Marcel Lee Pereira, singer-songwriter

Where would you go to relax, get away from it all, or just be happy?

Well, we all have our happy places, and mine is by the sea, on the beach. I’m not talking about the tiny sandboxes we call beaches here, but long, gleaming stretches of sand that seem to go on forever; where the water is shimmering blue, and so is the sky.

This song is inspired by our Bali honeymoon, which took place just a few months ago (you can read more about it on our blog). They say Bali is touched by the gods, and indeed it is. Its beaches make you want to pause, take a deep breath, and give thanks for being alive.

We had a private beach at our hotel reserved only for guests, and we felt so privileged to have a little piece of heaven to call our own. When our two-week vacation was up, you bet we didn’t want to leave. “Our Own Beach” aims to capture that idyllic, daydream-like mood we had in Bali. It is hopefully a song that you can just close your eyes and listen to by the sea.

When I was planning this week’s video, I thought to myself: Why not have some fun with it? And what better place to record a song about the beach? So on Thursday afternoon, Carol and myself headed to the Pasir Ris Park, which is literally at our doorstep. Not only were we there to record a video, we also decided to have a barbecue lunch to top it off! It was a simple affair: chicken marinated with a special Thai dressing, some red peppers, and a disposable grill from the supermarket. Yes, the weather was muggy, but we made camp under a hut and had a blast.

Special credit goes to my lovely camerawoman, Carol, and of course the resident beach cat who made a cameo appearance.

As always, comments are welcome!

Our Own Beach
© Music & Lyrics by Marcel Lee Pereira, 2010

We have our own beach
Our very own beach
It’s a little out of reach
From the rest of the world

It’s just the two of us
No one but the two of us
No more city fuss
Watching our shadows move

Wiggle our toes, and sing
La, la, la…

There’s a kitty cat
A black and white kitty cat
He’s flat on his back
He’s not going anywhere

Look, there are tiny crabs
Translucent sandy crabs
They run and play and jab
When the sun goes down

Wiggle our toes, and sing
La, la, la…

We have our own beach
Our very own beach
A plate of iced peaches
Sipping beer from a straw

I rub oil on your skin
Nothing else but bare skin
Wipe the sand off your chin
As we sing this song

Wiggle our toes, and sing
La, la, la…

This is a song about a girl. You know her. She’s the girl who’s really a child inside. Her face is an open book, true to her every emotion. You know what she’s feeling – or maybe you don’t. Her laugh fills the room with the sweetest music. Her tears, well, they are cold drops of December rain. They make you want to hold her close to you, to make her sadness go away.

I wrote the lyrics to this song a while ago, but never got down to writing the melody until this week. It is inspired by December, a time when the rain never seems to stop. The phrase “tears fall like rain in December” was stuck in my head for some time, before I had the inspiration to write the lyrics below. I tried to make the melody “floaty”, with a simple chord progression and a 3/4 beat.

How does this song make you feel? Let me know.

Week 1 done! Phew!

Rain In December
© Music and Lyrics by Marcel Lee Pereira, 2010

She dreams of nice weather
Like Goldilocks
Not too cold, not too hot

Wind turns branches into feathers
They scare her
All the lights are on

When she’s happy
It’s cloudless sky meets calm inertia
And when the light fades
When everything’s gloomy and grey

Her tears fall like rain in December
Her tears fall like rain in December
Her tears fall like rain in December
like rain in December they fall

Sometimes you can tell
You’re ready
But most times you’re not

Nothing’s quite as familiar
As a cup of tea
Be careful, it’s a little hot

When she’s happy
The moment, it’s everything
When circumstance, offers no chance
When it’s hard to find romance

Her tears fall like rain in December
Her tears fall like rain in December
Her tears fall like rain in December
like rain in December they fall

Rain on the window
Makes oily swirls of colour
Emotions intensified
But they only last a while
Before the light

When she’s happy
It’s cloudless sky meets calm inertia
And when the light fades
When everything’s gloomy and grey

Her tears fall like rain in December
Her tears fall like rain in December
Her tears fall like rain in December
like rain in December they fall

I’ve been thinking about what to do with this blog, and I’ve finally come up with an idea that really excites me.

You know, songwriting is my main passion in life. I feel I have so much inside me that I want to share with everyone, and there’s nothing I love more than sitting down with my guitar and crafting music and words into a song. The satisfaction than I get from performing my own songs to a live audience is beyond words. Sometimes, however, it gets hard to find the time to write… and songwriting I feel is a stream of creation that flows faster and stronger the more you give. My work so far has been a mere trickle.

It’s time to change that.

For one year, starting today, I will post one new original song on this blog every week. That means by the end of the week, you can expect to see either a video or mp3 uploaded here, with lyrics of course. I already have several videos on my YouTube channel, but these don’t count. Each song will be a completely new creation.

This is my challenge to myself… not easy I know, but it’s going to be fun!

What will I write about? The sky’s the limit. I’m open to suggestions, too 😉

Wish me luck!