Behind The Lyrics: Guardian

Guardian is a song initially inspired by a grandmother, a woman and the woman's daughter that walked into a nail salon where I was getting a pedicure. The energy of the three of them was so intense, they consumed everyone's attention.

The woman sat down next to me and pulled the legs of her pants up. They were covered in lumps and bruises… scrapes and scars. There was a handful of hair missing from the back of her head - a long scar down the side of her neck. Her skin was gray and her face was a bit contorted, but pretty.

Her mother kept asking about the markings on her body, but was shut down. The daughter kept stuttering that "dad is going to be really mad". The woman, holding back tears told her to relax - things were fine. It was such an uncomfortable thing to watch unfold, but the imagery was powerful.

Here in a cute little boutique nail salon where people get unwanted and undesirable skin, calluses, hair, and tensions removed… A woman covered in scars and ugly memories is getting her nails done. The color of her nails were the same deep purple as the lump on the side of her knee.. The matching seemed intentional - almost as if her bruises were a fashion statement.  

This woman was caught in between two spectrums of sound. Her mother was speechless and apparently pained. Her daughter, however, kept stuttering on, as if she were scared of the silence. The rest of us in the salon were just spectators. I didn't know what I could do - I assumed nothing - so I talked to them about random things. I enjoyed her company and she seemed to appreciate mine. I paid for her daughter's pedicure on the way out and she thanked me. It didn't make me feel better - I felt pain for her and helplessness. 

I went home and started writing this song, and after a few more similar life experiences - here it is now.