Jackson Lucas

Hi Amber,

I have to admit that the vocal did not grab me, but the lyrics are, IMVHO, very well written, though incomplete…

I am not convinced that you are leaving a guy just because he does not like your cooking and/or the way you dress. If that is the only case you make, perhaps you are doing that guy a favor because these are superficial things that don’t matter all that much in the grand scheme of things, i.e. if you love each other deeply (after several decades of marriage I guess I know a few things relating to cooking and sartorial choices… and became a pretty good cook as a result…:-).

Please, give me a few good reasons why you want to leave the guy and convince me you are not a young immature female who is not ready yet for a serious relationship. I am already convinced you are dealing with a young immature male but I need more to realize you are much better than he is. Does that make sense?

Best,
Jack

Amber Lewis

Jackson,

thanks for the feedback. I can see where you are coming from on the marriage thing, hmm, this was suppose to be geared more to a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship so we may need to make that stand out a bit more somehow. Thanks again!

Jackson Lucas

Dear Amber,

I gave your song another listen this morning and liked it even more: liked the overall feel, the vocal and the writing, particularly the writing.

We all relate to and experience songs in our own way, bringing our own unique ‘baggage’ along, which is what I did in my initial remarks. My approach to listening and writing is mostly intuitive and evolves too, which I hope is a good thing.

While it is hard to be objective, when I put my ‘objective’ hat, I find the song perfectly fine.

Subjectively, my preference is for characters with at least a hint of more complexity/ambiguity, and I realize that the medium does not favor that for the most part, but when it is done well, it allows your work to rise above the rest of us, one trick ponies.

Hope this makes sense. Best, Jack

Jackson Lucas

Amber,

Love and marriage are different and, often, unrelated, though people often tend to think of them as a natural progression.

In my opinion/experience, Love is primeval, physical, almost non-verbal, especially early on in life.

Marriage is much more contrived (to the point that in some cultures parents make all arrangements) and sometime there is love, and sometime there is no love involved in it.

I don’t come from the marriage POV at all. I believe love is above all a physical attraction and when it goes away, well… there may be other, not as earth-shattering feelings that help us through the rest of our lives. I don’t have enough experience to offer a personal view and that is how it looks to me from the outside looking in.

Jack

Sean Kasey

Hey Amber,

This one’s got a great groove - totally dig it!  Melodically I think it’s very strong.

Couple thoughts on the lyrics:

1.  You did a good job in the chorus with all the various money references reinforcing the idea of “2 cents” but I think you may be able to make it even stronger.  I was kind of wishing the last line of the chorus said something to the effect of “keep your 2 cents cause that’s all their worth…etc”  Not sure exactly what the lyric would be but it felt like the “stick it where the sun don’t shine” line (while that may be exactly how you feel) doesn’t quite work with the title/rest of the chorus.

2.  As I was listening, I found myself wondering why you were ever with this guy to begin with and that got me thinking about some advice I got once about song structure and story.  It went something like - verse 1 tells what is, verse 2 tells what was, and the bridge sometimes tells what could be or offers a different perspective on the situation.  With that in mind, I wonder if in the second verse you might talk about how he wasn’t always such a jerk.  Or maybe it’s a situation where you thought you could change him???  Just something to add a little more depth and keep things moving.

But then again, I’m no expert - just some thoughts.
Keep it up!

Amber Lewis

Thanks Jackson and Sean for your time and feedback! Very much appreciated!

Amber Lewis

Jackson, thanks for giving this another listen by the way! In a marriage or boyfriend/girlfriend relationship there should always be positives, if there are only negatives even if they might seem inconsequential, it’s unhealthy when you only hear negatives. That being said though, I really enjoy hearing how it came across without any explanation, and if it caught your ears and feelings, honest feedback is the best feedback, it helps make improvements. thanks again.

Dave Quirk

Hey Amber….this is great….LOVE the vocal - is that you?

The beat, with that piano, makes a great groove…feels very fresh!  and your bridge provides some good contrast, too.  I think you used that title well…..and show how someone could only put up with the negative comments for so long….great job!

Amber Lewis

Dave,

Thank you so much for listening and commenting. This is not me the singer is Jade Dansie. She is amazing. I, unfortunately, cannot sing. My voice does not do much for the ears. haha. Thank you!