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What It Takes

by Steve Wallis

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about

It’s been a year since I released my album. It feels like an age. A year of rejection letters, of no replies, of dwindling numbers. Of letdowns and broken friendships and broken hearts and of starting over. Of questioning why I do this ridiculous job, whether I want to continue, and of asking if I really have “what it takes”.

So here’s a song about it. Written one furious caffeinated afternoon in Berlin, I played it that night and it made a room full of folksingers cheer, which counts for something. And every time I've played it since, the crowd's reaction has helped remind me why I do this.

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lyrics

It takes two days in Paris to learn that you're poor
And two weeks in Berlin to learn that you're boring
It takes 33 years then a blink to turn forty
And five strong drinks to make you sick in the morning

It takes too many years spent chasing a dream
To learn that no-one in life ever helps you for free
And it takes the voice of a stranger singing your words
For you to believe that they're worth being heard

It takes a weekend in Amsterdam to wanna get sober
And a five minute phone call to learn that it's over
It takes getting used to waking up next to no-one
To find all the pieces of your heart when it's broken

It takes a gas station postcard saying "I'm Sorry"
And two hundred miles to start missing somebody
And another one written to my dad in a hurry
Cause I learned raising a kid takes a lifetime of worry

It takes climbing a mountain to learn how to fall
And apparently killing a camel just takes one final straw
Well I never thought too much of that metaphor
But then it hurt worse than dying to walk out that door

It takes six weeks in England in a town by the sea
To finally say what I actually mean
That if it takes pulling one thread for us to tear at the seams
I guess there's some things in life that just ain't meant to be

But it takes distance they say, to make our hearts grow fonder
And I think that it's true babe, but sometimes I wonder
Cause this might not kill me but I don't feel any stronger
So how is being apart gonna solve any problems?

So you went to Lyon, now you're heading to Rome
And I'm still too scared to ask if you're happier alone
Cause after all these years we spent sharing the road
Now it's only when you're with me that it feels like I'm home

Now I'm back on the train with my hat and guitar
Pretending like I'm some rock n roll star
And I might not get there, but at least I started!
It takes leaning in to the wind open-hearted

There's no path paved with gold that'll lead you to glory
It takes a life full of failures to tell a good story
And it takes time everyday to keep telling yourself
That you're worth more than how many records you sell

It takes two days in Paris to learn that you're poor
And two weeks in Berlin to learn that you're boring
When you're swimming upstream it's like you're stuck in one place
But I'm gonna show you I've got what it takes
Yeah I'm gonna show you I've got what it takes

credits

released September 20, 2023
Written by Steve Wallis

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Steve Wallis Paris, France

Steve Wallis writes honest, clear eyed folk songs, driven by his shrewd fingerstyle guitar, and his wry gift for finding joy in the melancholy. His songs are old letters from ex lovers, regrets folded into fond souvenirs, that final glance back before rushing onwards.

In 2018, Steve's song 'Melbourne Rain' reached new success after it was featured in PS4 game Detroit: Become Human. ... more

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