hide.
A lesson you said you’d carry on—
even if I lost your sound

End Refrain:
Who you are
in those words
is who we are 
together 

Music & Lyrics Written By: Justin Eckerd & Derek Ellis ©

The Letter (Demo)

Suture

Verse 1:
Oh, where is the light—
A switch that turns off the night.
Oh, off the ground—
There’s nothing to stand on now. 

Pre-Chorus:
Oh, where are the things that will clean my wounds— 
I’ve forgotten their names and it feels to soon.
They’ve been open for so long, for so long—
I need someone to sew ‘em up.
Will you be the one to sew ‘em up?
Yeah, will you be the one who sews me up?

Chorus:
I need someone to sew me up.
I feel like I’m bleeding out. 
They’ve been open for too long.
So please come and sew me up.

Verse 2:
Where is a pen,
So I can document my sin.
I wonder will the ink flow out, 
Of my hands in the color of red.

(Pre-Chorus)

Bridge:
In a motion I can’t go against,
Is there a silence and a reverence?
I know you are patient—
But in what combination?

I’ve got you all figured out,
Except the words that come out your mouth—
Scripted and candid, in your own ancient fashion.

(Chorus)

Music and Lyrics Written By: Derek Ellis & Justin Eckerd 

Suture (Demo)

Keep Me Up

Verse 1:
Meet me down by the concrete wall
A little too tired, a little too tall.
You show up and we sing that song we sing—
My hair sticks out you know I don’t hide a thing.

Chorus:
Pop says I need a cut.
He gave me a dollar, but I spent it on a buzz.
Now I need something stronger than the both of us—
I want a little something that keeps me up,
That keeps me up. 

Verse 2:
Oh, I’m wanted in a worrisome way
A life on trial for a juvenile robbery
Walk that creek bed in my shoes 
Just to dip my head in that chlorine blue

(Chorus)

Bridge:
(Shhh!)
Up—Up, Yeah— 
I want a little something that keeps me 
Up—Up, Yeah— 
I want a little something that keeps me 

(Chorus)


Keep Me Up (Demo)

Mary

Verse 1:
Mary, are you ‘comin out tonight?
I’m outside of her house, underneath the streetlight,
Oh I wait, you gonna let me in?
We’ll pack a bag and follow the wind,
I said, Mary are you ‘comin out tonight?
I made too much noise, ‘comin up your drive

Pre-Chorus 1:
We’re gonna wake him up,
He’s gonna shake you up,
I’m gonna do something I won’t regret.
We’re gonna wake him up,
He’s gonna shake you up,
I’m gonna do something I won’t regret.

(Chorus Progression)

Verse 2:
Mary, are you showin’ up tonight?
You let him tell you, you’re worthless in his sight
I said, Mary, are you showing up tonight?
I pulled around back to keep you out of sight

Pre-Chorus 2:
We’re gonna wake him up,
He’s gonna shake you up,
I’m gonna do something I won’t regret.
We’re gonna wake him up,
He’s gonna shake you up,
I’m gonna do something we’ll both regret.

End Refrain:
Don’t wanna leave you around that house,
Don’t wanna leave you when he’s around

X2


Mary (Demo)

West Side

Verse 1:
Floating, 
I don't know if I can ever come back down.
Holding, 
your heart in the palm of my hand—
I feel it beating now, and now they’re closing
and everyone is leaving now and I don’t have a name
If I come back ‘round 
Do I have a chance of ever seeing you again?
Seeing you again, seeing you again?
Seeing you again?

Pre-Chorus:
All I wana do is put you in my car,
roll down to the west side
it’s not far from where you are.
Climb atop a building or two;
tell me you don’t think about these things too?

Verse 2:
At the table, where we sat,
 I moved a little closer just to be next to you.
I was dreamin’ about all the future things that we could do.
Maybe, we can dine and ditch—
maybe we should leave a tip. 
I wana know what type of girl you are
will you love or give me lip? 

Pre-Chorus:
All I wana do is put you in my car,
roll down to the west side--
it’s not far from where you are.
Climb atop a building or two,
tell me you don’t think about these things too?

End Refrain:
Leavin’ 
I’m so far from where I wana be.
I know there’s time—
time for me to choose
which way I wana go,
but I just don’t know…

Music & Lyrics By: Derek Ellis & Justin Eckerd

West Side (Demo)

Hailing from Bowling Green, KY, Lady Grace is an alternative rock band created by Justin Eckerd and Derek Ellis in the fall of 2013. 

Influenced by bands such as Kings of Leon, Radiohead, The Smiths, and many more, Lady Grace pulls from a collective wealth of musical taste to invent their own space in the large world of "musical genre". 


LadyGrace_theband