Work / Family Business / Track 03
The Wedding Song
A song about the gap between the public image of family celebration and the private tension beneath it.
Family Business mood board
Commentary
“The Wedding Song” looks at family through celebration, performance and expectation. Weddings are meant to be joyful, but they can also reveal complicated relationships, family roles and the pressure to appear happy or united.
I was interested in the contrast between the public version of family and the private emotional reality underneath it. The main reason the song is called “The Wedding Song” is less about a wedding itself, and more because there was specific family drama surrounding a wedding in my own family. That gave me insight into how to write about family dynamics that can be strained and uncomfortable.
A lot of the time, families try to project an image to the rest of the world that everything is amazing and happy, when in reality there can be tension and unease beneath the surface.
The writing process focused on how this family drama made me feel, and how it made me reflect on relationships like this. I wanted to make the track a mix of orchestral and grungy guitar, so the song starts with a wedding-inspired orchestral arrangement and leads into a more grungy guitar and bass arrangement.
Credits & collaborators
- Emma Hampton: collaborated on the song and wrote lyrics for her part.
- 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
The Wedding Song
Verse 1
Words come so easy
Cause I feel too much
If love is so painful
Why is hate the crutch
Was it meant to be a wake up call to something that I’d done
I guess I’ll never know
That’s why I never wrote the song
Verse 2
I felt the urge to move but had nowhere to go
If time is all it takes, how am I supposed to know when I know?
I could give you all you’ve ever wanted
All I’ve ever had
It still wouldn’t be enough for you
Not the best you’ve ever had
Refrain
Go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home, go home