Title: My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me
Genre: Rock, Alt-Rock
Length: 4:57
Recorded: Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California
Label: Nomad Records!
Written: December 2011
Writer(s) Amy Meyer, Adam Benjamin, Justin Mullen

‘My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me’ is a song by American teenage rock band, Riot! In The Boulevard. Written and composed in December 2011 by Amy Meyer, Adam Benjamin and Justin Mullen, it’s a track from the band’s 2012 sophomore album. It’s a relatively slow-paced song, the most dominant instrument is the piano but the inclusion of a violin match the dark regretful feel to the song’s lyrics. According to songwriter Amy Meyer, “The song tells a story of a girl, she’s about 26 or 27 and she’s now living alone in a place where the only things that keep her company is the memories of her past and what her life could have been, she’s lost her soul mate and she just can’t get the courage to move on, she stays in the same quiet little town that herself and her soul mate shared so many great memories and everywhere she looks she’s just reminded, and it’s like she’s being haunted by these memories.”

Song Description
The song opens with a quiet violin introduction which continues throughout, The piano begins after around 20 seconds which forces the violin to become more of a background instrument, the two set the tone for this emotional track, a soft acoustic guitar continually plays throughout but Amy’s vocals and the piano keys remain at the very forefront of this track, the vocals are generally soft throughout with the exception of one line in the song where the vocals increase in both power and anger just with one line, “Appear To Be Haunting Me Forever.” The vocals have a strong echo throughout which adds to the dark emotional lyrics throughout. Midway through the song, the combination of piano, violin and vocals combine perfectly to create a standout moment as Amy sings, “Maybe We’ll Never Be Truly Alone/In This Place That Held So Many Great Memories/But As Long As I Stay Here There’s Always Gonna Be/My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me.”
The song does include both drums and an acoustic guitar but the two instruments remain almost unnoticeable throughout the song as the piano and violin overshadow them.

Songwriters Comments
“I guess ‘My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me’ is an unusual kind of song for me to write, it’s kind like a short story of loss, abandonment, loneliness and regret, it’s really quite different for me, this track in particular was inspired by classic songwriter’s like, Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Neil Young, which is quite odd for me, I’ve always been attracted to that kind of music but it’s never been the kind of thing that I’ve attempted to write, I generally prefer to create loud rock music with catchy choruses, essentially like 3 minute pop-rock tracks is my normal kind of thing, but this was different and I guess you could say that it’s kinda comparable to ‘The Echoes Of My Soul’ from our first record.

The song tells a story of a girl, she’s about 26 or 27 and she’s now living alone in a place where the only things that keep her company is the memories of her past and what her life could have been, she’s lost her soul mate and she just can’t get the courage to move on, she stays in the same quiet little town that herself and her soul mate shared so many great memories and everywhere she looks she’s just reminded, and it’s like she’s being haunted by these memories. I wrote the lyrics with Adam Benjamin entirely on the piano and once we had the lyrics and melody for it all completed Justin came in with an acoustic guitar and it was a really great collaborative effort from us, we’re really proud of this song and maybe shows a future songwriting approach from us, I’m very proud of this song and hopefully others like the song too.”
- Amy Meyer

Song Lyrics
This Home Is Empty And Our Room Is Dark
Is The Candle Still Burning, Is There Still A Spark
The Truth Is Around Me But I Refuse To Open My Eyes
These Memories Have Faded, We’ve Grown Apart, It’s No Surprise
---
When I Walk Down The Street, I Feel So Numb
I See Memories Of Us Just Having Fun
It’s Cold And It’s Haunting Me Every Single Day
But Something Keeps Bringing Me Back Here
I Can’t Stay Away
---
I Look In The Mirror And All That I See
Isn’t My Reflection, But The Ghost Of Who I Used To Be
I Close My Eyes For A Minute Or Two
When I Open Them Up, I See Me And You
---
Those Memories Have Gone, But They’re Still In My Head
Eating Away At My Soul, They’re Killing Me Instead
They Should Be Story’s For Our Grandchildren, When We’re Old And Grey
But They’re Just Haunting Memories Of Yesterday
---
Maybe We’ll Never Be Truly Alone
In This Place That Held So Many Great Memories
But As Long As I Stay Here There’s Always Gonna Be
My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me
---
I Used To Believe In Everything
The Magic That United Us, The Destiny That Brought Us Together
But The Sleepless Nights In This Cold, Dark House
Appear To Be Haunting Me Forever
---
Why Do I Hold Onto The Thought Of Happiness Someday
I Keep That Belief Hidden Deep In My Mind When I’m Alone
There’s Always That Thought That You Could Come Back Home
But I Wonder What Lies In My Future
---
But I’ll Never Be Truly Alone
In This Place That Held So Many Great Memories
But As Long As I Stay Here There’s Always Gonna Be
My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me
There Will Always Be
My Echo, My Shadow, You And Me

Title: Trying, Crying, Smiling And Dying
Genre: Alternative Rock, Rock, Emo
Length: 7:38
Recorded: Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California
Label: Nomad Records!
Written: December 2011
Writer(s): Amy Meyer, Jason Greenberg, Adam Benjamin, Justin Mullen

‘Trying, Crying, Smiling And Dying’ is a song by American teenage rock band, Riot! In The Boulevard. Written by Amy Meyer, Jason Greenberg, Adam Benjamin and Justin Mullen in December 2011, each member of the band with the exception took part in the writing process of the song, it’s a track from the band’s 2012, sophomore album, ‘Cradle To The Grave’ and at 7:38 minutes in length, it’s the longest track from the album. It’s a dark song which ties into the primary theme of the album, according to Amy, “Going into the recording process for the album I always knew that I wanted something a little darker this time around and I wanted to write that one song that could cut to the core and really take you the journey of a lost soul of sorts, I just wanted to do something that challenged me as a songwriter”

Song Description
A soft melancholic piano introduction from Amy Meyer opens the song with an eerie feel to it and it plays right the way through the whole song, it’s an extended introduction that lasts just over half a minute, quickly followed by the drums as Amy starts singing the first verse of the song, the other instruments are nowhere to be seen until the third verse when a guitar chord is struck and the music becomes more dramatic and powerful, the combination of the other instruments add to the feel of the song as it mixes emotion and power together, perfectly complementing the dark and eerie nature of the lyrics an electric guitar solo midway through the song adds to the dramatic spectacle but things soften after that and we go back to hearing just the piano, drums and vocals for the rest of the song. Amy’s vocals are as clear as ever, filled with emotion and sadness as she takes on the feelings of the character in the song, which provides this seven minute track with everything that it needs for it to work.

Songwriter’s Comments
“Going into the recording process for the album I always knew that I wanted something a little darker this time around and I wanted to write that one song that could cut to the core and really take you the journey of a lost soul of sorts, I just wanted to do something that challenged me as a songwriter and I think it was a really different way for me to write a song, definitely sitting with the guys and throwing some lyrics around the room was pretty new to me, I’m generally a solitary songwriter, I usually like to work on things alone and in my own time but with this track, we all sat around a table and worked on it and it took maybe four days to really finish up writing the song, it was kinda testing at times and it’s the first time we’ve really took on such a big epic of a song if you like. It’s definitely brought something else out of us when we wrote it and although none of us are in the exact situation in the song it’s definitely been an interesting song to write for us and I wouldn’t say it’s entirely fictional but I think that’s what could hopefully make people relate to the song. I don’t think you need to be on the verge of killing yourself to relate to the song but to be going through a difficult time in your life and struggling to be truly happy well perhaps this could become an anthem of sorts, who knows?
But we’re happy with how it turned out and I definitely think it’s one of the most interesting songs that we’ve written since we began.”
- Amy Meyer

Song Lyrics

What Are We Really Here For
Is It For Love Or Some Higher Power
So What Is The Real Meaning Of Existence
When I’m All Alone At This Ungodly Hour
Well There’s This Time Bomb Ticking Inside My Head
It’s Telling Me That I’ll Be Better Off Dead
I’m Thinking Of Jumping And I Wonder If Anyone Will Care
But I’ll Be Fine Because I Know
I’ll Be Closer To The Clouds Up There
---
So When Those Dark Thoughts Start Creeping Up On Me
I Look Around My Soul And See That It’s Empty
There’s Nothing More To Live For In This World So Cold
I Don’t Want To Be Alone And I Don’t Want To Grow Old
They Say It’s Better To Burn Out Than Fade Away
I Know That It’s Selfish But I Can’t Take Another Day
Of Feeling So Empty And Left Alone With My Thoughts
I’ll Take A Gun And Hold It To My Throat
---
So I’ll Just Close My Eyes And I’ll Count To Ten
I’ll Take A Deep Breath And I’ll Open Them Again
I’ll Feel My Knees As They Start Getting Weak
My Hands Are Shaking As The Tears Run Down My Cheek
I’ll Close My Eyes And Count Out Again
But I Can’t Pull The Trigger
I’m Still Alive When I Open Them
---
Why Can’t I Do This When There’s Nothing I Want More
To Feel My Body One Last Time As It Thunders To The Floor
The Echo Of The Floorboards Under The Weight Of My Lifeless Limbs
Is The Final Noise I Want To Hear
It’s The Final Noise I Want To Hear
But Something’s Stopping Me
Something More Than Fear
---
In A Moment Of Anger And Frustration With Myself
I’ll Stumble To The Kitchen And Take A Bottle From The Shelf
Resting On The Table Are The Three Things That I Need
The Pills To Lessen My Discomfort
A Pen And Paper For My Final Thoughts
And The Knife To Make Me Bleed
---
No One Can Stop Me Now That I’ve Made My Decision
I’ve Taken This Sharp Knife And I’ve Made The Incision
I Look At My Body In The Mirror As It’s Weak And It’s Dying
I’ve Never Been Perfect And I’ve Grown Tired Of Trying
I’ve Got Your Name Imprinted Inside Of My Mind
I’ve Never Really Been Important
I Knew I’d Be The One To Fall Behind
---
There’s A Knife In My Back, There’s Scars In My Soul
There’s Tears In My Eyes, And No One To Catch Me When I Fall
I Used To Smile At Strangers In The Hope That They Don’t See
The Pain That’s Eating At My Soul
The Pain That’s Slowly Been Killing Me
---
I’ve Always Hid Behind A Smile
Because Not All My Scars Show
But Not All Wounds Will Heal
And Sometimes You Can’t Always See
The Pain Someone Really Feels
---
I’ve Grown Too Weak To Continue
So With My Final Thoughts That I’ll Say To You
Will Be The Most Important Words I’ve Ever Said
I’ll Never Say Anything More True
---
I’m Tired Of Trying (People Just Hurt Me)
I’m Sick Of Crying (They Just Don’t See)
Yeah I’m Smiling (I’m Hiding How I Really Feel)
But Inside I’m Dying (Take This Pain Away From Me)
---
I’m Tired Of Trying, I’m Sick Of Crying
Yeah I Might Be Smiling, But Inside I’m Dying
I’m Tired Of Trying, I’m Sick Of Crying
Yeah I Might Be Smiling, But Inside I’m Dying
I’m Tired Of Trying, I’m Sick Of Crying
Yeah I Might Be Smiling, But Inside I’m Dying