As you can probably tell from the title, this is a song about growing up… or growing pains if you will.

It’s something we all have to do at some point. Part of it involves getting older, which none of us can help, and the other part involves learning to face up to the realities of life. (I’m sure you know of some people who, as they get older, refuse to “grow up”.)

As a guy who’s just gotten married, and who’s begun the thirtieth decade of his life, the feeling that I need to grow up has never been stronger. And yet, at this very moment, I’m writing a song about it. A walking contradiction perhaps?

Yes, some people might think I’m crazy, refusing to get real and focus on a career.

But I don’t think I have my head in the clouds at all, and both my feet are firmly on the ground. I’m living my dream, pushing myself as a songwriter, and as determined as I was when I first started this project, to launch my album.

I feel that in some ways, growing up involves knowing what you want in your life, and then going ahead and doing it. This is what I want to do, and boy, am I doing it.

Well, enough of that. I’ll leave you to form your own conclusions.

About the song itself… I stuck to really simple chords for this one. The intro is C Am Em (Capo 3), and I did a little riff on the Em chord, which I like. Also, I used a basic verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure – three verses, three choruses, no fancy bridges or anything. I just felt the need for simplicity I guess.

And on a separate note, notice the black background? I’ve received some feedback about my earlier videos that the room in the background was too messy, so I decided to hang some black cloth I got from Ikea across a bamboo pole to create a backdrop of sorts. I think it worked pretty well! No more messy clothes (if you’ve seen my other videos) hehe…

All Grown Up
© Music and Lyrics by Marcel Lee Pereira, 26 Jan, 2011

All grown up, and wishing I could turn back the clock
To a time when I could do anything
When the road ahead was wide and free
And twists and turns weren’t that big a deal

CHORUS
The clouds roll by too fast
Sunshine never seems to last
My head doesn’t fit my heart
When I’m all grown up, all grown up

All grown up, gone are the days of learning to walk
Now life is real and bittersweet
I let go of the dreams that I once dreamed
To be the man that I must be

CHORUS
The clouds roll by too fast
Sunshine never seems to last
My head doesn’t fit my heart
When I’m all grown up, all grown up

Forever young, I cry each time I hear it sung
Thinking about where I came from
Does happiness grow, when will it show
And how can I learn to let go

CHORUS
The clouds roll by too fast
Sunshine never seems to last
My head doesn’t fit my heart
When I’m all grown up, all grown up