Looking Through the Rain

Looking Through the Rain

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Looking Through the Rain is the title of my debut piano-solo album. I started to compose at the age of thirteen, my first composition being “For Emily”. I continued to write and in July of 2014 I recorded the first four songs I had written up to that point. “For Emily”, “Ambrosia”, Tattered Memories”, and “Those Days”. I continued to write, write, write all the way up until December of 2015 when I recorded the last eleven songs of the album. I still continue to write and I am even looking ahead to the second album! If you follow this blog and follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you’ll be notified of new posts. We are always doing something new at Highland! My father’s album was released the same time as mine, you can check out Laments, Dreams, and Visions below. Father and son, both composers, releasing dual albums, pretty cool right?

Looking Through the Rain

Laments, Dreams, and Visions

 

The story behind “Krazy Kat”

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My family has always had numerous amounts of cats. Most of them, if not all, were  named after musicians and poets alike. One cat in particular, Dmitri Shostakovich, loved to hunt and catch birds, mice, and rabbits. Almost every day he would bring in some new “gift”. One day as I was practicing the piano, Dmitri was sitting in the sunlight, acting as if he didn’t care about the music I was playing. I looked at him and told him “Hey, I’m gonna write you a song Dmitri!” And I did! Krazy Kat was written that same day.

The song illustrates Dmitri stretching out in the sun, when all of a sudden, he spots a mouse out of the corner of his cat eye! The chase ensues, and after finally cornering the little mouse, he pleads for mercy. We’re not sure whether or not he ate the little mouse, but the song ends with Dmitri stretching out in the soft sun again.

Now that you know the story, you can listen to the song  for free!

 

 

The Story Behind “Looking Through the Rain”

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When you hear “Looking Through the Rain” what do you think of? A young girl sitting on a park bench, night fallen, downpour….. An old man with nothing left but an old picture, thinking back on what used to be… Soaked by the thick rain…. Tell me, have you ever been here?

When I wrote “Looking Through the Rain” it really happened all at once. It started out just as an idea, the part you first heard was all I had begun to write. I had toyed with the idea a bit, trying this, trying that… But mostly I couldn’t get it out of my head.

One night I was out in the park, it was already dark out. I was under a patio, on a bench…. Rain pouring down… There was a tree, all in sillouette to my left… A path, curving out of view, was illuminated by the soft orange glow of the lamp above… The pathway was covered in water… The downpour was so heavy, and the sky was black….

When I looked to see this, I saw it a different way. It wasn’t about looking at the rain anymore… I was looking through it, and I could hear the song as clear as day. I didn’t just see my song, I also saw the others on the album. It was all clear on this seemingly dreadful night… I wrote the poem right away, and put down the first recording of it not long after.

So now, why don’t you listen to the song, and read the poem I wrote about that very same night. You will see how I turned this picture into sound.

Get “Looking Through the Rain” HERE

 

Now the poem…………..

 

Looking through the rain

With forbidden eyes

Seeing the unknown

Through the swaths of water falling

Down… down… down…

 

I see the pathway

It’s old and sacred

I’m not sure where it leads

But I’d like to find out…

There’s water almost covering it

The grass on either side is submerged

Water of the past…..

It has seen the makings of history

 

The tree is in shadow

I cannot see its details

The bark, cut and blemishes

Are all hidden

 

Maybe for a good reason…..

 

The warmth of her sitting next to me…

I can feel the water on her clothes

Seeping through mine

Onto my skin

It’s alright though… I am content

She looks into my eyes with the

Night sky above us

Stars still untouched

Eons of time has passed before their eyes

The black, ominous clouds still

Looming above our young heads

Sending down its rain

But with it your memories travel too…

Down… down… down to the ground…

Till you decide to pick them back up again

And relive the time long passed

Away…..

 

-Lee