Gone – ©1991 – Industrial – Nine Inch Nails - (90-2-0)

90 renders / 2 versions used in Pro Tools / added 0 tracks

Style Prompt - industrial rock, electronic rock, industrial metal, male soprano vocal

Origin

I thought that writing about climate change (called global warming at the time) would fall on deaf ears because for the most part people can’t be bothered. But then I thought, if you make the song about what it would do to people, how they would suffer, people might pay attention. My demo is a real bare bones 4 track with mostly just drums, bass, guitar and vocals. I didn’t have the gear or experience at that point to do a full on Industrial track. But all these years later, the AI gave me 2 cover versions of the song that I really like. One version, which I call the NIN version is really the arrangement that was in my head all along. It had everything I was thinking, from the stops to the instrument choices etc. But they AI also gave me a little surprise. Another render popped out the MM version. It was never what I had in mind, but I really liked it. So I kept both.

Lyrics

Acid rains on deserts run

We're drying in the poison sun

And melting in the chemicals that

Seeped into our blood and burned our tongues

Now that all the water's gone

Wind blew all the soil away

The oil covered seas are dead

The birds are singing slowly in the radiation

It won't be long now that all the food is gone

Where can we run

Now that everything is gone?

Take a real good look around

Do you know what's going on?

Take a real good look around

Don't wait till the clock winds down by then

Our kingdom will be done

What will we become

When everything is gone?

Solo

The forests have been burned to ash

We pick among the piles of trash

And pound the pavement looking for

A single blade of grass we can't find one

Now that all the trees are gone

The air is black in all the skies

It chokes our lungs and stings our eyes

We stand around like skeletons

And watch each other dying one by one

Now that all the air is gone

What have we done so wrong

That everything is gone?

Take a real good look around

Do you know what's going on?

Take a real good look around

Don't wait till the clock winds down by then

Our kingdom will be done

What will we become

When everything is gone?

There's a small boy crying

And he asks me

Is there anything left at all

Of the planet he lives on?

And I say I'm sorry son

But everything is gone

Original Demo

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Gone – ©1991 – Industrial – Marilyn Manson - (90-2-0)

90 renders / 2 versions used in Pro Tools / added 0 tracks

Style Prompt - industrial rock, electronic rock, industrial metal, male soprano vocal

Origin

I thought that writing about climate change (called global warming at the time) would fall on deaf ears because for the most part people can’t be bothered. But then I thought, if you make the song about what it would do to people, how they would suffer, people might pay attention. My demo is a real bare bones 4 track with mostly just drums, bass, guitar and vocals. I didn’t have the gear or experience at that point to do a full on Industrial track. But all these years later, the AI gave me 2 cover versions of the song that I really like. One version, which I call the NIN version is really the arrangement that was in my head all along. It had everything I was thinking, from the stops to the instrument choices etc. But they AI also gave me a little surprise. Another render popped out the MM version. It was never what I had in mind, but I really liked it. So I kept both.

Lyrics

Acid rains on deserts run

We're drying in the poison sun

And melting in the chemicals that

Seeped into our blood and burned our tongues

Now that all the water's gone

Wind blew all the soil away

The oil covered seas are dead

The birds are singing slowly in the radiation

It won't be long now that all the food is gone

Where can we run

Now that everything is gone?

Take a real good look around

Do you know what's going on?

Take a real good look around

Don't wait till the clock winds down by then

Our kingdom will be done

What will we become

When everything is gone?

Solo

The forests have been burned to ash

We pick among the piles of trash

And pound the pavement looking for

A single blade of grass we can't find one

Now that all the trees are gone

The air is black in all the skies

It chokes our lungs and stings our eyes

We stand around like skeletons

And watch each other dying one by one

Now that all the air is gone

What have we done so wrong

That everything is gone?

Take a real good look around

Do you know what's going on?

Take a real good look around

Don't wait till the clock winds down by then

Our kingdom will be done

What will we become

When everything is gone?

There's a small boy crying

And he asks me

Is there anything left at all

Of the planet he lives on?

And I say I'm sorry son

But everything is gone

Original Demo

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Far Too Late – ©2000 – Blues Rock – Blues Traveler - (29-2-6)

29 renders / 2 versions used in Pro Tools / added 6 tracks - 6 BV Demo

Style Prompt - blues rock, jam band with backing vocals

Origin

This is a song about the realization that becoming successful is not all fun and games, and at times can be a bit icky. I wrote this song with my cousins Alan and Ralph. Ralph came up with the riff, we had our friend Ken play some blues guitar over the music and Alan and I went to work on the lyrics. I wanted to write the song Bowie style, so my cousin and I hired someone to write a small program that would take a dictionary and randomly put strings of words together. We grabbed a bunch of 2,3 and 4 word phrases that we thought sounded interesting and made a huge list in the computer. Alan kept saying to me, this is cool but how the heck are we going to get a song out of this? I just kept telling him that the song was in there, we just had to find it. After hours of rearranging the phrases, a pattern started to emerge and the song revealed itself. I love that a lot of the phrases in the song are all new to the language. I threw one little bonus in there as well. The line "you are here, are you here, here you are" is a reference to the stages of life you go through to get to adulthood. "You are here" is the certainty of youth, it’s declarative and you always think you are right and smarter than everyone else. "Are you here" references getting older and learning enough to question things, and suddenly you are not as sure as you used to be. "Here you are" refers to when you get older and you stop caring about what the world thinks.

Lyrics

An unmarked automatic beer gut, cashbox potluck, what comes first?

Contortion molded bottled water hack swinging in a flak jacket aerosol universe

Spoon fed the superficial cereal an amateur ferocious paper powered whore

Turning pictures into presidents sucking on breath mints and

Smiling like a used car salesman

No one ever told me it would be like this

But it's far too late to turn back now

You are here, are you here, here you are

Kid you’re gonna be a big star

But you have to do this first

If you’re gonna be your best

You got to do your worst

Kneeling by your roadside bedside worshiping underneath the pink

A grimy puppy skull tongue scrub milk tagged bon bon powership entrepreneur

With ripe weathertight cleavage outlaw mouth healer dirt magic smile

Another stimulating fashion riot formerly a genuine throwaway pavement chamois

Everybody has their share of ups and downs

But it's far too late to turn back now

You are here, are you here, here you are

You wanna drive around in a big car

You know you gotta do this first

If you’re gonna be your best

You have to do your worst

Solo

Trapped in the nicotine basement secretly patient, suddenly sand

With snow on the imagination tip your head reception and suicidal sideburns

A wholeheartedly barefoot casually disgusted hippie defense

Treading water in a fish tank, death blow bread kissed portable atomic man

I showed so much promise back in my high school

But it's far too late to turn back now

You are here, are you here, here you are

I see you’ve got a couple of good scars

Are you waiting for the bubble to burst?

If you’re gonna be your best

You have to do your worst

You are here, are you here, here you are

It’s slightly more than a little bizarre

Do you think you’re gonna ever learn?

If you’re gonna be your best

You got to do your worst

Original Demo

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How Can You Say – ©1998 – Gospel / R&B / Pop – ???? - (177–1–0)

177 renders / 1 versions used in Pro Tools / added 0 tracks

Style Prompt - soulful piano ballad with male and female gospel vocals

Origin

This is one of the few songs that has multiple versions, and for this song there are three of what I am calling a Country, a Pop R/B and a Gospel R/B version. This is the Pop version, but you can hear the other versions on "What Are You Waiting For" and "Country Folk". So you are probably wondering, why would a guy who writes mostly rock and alt songs write a Gospel song? I will answer. I joined a Gospel choir in college and went to a few rehearsals. Before we started performing, I got very sick and was on antibiotics for about a month. After the medicine, I was still weak for another month. So, no choir for me. I ran into the girl who was the head of the choir on campus and she graciously asked me if I wanted to come back, but I felt like I had missed so much that I would be too far behind and I didn't love the idea that I would be holding everyone back. In trying to not completely lose my gospel experience, I decided to write a gospel song instead. Since I really knew nothing about writing Gospel music, I decided I would just do the story “Footprints in the Sand” but with a man and a woman. The song turned into more of a play than a song and runs about 6 minutes, but I do like the way it turned out.

Lyrics

You know I'm glad to see you happy

That's all I ever wanted you to be

And we waited so long

Now you're standing strong on your feet

Yeah, you're back on your feet

I think you know how much I love you

I showed you oh so many times

I stood right by you and helped pull you through

Those stone-hearted days and those dark lonely nights

Do you remember?

When times got tough

I lift-ed you up

And I carried you in through my door

So how can you say you don't love me anymore?

Lately I've been feeling lonely

And there's nothing in the world that can make me so blue (ooh-ooh)

It feels like you don't need me (you don't need me)

But please, please believe me (please believe me)

I still need you, oh, I still do

Now you say you need your freedom (now you say you need your freedom)

So tell me is this the end (so tell me is this the end)

You know you will hurt me if you turn and desert me

When I need you to hold me and just be my friend

Do you remember?

When times got tough

I lifted you up

And I carried you in through my door

So how can you say you don't love me?

How can you say you don't love me?

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

And it's so easy to lose your way in the good times

When you think that there's nothing wrong

And when you are feeling too sure that you

Know where you're going that's when you'll get lost

I'll always love you

And I'll always need you

And I'll be there for you

Give me your heart and I'll give you my all

Do you remember?

When times got tough (When times got tough)

I lifted you up (I lifted you up)

And I carried you in through my door

I let you in and I gave you all

So how can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

And I know that people change, I do, yes I do

And sometimes we have to let go quietly

But it's never been this bad before (never been this bad before)

I never felt so empty oh (never felt so empty oh)

I just pray that you won't forget about me

I still remember

When times got tough

You lifted me up

And you carried me in through your door

So how can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

Original Demo

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How Can You Say – ©1998 – Gospel / R&B – ???? - (177–1–0)

177 renders / 1 versions used in Pro Tools / added 0 tracks

Style Prompt - soulful piano ballad with male and female gospel vocals

Origin

This is one of the few songs that has multiple versions, and for this song there are three of what I am calling a Country, a Pop R/B and a Gospel R/B version. This is the Gospel version, but you can hear the other versions on "What Are You Waiting For" and "Country Folk". So you are probably wondering, why would a guy who writes mostly rock and alt songs write a Gospel song? I will answer. I joined a Gospel choir in college and went to a few rehearsals. Before we started performing, I got very sick and was on antibiotics for about a month. After the medicine, I was still weak for another month. So, no choir for me. I ran into the girl who was the head of the choir on campus and she graciously asked me if I wanted to come back, but I felt like I had missed so much that I would be too far behind and I didn't love the idea that I would be holding everyone back. In trying to not completely lose my gospel experience, I decided to write a gospel song instead. Since I really knew nothing about writing Gospel music, I decided I would just do the story “Footprints in the Sand” but with a man and a woman. The song turned into more of a play than a song and runs about 6 minutes, but I do like the way it turned out.

Lyrics

You know I'm glad to see you happy

That's all I ever wanted you to be

And we waited so long

Now you're standing strong on your feet

Yeah, you're back on your feet

I think you know how much I love you

I showed you oh so many times

I stood right by you and helped pull you through

Those stone-hearted days and those dark lonely nights

Do you remember?

When times got tough

I lift-ed you up

And I carried you in through my door

So how can you say you don't love me anymore?

Lately I've been feeling lonely

And there's nothing in the world that can make me so blue (ooh-ooh)

It feels like you don't need me (you don't need me)

But please, please believe me (please believe me)

I still need you, oh, I still do

Now you say you need your freedom (now you say you need your freedom)

So tell me is this the end (so tell me is this the end)

You know you will hurt me if you turn and desert me

When I need you to hold me and just be my friend

Do you remember?

When times got tough

I lifted you up

And I carried you in through my door

So how can you say you don't love me?

How can you say you don't love me?

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

And it's so easy to lose your way in the good times

When you think that there's nothing wrong

And when you are feeling too sure that you

Know where you're going that's when you'll get lost

I'll always love you

And I'll always need you

And I'll be there for you

Give me your heart and I'll give you my all

Do you remember?

When times got tough (When times got tough)

I lifted you up (I lifted you up)

And I carried you in through my door

I let you in and I gave you all

So how can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

And I know that people change, I do, yes I do

And sometimes we have to let go quietly

But it's never been this bad before (never been this bad before)

I never felt so empty oh (never felt so empty oh)

I just pray that you won't forget about me

I still remember

When times got tough

You lifted me up

And you carried me in through your door

So how can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me? (How can you say)

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

How can you say you don't love me anymore?

Original Demo

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No Good Advice From A Friend – ©1996 – Indie Rock / Emo – Bright Eyes - (34–1–2)

34 renders / 1 versions used in Pro Tools / added 2 tracks - 2 KB SFX

Style Prompt - piano emo pop ballad

Origin

This song is very high school. It seemed like at this age everyone one of my female friends was caught in a loop of despair about their lives and why they didn’t have the life that they thought they should. The original version was mostly piano and vocal. I like that the AI went full band, expanded the string part and gave the song an intense Conor Oberst style vocal. It wasn't what I had initially envisioned, but it works perfectly for the song.

Lyrics

There's something wrong you say

I think I'd rather die right now

Than face another long and lonely day

You lie down on your bed

And you stare into the emptiness

As the tears run down your face

I say try and stay composed

You're losing all control

You let emotion take its toll on you

When it's all the same to me

You turn your head

And you roll over and (sigh)

Sigh, I'm wasting into nothing here

I just can't seem to get the things I want

And will I ever know

How it feels to be wanted for someone

Else to want to be loved by me

And you've always been throwing your heart into everything

I say don't let yourself get down

The tide will turn around

But nothing I can do or say

Will change the way you're looking at yourself

It must be me you say

And you look for my expression

As you're waiting for an answer

You hope I'll disagree

'Cause you don't mean what you're thinking

But you're not sure you believe yourself

I say as long as you hold on

You'll never be alone

Another bad cliche advice not

Good enough for anything at all

And I've always been trying to make sense of everything

I'm tired now you say, so there's

No more conversation

Below the humming of the ceiling fan

The room is shaded gray

And it's a sunny afternoon

On the other side of the curtains

Original Demo

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Change Me – ©2000 – Grunge – ??? - (7–4–8)

7 renders / 1 versions used in Pro Tools / added 4 tracks - 7 BV me 1 BV Layer

Style Prompt - Grunge with a driving, high-tempo energy, Distorted electric guitars play palm-muted power chords in the verses and open, ringing chords in the choruses, A bright, picked electric bass follows the guitar root notes with consistent eighth-note pulses, The drum kit features a prominent snare on beats 2 and 4, with rapid eighth-note hi-hat patterns and frequent crash cymbal accents, Male vocals are delivered with a melodic, slightly nasal punk inflection, often layered with vocal harmonies during the chorus, The arrangement includes brief instrumental breaks featuring syncopated guitar stabs, 165 BPM, Key of E Major, 4/4 time signature

Origin

In my teen years and early 20s I was super stubborn. But the beauty of it was, I wasn’t unaware. I knew I was stubborn and I just didn’t care. So I thought I would write a song about just how stubborn I was, and Change Me was born. Of all the songs I have ever written, this is the only one that is truly autobiographical. It is 100% me. The other songs are all amalgamations of many events and stories, but not this.

Lyrics

i'm stuck with this idea in my head

i'd let it go but i can't seem to shake it

there's only one way, stubborn or stupid

maybe i'm wrong, cracked up and useless, i don't know

yes i will see the one thing that i want to see

'cause i can't give in (change me)

pretend (change me)

understand (change me)

play nice (change me)

think twice (change me)

take advice (change me)

see you (change me)

your view (change me)

i'm through (change me)

change me

i just want to do what i'm doing

i don't have time for all the pushing and pulling

you shout at me, what the hell are you thinking?

i turn around, i'm inside out, i can't relate

'cause i can't give in (change me)

pretend (change me)

understand (change me)

play nice (change me)

think twice (change me)

take advice (change me)

see you (change me)

your view (change me)

i'm through (change me)

i'm through

i see the world with my eyes closed tight

i see the world with the blinds drawn shut

i see the world in a circle 'round my head

i rarely go any deeper than that

i'm sewn like a repeating pattern

over and over and over and over

i will be here, safe inside my bubble

hey I'm not listening, iI'm not in this conversation

i'm on another planet, i'm in another time zone

you just said to me what, was that you said again?

i'll make the same mistake my friend, i'll make the same mistake again

give me the blindfold, i'll tie the knot myself

give me the blindfold, i'll tie the knot myself

give me the blindfold, i'll tie the knot myself

give me the blindfold, i'll tie the knot myself

i know what i know, and i know what i am

what i am, what i am, what i am, what i am

i know what i know, and i know what i am

don't bother to argue, i will not change my mind

don't tell me i'm wrong when i think that i am right

try whatever you will, do whatever you say

i might concede your point after you're walking away from me

we all believe in what we want to believe

and i can't give in (change me)

pretend (change me)

understand (change me)

play nice (change me)

think twice (change me)

take advice (change me)

see you (change me)

your view (change me)

i'm through (change me)

change me

Original Demo

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Sigmund Freud – ©1998 – House / EDM – Daft Punk - (205–2–1)

205 renders / 2 versions used in Pro Tools / added 1 tracks - 1 Female Voice

Style Prompt - EDM, House, male vocal for verse and female vocal for chorus, use different keyboard sounds than in original, ‑electric guitar

Origin

I lived in New York City during the age of the dance clubs. Places like Limelight, Webster Hall, and Tunnel were in their heyday. The clubs were so crazy that when people visited me in the city and asked, "What is the most New York thing to do?" I didn’t take them to the Empire State Building, I took them to Limelight. It was the closest thing to being in a movie you could experience short of actually being on a film set. It didn’t even seem real.

One thing that always stood out to me was how overtly sexual most people would get on the dance floor, they were really feeling themselves. They were so extra, that I would always say to myself OK, nobody is that sexy. I always thought that Sigmund Freud would have a field day with these places. So the song is a very tongue and cheek look at the scene using Freudian psychology phrases to cheekily tell the story.

Lyrics

It's no slip of the tongue

You're fixated on how hard you can come

You're steaming hot to use

What you've got

To have the one thing that you have not got

Moving your hips it's the stage that you're in

And you've been freely associating

You take what you need

On the floor and in your fantasies

You can go for days where you never laugh

I can't remember the last time you cried

You feed your ego well and satisfy your drives

So what's your pleasure you wrote the book

And you know what you want tonight

Maybe Sigmund Freud was right

We need sex to survive

Erotic stimulation

Analysis through exploration

Sweat tastes like skin

An obsession war is one you cannot win

Impulse takes its toll

A super-ego fighting for control

Some conscious restraint

Manifesting nerves as a twitch between your legs

You can go for days where you never laugh

I can't remember the last time you cried

You feed your ego well and satisfy your drives

So what's your pleasure you wrote the book

Indulge your decadent desires

Your id is running wild

You need sex to survive

Freedom of expression

Action not repression

Your defenses slide to your toes

And transfer passion as you step out of your clothes

Libido on fire

Your skin is burning and the smoke covers your eyes

To your past

As your fingers dig in deep into my back

You can go for days where you never laugh

I can't remember the last time you cried

You feed your ego well and satisfy your drives

So what's your pleasure you wrote the book

I can't give you everything money can buy but I can make you

bite your lip

And call your god

And scream into the sky

It's not about love It's all about pride

It's all about power and the urges inside

It makes us feel better when we sate with pleasure

It makes us feel strong and alive

It keeps us together when we wouldn't last

It eases our bodies and opens our minds

Maybe Sigmund Freud was right

We need sex to survive

Original Demo

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Boys And Girls – ©1996 – 80s New Wave – Culture Club / Human League - (84– 3 – 6)

84 renders / 3 versions used in Pro Tools / added 6 tracks - 1 KB demo, 1 Strat demo 4 BV demo

Style Prompt - new wave, pop rock, synth-pop with distinctive, bright, and emotive male vocal tone that perfectly complemented the synth-pop landscape of the 1980s, sincere and clear, capable of conveying deep emotion, ranging from upbeat optimism to melancholic reflection

Origin

What can I say, I’m a child of the 80s. This song was written during the early internet. It was a simpler more innocent time when the most scandalous things online were these jokes circulating why girls are better than boys and boys are better than girls. My inbox was so inundated with them I could barely stand it. Then one of my friends sent me an email with one that just pushed me over the top. I don’t remember which one specifically she sent me but I was pretty much done, and it was the impetus to write the song. I had an effects processor called the Quadraverb GT which made the guitar sound really ethereal... it almost sounded like a keyboard. It is central to the song so I dragged that demo track into this final mix. But ultimately, I thought I would try to use primarily keyboards on this version and make it super 80s. This is the cover Suno gave me.

Lyrics

You're such a woman you say

I'm a typical man

So we're predictable

I don't see the problem in that

You worry too much and I

Waste too much time

Please let's not talk about it anymore

Can we just live our lives 'cause

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

Don't even try and change it

Let me be me, I'll let you be you

We'll both be happier that way

We want perfection but what

Does perfect mean? (does perfect mean?)

I'm not a prince, there's no white horse

And this is not a dream, (I repeat, this is not a dream)

We have foolish expectations

When love is on the line (when love is on the line)

It makes us crazy that we can't change

The ones we love to fit in our design 'cause

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

Work with it and not against it

Let me be me, I'll let you be you

We'll both be happier that way

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

solo

No point in trying to pretend

That we're both the same

Mother nature drives us in unlike ways

In our bodies, hearts and souls and brains

Let's compromise, I'll just love you

And you can just love me

Recognize our differences

And if you want something to blame

You can blame our humanity

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

Work with it not against it

Let me be me, I'll let you be you

We'll both be happier that way

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

Boys will be boys, girls will be girls

Nobody's right, nobody's wrong

There's bound to be a bit of friction

Boys made of rocks and clay, girls candy and lemonade

That's just who we are, we'll never change

Oh-oh-oh

Original Demo

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Yesterday's Goodbye – ©1990 – Indie Folk – ???? - (121–3–10)

121 renders / 3 versions used in Pro Tools / added 10 tracks - 3 BV demo, 1 Cello, 2 String Layers, 1 12 string, 1gtr layer, 1 tube bells, 1 tambourine demo

Style Prompt - Indie Folk Rock characterized by emotional, atmospheric soundscapes, ethereal falsetto vocals, and intimate instrumentation, The male vocal is high, ethereal, and emotive, fragile yet soaring with a light, airy quality that frequently operates in a delicate falsetto, creating a melancholic, dreamy soundscape, This ethereal, high-pitched falsetto voice is angelic, otherworldly, or "elfin" characterized by a light, flutey, and consistently high register

Origin

I wrote this song in college. Every love song tries to capture the glory of love... you see the girl across a room and your eyes meet and it's magic. That pretty much never happens though. I wanted to try and capture the much more realistic version and the awkwardness of the moment because real life is seldom that slick. I feel like this song is a nice balance of the 2. It is a bit clumsy, but there do seem to be some charming moments... and at least it appears both the characters in the song are sort of acknowledging the awkwardness by trying to push through it. (Though she seems to be doing a much better job than him.) While the encounter seems sweet enough, we can all surmise from the song's title that it doesn't work out.

Lyrics

I nod as if to say hello

You don't really know my name

But I see you there alone

So I start the conversation and

I watch the world move through your eyes

Remember yesterday's goodbye

I stop you just before you leave

You laugh and then I hear your voice

I watch your lips make out the words

I feel the sound around my heart

And breathe the softness of your sigh

Remember yesterday's goodbye

Quartet

You said you take your coffee black

When I lost the words to say

I was shaking in my bones

You were standing in the rain

And your smile warmed me up inside

Remember yesterday's goodbye

Now you're so far away and I

Hold on to yesterday's goodbye

Remember yesterday's goodbye

I dream of yesterday

Original Demo

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