Post number four of song stories from ‘Beauty Survives’ is the song Catch The Sun.

It’s so strange recalling how and when I wrote these songs, I didn’t think I’d be able to.  But, I do quite vividly!  I grouped these songs together on this album particularly because they were all written over a similar period of time, apart from the next story I’ll be posting.

So, if you’ve read the previous posts, you’ll start to see a pattern here.  This song like the others before it so far was (lyrically) started in one place and then finished with the music and demos in another place.  Actually, it was the same year as Cry Now; 2012, and at the same time I finished Cry Now in that little countryside cottage in Shropshire I also finished Catch The Sun.  Though Catch The Sun I had started a little bit later than Cry Now.

It was July, I was on holiday in Egypt.  It was bordering 40ºC almost every day.  I love the heat though, but this was from 6am solid for the next 10 days, you know if you’ve been what it’s like!  There are several lyrics in the song that refer to running away, being ‘ready’ and falling.  Such as the opening line:

5am, ready to catch the sun, I want to stand tall, but you want me to run. 

The reason these ideas are in the song is it’s essentially a break-up song!  But, it’s not an ‘out of the blue’, very sad kind of a break-up song.  It’s one where you’re choosing to go on to better days.  So, a few things happened when I was on holiday that inspired many of the lyrics, but the idea behind the lyric “catch the sun” came from a book I was reading at the time called “Catching The Sun” by Tony Parsons.  The book is about a family who goes in search of ‘paradise’ in Thailand but discovers a lot about themselves, and it’s all set in the wonderful sunshine.  I mentioned in the last post about Cry Now how that kind of release has a healing property to it.  Well, I also believe for me, sunshine does that too.  And if you’re not ready, as in the book, I feel what the sun does is it draws back the layers, it uncovers.  The sun as I say in the song always rises, it’s always there no matter what.  But, if you don’t act in the right way it can hurt you, burn you.  The way I felt at this time with it being so so hot where I was, was like I was discovering my sense of adventure again, as in the book.  I practice yoga often and I especially love it in the sun, but at that time I wasn’t as I was recovering and healing from surgery, so although the sun felt good like I was renewing myself, it also felt like it was burning away and unless I moved or ran or got out of the rut I was in I wouldn’t be better.  So that second line:

Reminds me of days that I, I let slip away and if I fall you’ll never catch me again.

refers to an actual fall I had down a flight of concrete stairs when I was running quite fast, getting an instant bruise the size of my whole backside and in that same moment deciding to change my life very drastically!  Call it a light bulb moment.  In my mind, I decided my relationship had to end in that instant and I came back home single, but very very happy.

The whole time I had been relaxing around the swimming pool on holiday I had been people watching quite a bit.  I found it interesting everyone appearing to have the perfect holiday, matched with the perfect tan, the model looks and so on, or so I believed.  The last verse refers to this, just thinking about how no matter what you perceive, someone else may be having the same thoughts as you, or wondering the same ‘what ifs’ about their life too.

So whether you give it all up, stay or go, run fast or slow down for a bit, this song is about “looking up” going onwards and upwards, but mostly making those decisions for yourself and not for anyone else.

Check out the song on the media or shop page of my website here.

Catch The Sun

Music & lyrics – Shelly Quarmby

Verse 1

5am, ready to catch the sun, I want to stand tall but you want me to run.

Reminds me of days that I, I let slip away and if I fall you’ll never catch me again.

It takes a lot of trust to give this up

Chorus

I need to catch the sun

can’t bag it up for rainy days

in a moment it’ll all be gone

you know the past will not be changed

And I realise, the sun will always rise

I’m giving it up to catch the sun.

Verse 2

So I’ll stand my ground, and if I choose to leave,

it’ll be the right time and when I believe.

I have enough love to give you up

Chorus

I need to catch the sun

until its burned right through my heart

And we’ve run out of love

It means we cannot carry on

And the emptiness leaves me without breath.

I’m giving you up to catch the sun.

Bridge

I’ve been holding onto you

staring at life 

holding on too tight

Verse 3

Perfect love or a glowing shell?

Never revealed and they will, never tell.

Chorus

I need to catch the sun

can’t bag it up for rainy days

in a moment it’ll all be gone

you know the past will never change

And the emptiness, leaves me without breath

I’m living it up 

I’m looking up 

I’m giving you up to catch the sun.

catch the sun

Ooh…. 

Oh…