Shark Song from Emo Ukulele by Sunflowers for Sam

The working title for this song was "flash step", like from the manga/anime Bleach. Despite being the second track on the EP, it was actually the fourth song I wrote and recorded. It went through a few different tempos and rhythms before I finally landed on what you hear in the song. I've always listened to emo and post-hardcore music, and I feel that this song reveals that more than any other that I've done before. There are parts of some songs where I can hear the same influence, but it doesn't really sound like it, or I wrote lyrics that take away from it, but it's pretty plain here.

The song is named "Shark Song" because of how the lyrics are comparing someone to a shark. I've had the lyrical idea for a while to write about someone who "always has to be on the move" and who "lives like a shark". It's not really about anyone in particular, but rather the idea of someone, or even part of myself, who feels they have to just keep moving forward without ever looking back. There's a stiffness and rigidity to never looking back, and I feel it's a risky way to live when it comes to maintaining healthy relationships. In a way, this song is a letter to myself, to remind me that, despite the painful reasons I have that tell me to just keep looking forward, the flexibility of looking back, and of forgiveness, are important, too.

Speaking of looking back... I wonder if this song really needs to be as fast as it is. I like it fine, now, but even just, like, five BPM slower would have done the trick. When I was recording the vocals for the chorus, I felt like I was racing something to get all the words out. Then again, I think this fits with the shark theme, and I wanted these songs to be on the shorter side, anyways. The chords for this song are 5557, 0002, 2012, and 2010, 0212, 2003, 0007, and the chorus ends on 0003.

Tracklist

2.	Shark Song	3:23

Lyrics

We all know that you,
Always have to be on the move.
Living like a shark,
I wonder if you’ll get very far.

Such a narrow view,
You’ll never let them get the best of you.
Running in the dark,
I wonder how you made it this far.

I wonder if you even remember,
What you’re fighting for.
Couldn’t keep it together,
Always keeping score.
Never stopping to notice,
How alone you were.

Starting over new,
You n ever let them mean a thing to you.
Broken from the start,
How’d you ever make it this far?

I wonder if you even remember,
What you’re fighting for.
Couldn’t keep it together,
Always keeping score.
Never stopping to notice,
How alone you were.

I wonder if you even remember,
What you’re looking for,
Couldn’t keep it together,
Always wanting more.
Never stopping to notice,
How alone you were.

Credits

from Emo Ukulele, released May 9, 2024

License