“Roadmap” – by Cecil Charles
“Hindsight’s 20/20,
but we all get turned around.
I’ve lost more pretty pennies,
staring at the ground.
You’ve seen me at my lowest
and I’ve see your tears come down.
But if I could see the roadmap
of how we came down this way
I’d do it all over,
do it all over again…
Just the same way.
There are no mistakes, no.
Mmm.
There are no mistakes, love. “
Why honest descriptions of love are important, and more beautiful
As a romantic, I’m definitely vulnerable to the dreams of perfect love. But I’m also a realist, and a lover of aesthetic, and so often the most beautiful love stories are the ones that show the harsh and difficult sides of what it is to be human, and what it is to be in love.
As most of us agree, fairy-tale endings (when the couple gets together, finally) are actually the beginnings of the real challenges of love. The commitment, the compromises, the life choices and unexpected hardships that put strain on even the most genuine feelings of love and commitment.
But true love takes commitment and fortitude, and only through the elevation of that commitment above most other things, and the continual fostering of love and trust and communication between two people, can love last.
We live in a day and age when the “next new thing” is worshipped… but that mindset doesn’t help to keep a relationship alive.
I hope that more art is created that shows the beauty of love that sustains through hardships, and the beauty of people who endure through tough times. That’s what music does for me – it’s a way to re-frame difficult things into beautiful things, and allows me to stay excited about today, no matter how many difficult days I’ve had in the past. And I’ve had my fair share, as have we all.
The genesis of “Roadmap”
I wrote this song, “Roadmap,” thinking about the beauty of a relationship that is still going, after having been through a lot.
I imagine two lovers, maybe on their 10th anniversary, maybe on their 50th, looking back at their lives, and realizing that every single thing they’ve done (together, and apart) has led them to this point in time – this moment of now – in which they’re still together. They’re still together, and they have the choice, in this moment, to continue loving each other, despite all the difficulties they’ve been through.
Even this image is idealistic, I know. Love doesn’t always work out. But we’re hardwired to hope it does, and I like exploring a realistic view of what a love like that looks like.
I really hope you like the song. It’s been in the works for years, and I had an incredible time recording it with my producer, Dominic Gibbs, in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s a true talent and if you’re looking for a guy, he’s your guy. Additionally, it was mixed by Ben Pepin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Feel incredibly honored to have worked with them both.
A summer to remember
I wrote “Roadmap” over a magical summer I spent with two fantastic songwriters from England, Mo Evans and Stephanie Fraser. They came to Nashville and I was hosting at a restaurant at the time, and as soon as I heard their charming English accents, I figured we’d be fast friends (that was, of course, until they heard my less-than-charming-attempt at an English accent, at which point I had to start over from scratch).
We spent most of our nights at Music City Hostel, staying up into the wee-hours of the morning, talking and sharing songs, drinking and laughing and generally just reveling in the world and how wonderful it was to be passionate about music.
At some point in those two months that they were in Nashville, I brought them this chord progression I’d been playing and they loved it. They were very enthusiastic about little melodic hook in the chorus, and so I finally sat down and wrote some lyrics.
In all sincerity, Mo and Steph are some of the most talented songwriters I’ve ever met, and I felt honored to be around them – and for their interest in my music. I hope you check them out. They became amazing friends that summer, and I have a distinct feeling my life is going to take me “somewhere, over the sea” to work with them on more music projects. I’m looking forward to that day.
Thank you, and how you can help
So, please listen and enjoy “Roadmap.” It’ll be available on iTunes and Spotify within the week, but for now, the greatest thing you can do for me is share the song with your friends, your family, or that someone who you love and for whom you’d “do it all over again, just the same way.”
Finally, this is the second song of 2019. I’m releasing a song per month, for the entire year, and likely much longer. If you want to support this project, please consider becoming a “patron” on Patreon. It’s a $5 pledge, and you get a free download (via iTunes or Amazon) of every song for every month in which you’re a patron. Just click HERE to learn more.
Yours,
Cecil
