Love is a Gateway [ft. Derek Sherinian] - SINGLE
by James Paddock
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about
"Love is a Gateway"
When a dear friend of mine departed suddenly and cruelly from this world, about five years ago as of this writing, it was my first true experience with blunt-faced, unyielding grief. I must have written close to ten songs about this experience between now and then, anxious or dare I say *frightened* to release any of them and expose myself while in this state of extreme vulnerability... but I think this song encapsulates the entire ordeal as succinctly as I can condense it, although the song being seven minutes long is no accident. Sometimes I feel lots of things.
We unearth the story in the brief first stanza (talking about romance is something I have lifelong struggled to navigate), and the story's emotional concepts are explained in the second, along with my own difficulty in trying to untangle them.
Love is lots of things, but for me, it is primarily a form of escape from the harshness of reality. The sensation of safety and security that you can confide absolutely anything in another person who will always be everpresent for you. It is a home, a fortress, a reset button, an entrance to another world altogether.
Years later I had the realisation that is lyrically explained in the 2-minute long outro. People these days are obsessed with planning for the future, and living in the present moment, so as never to miss a beat or to become distracted or derailed from their path in life.
But what if there is solace and comfort in the past? Is there shame in longing? Is there a finite limit to how long we are permitted to spend cuddling our past experiences before they are urged away from us? Is there only so much time we are allotted to process our traumas?
Personally, I think not.
Love cut tragically short would be a shock to anyone's system. The past may be the past, but it is ultimately something to learn from and to embrace. It can be on your side.
As of this writing I still have yet to rekindle those exact feelings. Oftentimes it feels infinitely out of reach, but I welcome the idea that it could be just a touch away.
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When a dear friend of mine departed suddenly and cruelly from this world, about five years ago as of this writing, it was my first true experience with blunt-faced, unyielding grief. I must have written close to ten songs about this experience between now and then, anxious or dare I say *frightened* to release any of them and expose myself while in this state of extreme vulnerability... but I think this song encapsulates the entire ordeal as succinctly as I can condense it, although the song being seven minutes long is no accident. Sometimes I feel lots of things.
We unearth the story in the brief first stanza (talking about romance is something I have lifelong struggled to navigate), and the story's emotional concepts are explained in the second, along with my own difficulty in trying to untangle them.
Love is lots of things, but for me, it is primarily a form of escape from the harshness of reality. The sensation of safety and security that you can confide absolutely anything in another person who will always be everpresent for you. It is a home, a fortress, a reset button, an entrance to another world altogether.
Years later I had the realisation that is lyrically explained in the 2-minute long outro. People these days are obsessed with planning for the future, and living in the present moment, so as never to miss a beat or to become distracted or derailed from their path in life.
But what if there is solace and comfort in the past? Is there shame in longing? Is there a finite limit to how long we are permitted to spend cuddling our past experiences before they are urged away from us? Is there only so much time we are allotted to process our traumas?
Personally, I think not.
Love cut tragically short would be a shock to anyone's system. The past may be the past, but it is ultimately something to learn from and to embrace. It can be on your side.
As of this writing I still have yet to rekindle those exact feelings. Oftentimes it feels infinitely out of reach, but I welcome the idea that it could be just a touch away.
=====
lyrics
A lifelong obsession
With me since birth
I buried it here
Down in the undergrowth
If love is a gateway
It's been closed off and shut away
Thorns overgrown on the cemetery walls
And I'm nowhere near that brave
Your love was a gateway
My eternal getaway
So many things I'll never say
I've never felt this way
(Love is a gateway)
(If love is a gateway...)
I want to be trapped inside your cage
The warmth of your embrace
I want to reverse the day and age
I thought we were safe
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Out of the cesspool and into the mire
Out of the prison and into the pyre
Death is the denier
Oh the way you made me feel
Umbilically safe
Oh the way this makes me feel
Unspeakable rage
Tension and release
It lasted but a second in the grand scheme
The one thing that comforts me
The hellfire brought you peace
Days just seem to worsen
There’s no second turn
Heaven, lower your defense
I need things to make sense again
(I need things to make sense again)
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Out of the cesspool and into the mire
Out of the prison and into the pyre
Death becomes my driver
If this has taught me anything
The past can be a beautiful thing
If this has taught me anything
The past can be a beautiful thing
And if you’re never lost in the moment
Will you remember where you’ve been?
If this has taught me anything
The past can be a beautiful thing
And if you’re never lost in the moment
Will you remember where you’ve been?
(Love is a gateway)
(Love is a getaway)
(Love is a gateway)
(Love is a better way)
(Love is a gateway)
(Love is a getaway)
(Love is a gateway)
Oh, it’s just a touch away
With me since birth
I buried it here
Down in the undergrowth
If love is a gateway
It's been closed off and shut away
Thorns overgrown on the cemetery walls
And I'm nowhere near that brave
Your love was a gateway
My eternal getaway
So many things I'll never say
I've never felt this way
(Love is a gateway)
(If love is a gateway...)
I want to be trapped inside your cage
The warmth of your embrace
I want to reverse the day and age
I thought we were safe
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Out of the cesspool and into the mire
Out of the prison and into the pyre
Death is the denier
Oh the way you made me feel
Umbilically safe
Oh the way this makes me feel
Unspeakable rage
Tension and release
It lasted but a second in the grand scheme
The one thing that comforts me
The hellfire brought you peace
Days just seem to worsen
There’s no second turn
Heaven, lower your defense
I need things to make sense again
(I need things to make sense again)
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Out of the cesspool and into the mire
Out of the prison and into the pyre
Death becomes my driver
If this has taught me anything
The past can be a beautiful thing
If this has taught me anything
The past can be a beautiful thing
And if you’re never lost in the moment
Will you remember where you’ve been?
If this has taught me anything
The past can be a beautiful thing
And if you’re never lost in the moment
Will you remember where you’ve been?
(Love is a gateway)
(Love is a getaway)
(Love is a gateway)
(Love is a better way)
(Love is a gateway)
(Love is a getaway)
(Love is a gateway)
Oh, it’s just a touch away
credits
released September 2, 2022
Personnel:
James Paddock - songwriting, lead vocals
Kevin Martins - mixing, arranging, additional guitar/synths
Derek Sherinian - keyboard solo
Album artwork credits:
Art generated by MidJourney.
Uses font "Fortheenas 01" by 7NTypes from dafont.com.
Gear:
Erazer Gaming Notebook P6705 w/ Windows 11
Steinberg UR22C interface
Korg Krome keyboard (61-key)
RODE NT-1A vocal mic
Software:
Reason 10
Personnel:
James Paddock - songwriting, lead vocals
Kevin Martins - mixing, arranging, additional guitar/synths
Derek Sherinian - keyboard solo
Album artwork credits:
Art generated by MidJourney.
Uses font "Fortheenas 01" by 7NTypes from dafont.com.
Gear:
Erazer Gaming Notebook P6705 w/ Windows 11
Steinberg UR22C interface
Korg Krome keyboard (61-key)
RODE NT-1A vocal mic
Software:
Reason 10
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
James Paddock England, UK
Composer, singer, artist, and video game developer.
discography
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Nov 2023 -
Dec 2023 -
Aug 2023 -
Nov 2023
contact / help
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