Last night I posted my 8th original song to my YouTube Channel.

(At this point, I am a one-woman-band, so I can only post the acoustic versions of my songs…but picture some drums and electric guitar with it, and that’s the full version of the song 😉 )

Allison Merten
Photo by Maison Meredith Photography

“Temptation” is the title of my debut album. I chose to label my album “Temptation because I feel that it explains many of my songs. Many of my songs are about pain that I experienced or pain that someone I know has experienced. People try to find true happiness and life, and often we connect the idea of “true happiness” with the right person.

Because people worry that they won’t find the “right person,” they settle. They are tempted to stay in a horrible relationship or return to someone who isn’t right for them because being alone feels worse. But, if you stay with the wrong person, you also feel bad…(this is where writing songs comes into play 😉 )

The song “Temptation” is a song that I actually wrote in high school. I have adapted the song since then, but I originally wrote it about a boy who chased me, I ended up falling for him, and in the end, he ended up being a selfish and hurtful person.

In the first verse, I use the word “obsessed.” I chose this word in order to describe those times that you absolutely cannot stop thinking about someone. The protagonist is tortured by thoughts of how beautiful the tempter is.The protagonist also remembers how intelligent the tempter was and how she/he found that incredibly admirable.

The song “Temptation” is one in which the protagonist has an inner dialogue with herself/himself (like when you see an angel and devil sitting on someone’s shoulder in a cartoon).

The thoughts of returning back to the tempter disappear when the “angel” knocks some sense into the protagonist with questions like: “Don’t you remember when he/she promised to call but never did?” “Don’t you remember when you expressed that you were hurt and he/she didn’t address it in the slightest?”

The second verse is about something I feel a lot of people do. The protagonist has a selective memory about her/his former relationship with the tempter. The protagonist always felt so special whenever the tempter would smile at her/him. How could you not fall in love with someone who smiles like that? The sound of the tempter’s laugh and the way they laughed together made the protagonist so happy! And they had so many good times together! You can’t forget about all those good times! 

Again, the “angel” knocks some sense in the protagonist by saying: “Don’t you remember how many times he/she made you cry?” “Don’t you remember how whenever you expressed your anger or sadness he/she just laughed at you?”

The bridge talks about how seeing him is the hardest battle. The protagonist can have an inner battle between her/his “angel” and “devil” and turn out okay. But when the protagonist sees the tempter, it’s a whole nother story. The tempter is like antifreeze to animals. It seems desirable, but it is actually lethal. Not returning to the tempter is a battle the protagonist will always face.

If you haven’t heard the song yet, you can check out my live acoustic version here.