Hello!  I would greatly appreciate it if you could listen to the song, and if you choose to, you can download the song for free!  Thanks a bundle!

-Matthew Lin

This Is The Rescue (official)

I come from California, where the weather is pretty nice and pretty comfortable.  During the summers, when I'm driving home from work, I'd see the sun cast this golden, orange glow over the entire landscape while it set.  Sometimes, I get distracted by the worries of this life.  I'm not saying that those worries aren't important, but when I look at the sunset, and the beautiful effect it has on the landscape, I just remember that everything is going to be okay.

This song was inspired by my three brothers.  We've been through a lot in the past few years, but somehow, we're still persevering through it.  When I've struggled to forgive, they've helped me see that love is the most important thing.  God didn't make ugly things.  Everything He made was good, and humans were made to bear His image and His light in everything that they did.  

This is a song about battling fear and insecurity.  Even though I sometimes feel like I have nothing valuable to say, I just remember that God speaks through me.   

LYRICS:
Up and away in my castle so high
Sheltered and safe behind walls of my design
And it would be great, if I didn't feel so empty deep inside
I want to run, but I'm too scared to try

I want to break out, but the case seems to be
In all of the crowds, there's no room left for me
That lie is so loud, but it's driven by insecurity
I'm afraid that failure is all you'll get from me

But though I hide, you call my name
You say, "I'm by your side."

Unlock the doors, and open the gates
The sunshine kids are tasting the day
Out of the darkness, I hear the sound
A band of brothers not backing down
We'll race onto glory, singing away

All of the noise pulls me away from home
But the loudest voice is always my own
I've got a choice, will I hide in the dark?
Brother, I need you to bring me to the start

To when the days weren't so dark
And I'd hear you say

Unlock the doors, and open the gates
The sunshine kids are tasting the day
Out of the darkness, I hear the sound
A band of brothers not backing down
We'll race onto glory singing away

We're the kids of the green light
But we're living like slaves to the stop signs
We're greater than the night time
We've got sunshine deep inside

We're the kids of the green light, no slowing down
We'll race onto glory, I hear the sound
I feel so alive, it's my time now
I'm not afraid, I'm not backing down
Because we were lost, but now we're found

Unlock the doors, and open the gates
The sunshine kids are now tasting the day
The dawn is approaching, we will shout
Until the whole world hears the sound
We'll race onto glory, singing away

The Sunshine Kids

Hello!  I proudly present my song "Passengers"!  

Sometimes in life, relationships don't work out the way we want them too.  And we can always argue about whose fault it is and who is to blame.  But at the end of the day, both parties still lose something precious and valuable that they now have to learn to live without.  No one ever plans to break up with a significant other, but it happens.  This song is how I've been able to process the change that has happened.  Always thankful for the times I've had, but knowing that I have to keep moving forward to new things.

Written by: Matthew Lin
Vocals by: Matthew Lin
Guitar and percussion by: Matthew Lin
Cello by: Daniel Lin aka the D4NIMAL
Recorded by: Matthew Lin @ JT Sound Studios

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t7CVit_ipQ&feature=youtu.be

LYRICS:
Holding onto my coffee, I'm waiting for my train
The morning sneaks up on me, I don't want to be late
And though I'm wide awake, I see visions of your face
And through the people around me, maybe I'll see you today

To the girl who I met, you're still running around in my head
And I never wanted to believe that we'd just be 

Strangers going separate ways
Once so close, friends now estranged
Things will never be the same
And I've got only myself to blame
We're just passengers on a passing train

Row right in front of me, she always picked the window seat
And I talked with the girl of dreams, there was no secret that I could keep
And for a while, it seemed that we'd be forever
There was no sense of time or lose, they'd say, "stop"
We'd say "never"

But that was a while ago, when we were kids and we didn't want to know that 
One day we'd have to grow, and we'd just be

Strangers going separate ways
Once so close, friends now estranged
Things will never be the same
And I've got only myself to blame
We're just passengers on a passing train
On a passing train

And I know that you're right where you belong
But do you ever wonder about where I've gone
And my feelings, they're still going strong

But you've already moved on, it's time to get off
It's time to get off

Holding onto my coffee, I'm waiting for my train
The bitterness don't taste so heavy, maybe today I'll be okay

Passengers

I wrote this song after going through an academic year of so much pain, both locally and abroad.  I've talked to friends who are going through so much difficulty, so much that it looks like it's way more than they can handle.  Over and over again, I've prayed and wondered, "God, do you see what is going on?"  "Do you even care that we're suffering in so many different ways?"  Sometimes, the pain all just seems so meaningless.  Will the rain ever go away?  Is the pain here to stay?

But there is beauty in the brokenness.  I don't have to pretend that I'm okay, because I'm not trying to impress anybody.  God loved us enough to come and to die for us, so why should I go on saying everything is fine?  This song does have depressing themes, but I sing them boldly to show that by confronting our weakness and depression, we can find and feel true healing.

Little Heart

When it comes to self-expression, we all have to start somewhere, and when it comes to playing the guitar, we usually start with playing a basic G chord.  This song is my way of "starting over", with the right motive and the right perspective.

In The Orange Light

G Major

I have a few friends who are going through some hard times, so I decided to write a song for them.  The song speaks about the times when the pain is fresh and we don't want anything other than for things to go back to the way they were.  The time to move on will come, but for now, give us space and time to process it all.

In the Orange Light

Incomplete

My piano cover of "The Good Parts", the title track on Andy Grammer's new album.  Hope you enjoy!

Good Parts

My first original song in a while, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I hope you enjoy "Only You", a song inspired by watching a California sunrise in the Los Gatos mountains.  Let me know what you think!

I'll post a link to some thoughts about the origins of the song, so stay tuned for that!

Only You

Within every good story is a moment where the hero faces some uncertainty or some seemingly insurmountable obstacle. And as a reader, at that moment, I now have a decision. If I personally believe that the hero will lose, what’s point of reading on? But if I believe that there’s even a chance that the hero will overcome, I will keep reading. What I like about these childhood stories is that eventually, the hero always comes out on top. And it’s my task as a reader to keep reading and to stay engaged in order to witness the outcome.

The song title came from a quote by C.S. Lewis, one he wrote in his dedication of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” to his goddaughter Lucy Barfield. He writes,

“I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result, you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

My hope is that in midst of violence and hatred and confusion, we don’t put down the book. Rather, let us keep reading and let us keep looking for the victory that is to come. I also put in a bunch of references to stories that I personally like. See if you can identify them all 🙂

Fairy Tales

On September 27th, 2015, Amos and I recorded a one-take of this song.  Five years later, we recorded it again.  Shoutout to Amos for making me sound the best I ever have in my whole life.  Hope that this can bring some light and strength into your evening.  "City Dove" by Tori Kelly :)

Vocals: Matthew Lin, Amos Evans
Keys; Amos Evans
Guitar: Dan Mock
Production Magic: Amos Evans

https://soundcloud.com/amosevansmusic <- if you want more of Amos!

Matthew Z Lin

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