Music and poetry have always been a part of my life.  All through High School I would write (crappy) poetry, and even in middle school I went to a couple summer camps for it.  Every so often something will hit me, and all I can do is grab pen and paper and scribble it down before it's gone, or I'll wind up thinking "What was the rest of that..?" until I just give up.

In college I met another gentleman, both of us were part of the same college theater.  Somehow if you got him and me in a room with a guitar, music happened.  He'd have chords, I'd suddenly say "I've got words for that!" et voila, we wrote music.  He was the one with the real musical talent however, and after having that synergy and losing it when I graduated and moved away, I just stopped.  I couldn't do it anymore.

When I moved back to Atlanta, he and I got together and played again and I guess it was an epiphany for me because I started writing again.  Not like I used to, but it wasn't dead anymore.  Unfortunately I can't play a guitar and sing at the same time - for some reason I focus too much on the singing when I'm doing it to manage an instrument.  And I've never been particularly good at putting music to words, nor are my words really all that catchy.  So I've settled down and am content with being a somewhat talented amateur, and shocking the crap out of people who think they know me by handing them a demo tape from the old college band, 5 1/2 Years (Because that's how long it takes to graduate from Tech).

What you'll find here are lyrics I wrote for the band, and stuff I've written before and since.  Some of them have music with them, some don't, but since I can't play and sing they all wind up a capella in the end.  My preference in music leans toward harmonies a la the Indigo Girls and other groups, and I find a distinctly country bent to my sound, because of the nature of my voice (or rather the voice I tend to use for this kind of music).  I've got 3 octaves, the problem being I've got a nasty break range, and my chest voice and my head voice... don't get along too well.  I suppose I could get some training to fix that, but when will I find the time?  Too much else to do.

At any rate, here's my work.  Copyrights are specified on each.

-Jaelle 10/16/04

Addendum 2/22/05 - I'm going to wind up splitting this again, to pre-band, band, and post-band.  In my infinite spare time, that is.

• Fire And Ice was the second song written for the band, and quite possibly what cemented the band idea in our heads.

• I owe someone an apology for Right.  What is described in the song happened to me several times over the years, and when folks said this song was written to a particular individual I didn't argue the point.  I don't think he's ever forgiven me for that, especially as this became one of our more popular songs.

• There was a time in my life when I was prone to collapse for no reason at all.  It's Just About Me was written in response to that helpless look in my significant other's eyes whenever this happened...

• The Angry Sea, a song for the college band.  My first ballad, as Mom put it.

• Hindsight, a song I wrote for my college band.  We used to call it the Pirate Drinking Song.

• Khillysta's Song (pronounced khie-ee-sta, khie as in pie with a huffing sound after the k) was written to a dear beloved friend of mine.  It was the first song that I got bullheaded about and wrote lyrics and music myself, and well...  I'm not sure it stays in one key for more than a phrase or two in some areas.  It's got an eerie, ethereal sound.

• Days Go By happened after I watched Grease several times one weekend, and you can really tell.  It was my second effort (and last for the band) for both music and lyrics, but this time with a less ethereal sound.

• One Brick Slips Out, written after hearing of yet another office shootup.  This one has music, and a bit of twang to it.

• Surrender, a song I wrote in June of 2001 to my guiding spirit.  The song as it wound up doesn't quite read like this, but this is the complete thought.

• Stay The Course just sorta happened, while I was sitting around waiting for my boss to get off the phone so we could have our scheduled meeting.  I think I was listening to Barry Manilow (I Made It Through The Rain) somewhen in there.  I know the melody to the last two phrases, and that's it.

• Wheels was found in my poetry book in February of 2005.  Based on the paper it was scribbled on, I'd date it somewhere in 2002 or 2003.  I find it a shame that it was lost so long...

• I'm not sure just what The Journey is, it was one that smacked me in the back of the skull while working at my desk one day.

• I pulled out some CDs from college, from a local band I used to know, and got to thinking about how I wasn't writing much lately.  It's not an uncommon brood for me when I start thinking about music again.  Out came Muse.