Happy Autumn! 🍁 I am so EXCITED that it is my FAVORITE season! ❤ Any other autumn lovers out there? 🙂

Not only am I excited about autumn, but I’m also excited because I get to share my new song with you!

In June, I shared with you that I submitted a song to the 2021 Tiny Desk Contest. Now that the contest has ended, I can finally share my song with you! 😀

Lyrics:

Be soft-spoken and sit there obediently.
It’s unfavorable to disagree, so practice complacency.
No. These expectations don’t work for me.
I’ll use my voice, and I will say what I believe.

I can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see, help what society makes of me.
Can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see. Your opinion doesn’t define me.

Wear a smile and a face void of emotion.
Anger’s unacceptable, so hold it all in.
No. These stipulations don’t work for me.
As a matter of fact, I will express myself freely.

I can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see, help what society makes of me.
Can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see. Your opinion doesn’t define me.

Don’t strive for goals that are too high.
Don’t excel; just be satisfied.
No. These limitations don’t work for me.
I wanna live my life fully, and I’ll do as I please.

I can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see, help what society makes of me.
Can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see. Your opinion doesn’t define me.

Passionate. Eccentric. Ambitious. Hardworking. Assertive. Fearless.

I can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see, help what society makes of me.
Can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see. Your opinion doesn’t define me.

I can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see, help what society makes of me.
Can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see. Your opinion doesn’t define me.

I can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see, help what society makes of me.
Can’t help if I’m a bitch, help that’s what you see. Your opinion doesn’t define me.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to C.L. Manion for filming this song for me. I have worked with C.L. Manion on artistic projects in the past. I have enjoyed acting in her films and had a BLAST making my FIRST music video with her. 😀

I wanted to initially record this song sitting in the half lotus pose seen in the photo above—since I LOVE yoga! 😉 However, it was really hard to sit on the desk in a half lotus pose while playing my guitar and breathe deeply enough to sing. 😀

In the video, and in the photo above, you can see a skull with flowers on it that I LOVE. (I wanted to include it in the video because I love skulls. 😉 )

The desk that I am sitting on was my late grandfather’s. He was an extraordinarily incredible human being. I have a lot of fond memories playing my guitar and singing for him. He was so supportive of my passion for sharing my music with others.

You can see a bass guitar leaning against the wall next to the desk. It belonged to my late cousin. She was an extremely courageous person whose boldness was incredibly inspiring. She was also really supportive of my passion for music.

The pearl necklace I am wearing belonged to my late aunt. I admired the way that she always spoke her mind and lived her life in the way she wanted to despite what others thought of her. She was also very supportive of my love of music. I miss her, my cousin, and my grandfather terribly and wanted to include something from each of them in my video to honor them. ❤

The black rose I am wearing in my hair and the gold music garland behind me were recent gifts from one of my closest friends who has always supported my passion for music.

Finally, you can see a very old harmonica holder on my wall, and that belonged to my great-grandfather. He’s the one that my accordion belonged to. 🙂

“Anthem” is extremely important to me.

This pandemic has given me a lot of time to do reflections, and I realized that I have a lot of regrets about all the times in my life I have lived inauthentically.

I hope that this song gives a voice to those who don’t have one and inspires people to be daring and live life true to themselves.

Life is too short to spend it living for other people. Be yourself! ❤