#24 Canned Coffee

Lyrics:

Took a sip 

of the drink 

you had 30 minutes ago 

Just to get the taste 

of how it is 

to be you 

Walked the path 

that you've left 30 minutes ago 

I wonder how 

it feels like 

to walk 

in your shoes 

Sometimes they say it's written 

In this life there's no escaping 

But do you ever find yourself dreaming? 

Dreaming of a better day 

And a reason for you to stay? 

Or do the questions simply fleet away? 

I'm not you and I'll never be 

But I see your smile that you never see 

And I will never know your story 

But you've sparked a light inside me 

Take a look 

at their faces 30 years ago 

Is this the job 

that mum and dad 

wanted you 

to do? 

If you could turn back the time 

to 30 years ago 

With big bright eyes, 

stars in the sky, 

you see your hopes 

way up high 

I'm not you and I'll never be 

I can't see the answers that will set yourself free 

For I will never know your story 

But I see your smile and you're good enough to me 

I see your smile and I wish that you can see 

You can change the world from wherever you may be 

You've showed me sometimes some things aren't meant to be 

So sip away the bitterness of that canned coffee 

Sip away the bitterness of that canned coffee 

Sip away the bitterness of that canned coffee. 

So I actually recorded this twice because I wanted to make one recording right away on the night I finished writing it, but I had to wake up before 5am the following day, so I made a quick audio recording on my phone first, just in case I'd die the next day without the chance to actually record this haha. Of course I'm kidding. I made a quick recording in case I forgot how I'm supposed to sing some parts.

This song is basically about many things. But the main thing is perhaps about the realities about adulthood, how we leave our innocent childhood dreams and do realistic jobs instead because there are bills to pay and mouths to feed.

I wasn't particularly in a good mood when I wrote this. In fact, it was my frustration that motivated me to pick up my guitar and hum something, then write something. Here's some stuff I wrote about the song that night:

Sorry I'm instablogging again. I've just had a pretty bad first day of the semester. So I drank that canned coffee I've been saving, and moments later I found some random lyrics appearing in my head. I've heard a very good advice some time ago--about choosing to write whenever you're very happy or very sad or very mad. It's funny because I felt so shitty on the ride home today, but I saw a road construction worker being half submerged in a drain, in the rain, and right now I'm thinking of adults all around the world trapped in shit jobs (I've seen many of them during my bus rides, and I personally know some adults who don't like their jobs) and now I'm singing about them. I'm singing about drinking coffee, becoming adult, and looking at the faces of frustrated men and women who have their dreams crushed. Damn, why is this coffee giving me the feels?

I'd actually love to write about what came into my mind when I wrote those individual verses, but I'm feeling a bit lazy now.

Technically I've been wanting to write a song with this theme for quite a long time. But no, this theme had never really concerned me before all these bus rides I'm having. The bad day and seeing the road construction worker half submerged in the drain, in the rain, were two main things which finally made this song happen. Everything else is an accumulation of thoughts after:

• almost every day listening to dad complain about his job and colleagues
• seeing the face of the detached driver and wondering whether he's like my dad too, hating what he's doing
• seeing how out of place the political spy driver looks like, and whether his mum and dad had higher expectations on him when he was younger
• seeing how someone close to me was hopeful of an ambition that someone didn't agree on
• seeing myself weirdly being OK to live an 'average' life, after almost killing myself for failing to become a fucking doctor lol
• seeing the faces of other strangers on bus rides and wondering what their childhood dreams were, and how many of them are actually living up to their potentials
• and most importantly, seeing people working hard yet can still smile and appear like they love their job although they're living some sort of ordinary, simple life.

There you have it, this song is basically just thoughts and stories of some people who I know and who I don't really know. 

And I'm happy I wrote this. It might not be my personal best, but it was created right from my heart.

.