Grounded

Orland City

I wrote this song during February Album Writing Month 2011 (14 songs in 28 days). It tells the story of the death of Snufkin from the Moomins. I remember describing it back then as a "Moomins at Spoonriver murder ballad".

The song is based on a dream which was most probably influenced by watching too much tv with my 1-year-old daughter. The story goes: the Moomins have locked themselves in their house because the Groke is coming. They're scared and nervous. Alice, the daughter of the Witch, is with them. She's holding the shotgun of Moominpappa. Suddenly she sees a shadow behind the window. Panicking she fires the gun. People run out to see if someone is hurt. Snufkin is lying on his back in the middle of broken glass, shocked but unhurt. No blood. Only a see-through hole in the middle of his chest. It is revealed that he doesn't have a heart and is thus unharmed by the shot. (This is also why he can seem such a cold bastard sometimes.) He says it hurts nonetheless and he'd better be leaving. Moominpappa gives him a horse and tells him to ride to the nearby town for a doctor. Snufkin answers that the place where he goes next is a very dark place. The end of the dream.

They ought to film this. People with animation skills, contact me. I wanna see this as a dark black and white oldschool Tove Jansson style short animation!

Lyrics:

my life from the start was a neverending road
the continous movement of soul was my home
friends i had all over but they never had me
i left them when i wanted to feel i am free

	now that i am gone the longing you feel
	is exactly the same that always drove me

i hated the tyrants and scorned all the rules
made by selfish and ignorant fools
i didn’t own anything, only memories i kept
(because) i thought of property always as a theft

	now that i am gone the longing you feel
	is exactly the same that always drove me

if you needed advice you came to me
but what made me wander i couldn’t see
i felt if i stayed i’d be smothered to death
by your kindness and that’s why i left

	now that i am gone the longing you feel
	is exactly the same that always drove me

in a fear-born accident i got shot through the chest
the shooter was a girl and like me just a guest
i said it hurts even though i don’t have a heart
then i stood up and left to a place in the dark

	now that i am gone the longing you feel
	is exactly the same that always drove me

Constellation of Thieves: The Death Of Snufkin (2011)

my brother sent over the acoustic track and I was inspired to make it an angsty high school power pop song. dig it.

Check out his stuff! > https://soundcloud.com/kevindubbbbs?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Face It (ft. kvnwoodruff) - FAWM 2023

Demo Written, Performed, & Produced in Logic by Kate E. Stanton 2/5/2025
Needs loads of polish ;p, but I hope I got my rough ideas across!

#CommentsFirst Challenge for FAWM!
This song was written based on the first 7 comments I received.

1. Chord progression on the chorus is the same as the verses only reversed. -Beto
2. Key Change towards the end! -Nahlej381
3. Improvised with percussion lying around. YES! I used my daughter's box of beads seen in the album artwork :) Danke, -Nadine 
4. A "metal" head-banging break?! -chill4matt 
5. A few Dutch words or phrases: "Wie goed doet goed ontmoet" translates to “he who does good things shall encounter good things”. Bedankt -max 
6. Danceable for -sbs! I added latin percussion for a rhythmic groove one can dance to!
7. Started this experimental song off & ended with a string quartet! -beacon 

LYRICS:
(String Quartet intro)
Now when I see others lost
I know what to say.
I finally found my way.

V1:
Took my love
took everything
thought i'd nothing left
hurt my heart
hurt my mind & soul
I couldn't let go
it crushed me deeper & deeper
I fell into a big black hole, and yet

Chorus:
(Dutch phrase)
(Used beads for improv percussion)
(Piano & reversed chord prog)

Wie goed doet goed ontmoet
Wie goed doet goed ontmoet
Wie goed doet...

V2:
Took my trust,
took dignity,
spread lies like they're the truth,
Scarred loyalty,
fake rivalry
but I let it go
in forgiving deeper & deeper
I dug myself out of a big dark hole, because 

Chorus:
Wie goed doet goed ontmoet
Wie goed doet goed ontmoet
Wie goed doet...

("Metal" break with danceable rhythms)

Bridge:
I was lost
reaching up
healing hands
they lift me out
now it's time
for me to help,
here I am!
Here I am!!

(Key Change cool down)

(String Quartet Outro)
Now when I see others lost
I know what to say.
I finally found my way.

Found My Way (Wie Goed Doet...)

Demo Written & Performed by Kate E. Stanton 2/8/25 in Logic. Song number 4 #FAWM challenge! #piano #ballad #singersongwriter
I took this photo last week at my favorite thinking spot :) It's a park behind my work office where I spend my time hiking during my lunch breaks whilst daydreaming about songs. Thank you for listening!

Lyrics:
Trust Me

Here in the quiet, shhhh, no sound.
No waves break the surface of my dark shroud.
Ooh, I take a deep breath in,
Count to three where the moon & the stars align.
Still, I hide as they collide.
The light I seek says,
“Trust me.”

Just trust me.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I’ll never desert you.”

Here in the fading light, none around,
The weight of my past drifts like soft snow.
Ooh, the evergreens grow strong,
Yet their roots beneath the earth we never see.
Tall limbs rise when they believe.
The light I seek says,
“Trust me.”

Just trust me.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I’ll never desert you.”

Sometimes, there are things in life we can’t control.
Give back what’s not mine and let it go,
Cuz there is always hope.

Here in the morning glow, I rise anew.
The shadows that haunted take a different view.
Ooh, I sternly say aloud:
“I don’t ever want to feel the way I did before!”
We all shine with gifts You’ve adorned.
The light I seek says,
“Trust me.”

Just trust me.
“I won’t hurt you.”
& “I’ll never desert you.”

Trust Me

Sunshine (demo)
Lyrics by John Nicholson
Music by Kate Stanton
John & I connected a few FAWMs ago over a shared respect for the late great Leonard Cohen. Here is our 2nd collab he penned called "Sunshine". I loved how the lyric flowed naturally from my guitar & voice. I felt it was ready after just a few takes. It's a beautifully written lyric. Thank you so much, John!!

Happy Valentine's Day, FAWM! 

Sunshine
V1 The sun crept in through the cracks in my wall,
A quiet intruder, answering night’s call.
It touched the dust on the floor where I’d lain,
And whispered gently , “Child begin again”

V2 The birds in the trees, they sang their old song,
A hymn for the weary, a plea to belong.
Their voices were cracked, but they carried the tune,
Like a prayer for the lost, under heaven’s blue moon.

C Oh, sunshine, you’re a merciless flame,
You burn through the dark, but you don’t take the blame.
You show me the scars that the night tried to hide,
I thank you again for the light you provide.

V3 The world is a wound, and the morning’s the balm,
A quiet reprieve in the midst of the storm.
But even the light has its shadows, it’s true,
And I walk in the glow, half-blind, next to you.

V4 The streets are still empty, the city asleep,
But the sun doesn’t care, it has promises to keep.
It climbs up to the sky, like a pilgrim in prayer,
And I sit in its warmth, though I’m barely there.

C Oh, sunshine, you’re a merciless flame,
You burn through the dark, but you don’t take the blame.
You show me the scars that the night tried to hide,
I thank you again for the light you provide.

B The coffee grows cold in the cup in my hand,
A bitter reminder of time’s shifting sand.
The steam rises up, like a ghost from the past,
And I wonder how long this new light will last.

V5 Oh, sunshine, you’re a fickle old friend,
You come without asking, and leave in the end.
But still, I await you, each night that I fall,
To rise with your light and forget it all.

V6 And if one day it doesn’t, I’ll sit in the dark,
With the memory of mornings to light up the spark.
For even in shadows, the sun leaves its trace,
A flicker of hope in the loneliest space

Sunshine (demo) Feat. Lyrics by John Nicholson

Why Can't I?

Lost & Found REMIX🍋 @user-297959700 Thomas Mierkiewicz for FAWM 2/26/2025
Written by Kate E. Stanton 2/9/2025
Lost & Found
I don't know where it starts, & I don't know how it ends.
But I know that I'm lost again, found again, & how will I ever begin?
I drew a line in the sand while the iron gates of Alexander stand.
I'm somewhere in between, 3 bears & me,
Too little, too much is never just what I need, no!

Where do I go? Where does this lead me? How will I know?
Every step I take feels like I'm chasing my own ghost,
Running through this maze where I needed answers most.
Just keep it moving, slowly, 'til my path unfolds.
C'mon, let's go!

Every path whispers, "Hey! Hey, hey!"
Over here, over there—it's a game, hey!
Every choice has a price to pay,
No regrets yet—is that just what they say?
Roll of the die 'til we die,
Climb to heaven's spiral steps of steel.
I question everything—authority, gravity,
& the Blade of Evil's Bane is never the same, no.

Where do I go? Where does this lead me? How will I know?
Every step I take feels like I'm chasing my own ghost,
Running through this maze where I needed answers most.
Just keep it moving, slowly, 'til my path unfolds.
C'mon, let's go!

Move slow.
One foot... then another.

Where do I go? Where does this lead me? How will I know?
Every step I take feels like I'm chasing my own ghost,
Running through this maze where I needed answers most.
Just keep it moving, slowly, 'til my path unfolds.
C'mon, let's go!

Lost & Found Remix (Feat. Lemonbrew)

I wrote this album in 12 days. Name your price at marcoaziel.bandcamp.com/album/i-wrote-this-to-a-ghost

Jacket Over Hoodie Over Shirt

Just an ordinary knucklehead strumming my six-string and singing songs. All songs are original raw recordings of my songwriting journey of healing and finding peace. Maybe one of these days, I'll actually learn how to record and mix better, but until then, I'm just having fun. Many of the thumbnails are my original art creations check out my insta for more art. I hope you like it!

Singer-songwriter creating ethereal indie dream pop, blending solo works and collaborations into transcendent, poetic music.

Drum and bell music from Finland, by Lauri Wuolio.

A home for secrets




for non secrets ->> https://soundcloud.com/user-555289806

A very big fan of breathing. Guitar, vocals, writing & engineering for Daddy and the Long Legs. Southeast Michigan.

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