Charlotte O'Connor

Work / Family Business / Track 01

Mind over Matter

A track about trying to stay emotionally in control when your body and feelings are telling a different story.

Artwork

Family Business mood board

Mind over Matter artwork page
Mind over Matter
Girl I Used To Be artwork page
The Wedding Song artwork page
Freefall artwork page
Traffic Lights artwork page

Commentary

“Mind over Matter” explores the pressure of trying to stay in control emotionally when things feel bigger than you expected. I wanted the song to capture the feeling of telling yourself you are fine, while also knowing that your body and emotions are saying something different.

The instrumental is something my producer Josh Croly created, and when I heard it for the first time I knew I wanted to use it for this album. Sonically, it fit with the other ideas I had, and I immediately had ideas for melody and lyrics.

Credits & collaborators

  • Josh Croly: collaborated on every track, writing multiple guitar parts for some songs and helping to produce tracks.

Studio audio

Full current version for assessment listening.

Lyrics

Mind over Matter

Verse 1

Memories turn to melodies

Any time, any place

Know what’s best for you, know what’s left for you

The rest can be replaced

When you find a home that’s comforting

Don’t come back to me suffering

There’s a time and a place

I can feel the air on my face

I can feel the wind blow

Refrain

Silence is all I speak now

Don’t let the words get twisted on my tongue

I thought I’d left it too long

Maybe I was cursed, maybe I was cursed

Repeat the same words over in my head

It still hurts, it may be worse, it may be worse

Once you lose yourself so many times

Pattern takes its hold

Eventually you get used to sickness

And nothing feels as good as the hurt

Verse 2

Lockbox full of secrets, too blind to see

If you can’t speak, you can’t get a hold of me

Locked in a cage, set me free

Let you pin this all on me

Camouflage a wound

Like it still needs to heal

Can’t put the past behind me

Try until I will

And I will, I will

Refrain

Silence is all I speak now

Don’t let the words get twisted on my tongue

I thought I’d left it too long

Maybe I was cursed, maybe I was cursed

Repeat the same words over in my head

It still hurts, it may be worse, may be worse

Once you lose yourself so many times

Pattern takes its hold

Eventually you get used to sickness

And nothing feels as good as the hurt

Outro

Clockwork strikes twice on the fireplace

But the broken clock still works twice a day

And the flowers you once loved wilted away

And when you try to replace them

It’s not quite the same