Journey of a Song

"I want to cut you with my loveliest knife, feel your insides, see what they're about." 

Music. Love. Obsession. Perfectionism. Crunchy chords. Jazz school.

At the intersection of all of these things, …

"Always said that I'd get out; well, I'm a lot older now." 

In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Dallas-based singer-songwriter Stephen Like. He shares his beautiful ode to nostalgia, “Pass Throug…

In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Dallas-based singer-songwriter Jeffrey Michael Widman (again!) to get honest and vulnerable about mental health, simplicity in songwriting, and the value of h…

"I know that you were kind, and that's more than some can say about their lives."

In this episode, Emmeline sits down with the talented Christine Hand to talk about about her beautiful song, "Brother.…

"Rescue me from what's inside my head." 

Sometimes, the most beautiful songs are the simplest, most honest songs. In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Georgia-based singer-songwriter and poet Thom…

"Welcome to level one, might seem impossible..." 

Is love an impossible endeavor in a largely digital age? How can we "level up" in a world that seems to suggest that finding a romantic connection is …

"You're bruised, you're hurt, but you put it on me." 

How do you find the courage to identify and walk away from a toxic situation? Does every song have romantic undercurrents? How vulnerable is TOO v…

"Tired of running for the heights and always wasting what is mine."

How long should we "put in our dues"? How much sacrifice is good sacrifice, and when does self-sacrifice become toxic?

In this epis…

"Take his wounds and mend his heart so he can learn to trust again."

How can we use music to make sense of the things in the world that harm us or others? How can we use music to bring necessary, com…

"This year, I'll pay attention to the weather, and feel the wind as it moves through a feather."

Getting older is a real, relatable feeling--but how do we make peace with it? How do we learn to let o…

"But I can't even ask if you think about me as much as I think about you."

How can you process present absence? How do you handle the ambiguous end of a friendship? Is navigating the loss of someone …

"Me pregunto dónde fue que yo fui mal?"

Which serves a song better: spontaneity or meticulous planning? Straightforward or poetic lyrics? Layers of instrumentation or a sure and steady guitar?

In this …

"California dreaming of my Texas hill country."

How far should we go to chase a dream? Do we really need to run away to find ourselves? Where do we belong, and how can we truly find home?

Independent,…

"If I got money every time you're on my mind, I swear I'd have more money than a single dime."

Do lyrics need to rhyme? Can a song be both funny and profound? Is there a right way to build a compositi…

"Thick skin, now healed."

Midway through this episode of Journey of a Song, Cari Smith of Late to the Station leaned back on her stool and said, "The price I was paying internally [not to make music]…

"I love how it feels to be wild."

Can you really package a deep, meaningful message about the perils of conforming to social convention in a slick, spooky Halloween jam? Genre-bending, independent, D…

"Eyes of burgundy..."

This line was in Dorian Marsh's head from the inception of his collaboration with guitarist Ian Ross Cohen. He liked something about the turn of phrase, something about the conc…

"If all I have is you, I'd be the richest girl in the room..."

Sometimes, a song starts as a single idea with a slew of metaphors, laid neatly into a note on an iPhone. You don't need more ideas, or …

"Is there any love after death?" 

How can we move through grief? How can we honor our lost loved ones without allowing ourselves to be consumed by the past? How can we hold space for the memory of th…

"We're running fast on streets with cracks in 'em."

How do you grow older gracefully? Can you preserve a bit of childhood as adulthood looms? Can you ever run with childlike abandon as an adult? Does…