Amanda Vernon

Recording Artist & Author

In Real Life

During the month of October, I am running a Kickstarter campaign to fund my fifth album, “Interior Gaze.” Over the course of this month, I am going to share the stories and lyrics from each of the 10 new tracks for this CD.  I will simply start in alphabetical order.  Towards the end of the campaign, I will recap the entire project, explaining how the "Theology of the Body" inspired each song.

Here is the background story for song #3, “In Real Life.”

Photo from 2008, with good friends from my childhood...including my sister!  

 

This August, I was a finalist in the competition, “GR’s Got Talent,” in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  While I did not win anything, it was a great opportunity to meet other local artists.  One act stood out to me in particular.  Afterwards, I felt compelled to write a new song as the final piece for my upcoming album.  

The performer’s name was Keegan "Seoul" Loye.  He presented two spoken-word and break dance.  His first poem addressed the mistake of confining our experiences and relationships by our technology.  For instance, is there not a world of difference between hearing someone say, “I love you,” for the first time, versus receiving the same words in a text message?

I have to laugh as I write this: I am trying to describe the insufficiency of technology through a blog post!  The dynamic beauty of trust, honesty, and vulnerability makes friendship so important to write about.  That real-life experience is what makes me want to blog about it, text about it, sing about it.  In my new music, I let my heart show more than ever.  I have developed this confidence through friendship.

The friends who know me best have taught me to be bold.  Their acceptance encourages me to keep improving.  Their love shows me I can try my best, without fear of failure.  Even when I do fail, they mourn with me, and then cheer me onward.  Maybe this is why Facebook is so popular.  Who doesn’t want to be surrounded by friends?  However, true friendship takes humility.

Keegan’s poem reminded me that, while we all desire to be known and accepted, we also have a tendency to hide our true selves.  Ironically, we can hide ourselves through the very things that appear to connect us (his examples were texting and social media).  By sharing my true self through my new songs, I hope to build bridges of friendship between people of different cultures, ages, and walks of life.

I wish I could become friends with every person who reads my blog or listens to my music.  I pray we will have an eternity to get to know each other in the future.  For now, I am thankful for the people who have shared the journey with me over the years.  In my most recent composition, "In Real Life," I'm bottling the confidence they have given me through the gift of friendship.

To read the lyrics for my song, visit the "Updates" section of my Kickstarter webpage, by clicking here. Would you like to hear this song in a studio recording?  Consider backing my project by making a pledge, and please join me in praying for success in this campaign.

 

More Story Lines & Lyrics, coming soon.

 

Amanda 

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