This is the kind of song a man writes when he is guilty of letting himself down…

Spent a lot of time crafting out the sound for this. I tried some really “spacey” effects, and tried to integrate some cool sound samples into the song. My epic-orchestral roots definitely bleed through in the ending of this song, which I really love how it turned out. I hope it works! Feedback is always appreciated, and I will use your comments to improve the final album version!

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Lyrics:
My broken dreams, they lay before me on the floor
What once was whole is split into these shattered shards
and now I carry on in time,
walking barefoot on the road map of my mistakes
and the glass cuts my feet, where the blood stains the carpet
and I’m carrying a debt, I can never seem to pay

[Chorus:
Time is mercy, but I don't want your pity.
Time forgives me, but I don't want to be forgiven.
I walk this road and carry on my shoulders
the weight of everything
I have destroyed]

What do you do?
when you see the light, but carry on the night
What do you do?
when you know what’s right, but can’t outfight the fight
What do you do?
When in front of you, you hold the sight
of everything that’s set in stone
the pathways where you broke your bone
taunting you light dancing moonlight

[Chorus]

The past is a brick road
My footsteps are hardened rock
And out beyond me, the crystal dew drops
whisper on the grass
I take a step now, and fight the pain of sharpened glass
and wash away
Only in my dreams

[Chorus]

I have betrayed,
I have forsaken.
Of all the pain in this world
I’ve held my hand when I could have done good
and time will forgive
but I won’t.

This is one of my personal favorites to date. A song about hope, about life, about leaving for college, and ultimately… about letting go and embracing the world.

This song is dedicated to anyone who has ever been a part of my life in any way (Including YOU, by listening to this song). Thank you .

It’s my way of saying goodbye, without saying goodbye.

I hope you guys enjoy! Free download is available, since this song is for you guys. This is still a BETA song, so please leave some feedback! Thanks!

——————————————————————–
Lyrics:
Here we are at the helm of our lives
Falling forward, outward, onward
It’s breaking dawn
Another day, another way
Can you see the new horizon?

It’s time to leave everything behind
It’s time to breathe a landscape, filled with possibilities
To claim the world that lies before our feet
To split into our separate ways

And I know that the drop may be steep
But I tell you, don’t worry, don’t worry
No one’s walking this road alone

Just lend me your ears
Listen softly to this song
And know that we’ll make the leap together
I’ll see you in the end

[Chorus: It’s time to move on
Time to let go
Time to step into the sun
It's time to claim the life, that lies beyond
It's time to spread our wings
to make new memories
Embrace the possibilities]

To everyone
To everything
To all the friends, the family
To all the memories shared
To all the hours spent
Smiling, laughing, crying
Together

This is for you
This is for you

So lend me your ears
Settle your fears
Save up your tears for another time
We’ll make this leap together

[Chorus]

I believe in second chances
In redemption
In salvation
I’ll leave behind my troubles
I’ve carried too long
Too long

So lend me your ears
Lend me your hearts
And trust we’ll make a new start

[Chorus]

And I’ll miss everyone
And I’ll miss everything
I’ll miss all the places I’ve come to know
The faces I’ve seen change and grow
I’ll miss everything it meant to me
I’ll miss everything it meant to me
I’ll miss everything you meant to me

But I’ll save up my tears
If you lend me your ears
Just for a second
Today we face the golden sun
Together apart

I hope you guys enjoy it. It’s probably one of the most depressing songs I’ve written, but I really love it.

As always, feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

——————————————————————–

Lyrics:
[Chorus: It’s a funny place, this world of ours
And I’d probably laugh
If it didn’t feel like my heart’s been
Stomped in half]

It’s funny how
I always thought I was better than this crap
It’s funny how
It ends up being me who falls so hard he gets stuck in this trap
It’s funny how
I was never the romantic one, or the frantic one
It’s funny how
How pathetic I’ve become in these six measly weeks
It’s funny how
Before all this I could hardly remember the last time I cried

It’s a funny place, this world of ours
And I’d probably laugh
If it didn’t feel like my heart’s been
Stomped in half

It’s funny how
It can hurt so much to lose something that was never mine
It’s funny how
Being empty can feel so much heavier than being full
It’s funny how
If you want something too much, it’s just out of reach
It’s funny how
Fate decides to put 681 miles between you and I
It’s funny how
I lost it all because I cared too much

[Chorus]

If I had known what you wanted
Do you realize I would have given it all to you?
The way I started this
I took your words
And wrapped them in a silver platter
And it’s funny how
I still smile when I think of the way
you looked at me then
But ain’t it funny how
I misread everything else

I was scrambling, I was lost
I couldn’t read past your eyes
I didn’t know what to make of
You saying yes, but acting no
And ain’t it funny how
In trying to do everything right
I did everything wrong

[Chorus]

It’s funny how
I’m still sitting here
Writing songs I never want to reach your ears

It’s a funny place, this world of ours
Funny enough it almost makes you want to cry

And the crowd’s going wild with laughter
And the crowd’s going wild with laughter
And the crowd’s going wild with laughter

At this world of ours

I first want to sincerely apologize that I haven’t released any new music lately. I’ve been pretty busy with school. But now that I’ve graduated from high school, I’m going to have plenty of free time to work on new music over the summer!

Hopefully I can finish a new album, or perhaps just an EP before I head off to college!

Anyhow, this new song is something completely new and different for me. It is the first song I’m publishing that has vocals in it. And I had a lot of fun experimenting with vocal effects and overlaying my voice (hopefully I didn’t overdo it!). To be honest, this could probably be classified as kind of a soft/alternative rock-ish song. But for those of you who are fans of my instrumental stuff, don’t worry! I plan to continue making instrumental/orchestral pieces also. This is just me trying to expand my musical horizons (plus, I love singing).

Lastly, I put a lot of passion into this song. It is more personally significant to me than anything else I’ve written before. I really hope that all of my emotions come through in this song.

——————————————————————–

Note: This is still a BETA version of the song. My compulsive self will probably change it a bit before publishing a final album version. As such, I welcome all feedback! If you have any suggestions for improvement, I’m open to hearing them and just might use them .

Questions for you:
1. Could you tell what I was singing before reading the lyrics?
2. Do you think the section from 5:10 – 5:16 (the bit between the last chorus and the alternate chorus where I narrate “can you spin time in reverse”) is a good addition, or does it seem out of place?
3. Do you think the vocal overlays are overdone?
4. General thoughts!

Thanks for listening , and please leave a comment!
——————————————————————–
Lyrics:
I was young
I was foolish
I was blind
I was blinded by you
And I lost myself
In a sea of desire
Someone could have told me to be patient
Why wasn’t I?

[Chorus:
Why'd I have to do everything, everything, everything wrong?
Why couldn't I be the one who was strong?
Why'd I have to choose to push you away?
Why'd I have to lose everything, everything I never had anyway?]

It’s times like these I feel like my life can never move on
You tell me to forget, but it’s not that easy
I’m searching for a switch to shut out these thoughts
But I can never forgive myself for what I’ve done
Now I just want to cry away all these tears
So you will never have to see my distorted face

[Chorus]

Now it seems my life is running
I can’t slow down
As soon as I’m alone
It all knocks me to the ground
I close my eyes and try to sleep
But I’m already drowning, in regret
And tell me, have you ever tried to sleep while underwater?

[Chorus]

Tell me did you ever even want this to work?
The number of times you looked at me
I can count them on one hand
But still
I was the one who had the stake in all this
I should have been stronger
Put up with everything for longer
And I need to know now, could this have ever worked?
Did I push us apart,
Or did you write me off from the very start?

[Chorus]

[Narration:
Tell me, can you spin time in reverse?]

[Alternate Chorus:
I tell you,
You were everything, everything, everything to my childish mind.
You were everything, everything, everything that seemed too good to be mine.
And you're still everything I cannot climb past.
And I'm trying to take back everything, but I can't undo anything, anything, anything.]

(No, no…)
I can’t forget,
everything.

Just a quick new update. I was recently featured in a short article on Strong Truths. Read the article: http://strongtruths.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/a-truly-talented-musician/

Thanks to Gene for doing this! I encourage you all to check out her website:

Here’s the online link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sycross/id344849081#

(or just search for “Sycross” in iTunes)

I just sent in my responses yesterday, and the interview is officially up! Check it out at http://trailermusicnews.com/interview/interview-ray-li. Thanks a bunch to Trailer Music News for doing this!

Last month, I was contacted by award-winning composer Aleksandar Dimitrijevic. Alex works with Immediate Music (one of America’s biggest trailer music production houses), and has scored dozens of trailers for block-buster films, such as X-men Origins and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Alex Dimitrijevic decided that he wanted to begin his own trailer music production company, and thus Teddy Bear Music was born. Teddy Bear Music’s first CD “Smash the Screen” features mostly tracks by Aleksandar, but there are also a few other composers whose songs have been included. I am one of those lucky few who Alex wanted to include in the project!

Remixed versions of my songs “Life” and “Forsaken” are featured on this CD, and the CD is currently making it’s way into the hands of trailer production houses! With any luck, this could be the big break for my music career .

I will keep you guys updated about anything new that happens with my two tracks on the CD. Hopefully they get licensed by some trailer houses!

I am extraordinarily grateful to Aleksandar Dimitrijevic for taking interest in my music. Seeing myself on the composers page of Teddy Bear Music was really an honor! I’d also like to thank Trailer Music News for posting the article which allowed Alex to find my music.

I’ve also made some minor upgrades to the shopping cart. In response to some inquiries about international shipping prices, I’ve added a new feature in which the shopping cart can now calculate shipping prices based on location and number of CDs ordered. This is a lot more accurate than my previous system, which only charged a flat rate shipping price of $2, regardless if you were ordering 20 CDs from half-way across the world.

As you can see, I always try to respond to user feedback. So if you guys have any other complaints or suggestions, just let me know!

I’m hoping that this post will drive some traffic to my website.