TRACK INFORMATION

TRACK 1 – REIGN OVER ME

‘Reign Over Me’ is the opening song from the album and the title track is a song about needing someone to care for you, it follows the narrative of a person that is going through a difficult time and as she feels things getting tough to deal with she sings about how she needs somebody to take care of her.
The song begins with a soft echoing sound and a faded screech provided by a synthesizer, then the soft tones of the piano keys take control of the song giving it an almost soothing feel throughout. Alicia sings the lyrics with a powerful bluesy vocal which rises and rises throughout until she reaches the final chorus of the song, it then drops down a volume level which makes way for the focus to return to the sound of the piano as it softly fades out along with a quiet and tender final note from Alicia.

“These walls are slowly closing in
Hold me closer and redeem my sins
In a world that’s getting too dark to see
I need somebody to reign over me”

TRACK 2 – WHAT DO YOU COME HOME TO?

‘What Do You Come Home To?’ is a song about a failing relationship between two people, following a difficult time between a couple and the feeling that they’re drifting apart following an affair or betrayal it talks about how objects in their home remind them of what they once were but despite those objects holding great memories they’ve now become associated with pain, the songs main theme is facing loneliness after having all the things you could dream of and poses the primary questions, ‘What is a life when you’ve got no one to share It with? or more literally ‘What do you come home to?’
A more dramatic and eerie piano opening introduces the song and begins to paint the picture for the songs primary feeling of loneliness, bitterness and regret. Alicia sings with a strong vocal which at times complements the song’s lyrics perfectly where at moments she sings with a catch in her throat which makes the song feel even more real, almost as if she’s going through this.

“With photo’s scattered everywhere just the empty wounds to this affair
You hold things in just to save face but it’s clear to all that you’ve fallen from grace
Wherever you look your reminded each day that the scars you have made won’t fade away
Words can’t fix them, if they could you’d write them all, A net can’t catch you or even break your fall
Every mistakes that you’ve made is something you’ve gone through and through
But still I ask, “What do you come home to?”

TRACK 3 – WHEN DAWN BREAKS

‘When Dawn Breaks’ is an old fashioned blues sounding song, it’s a song about loneliness, it’s lyrics are about somebody feeling that things are going to be alright but as the day continues it quickly becomes clear that it’s just going to be another difficult day surrounded by loneliness. It’s lyrics begin rather hopeful but as the song progresses they start to take on a more sad vibe as Alicia sings about her home being empty.
A traditional sounding blues guitar riff provided by Benjamin Luna opens the song and the soft piano playing from Alicia can be heard midway through the song as it combines beautifully with the guitar playing by Benji Luna, there’s an instrumental break halfway through the song where Benji provides an energetic blues riff on guitar which complements Alicia’s powerful and emotive vocal performance on this track.

“I awake in the morning with a smile on my face
I see the sun in the air this is my perfect place
But as the day slowly dawns and the night closes in
I feel all alone and this pain is unfair
I look around my home
And you, you just aren’t there”

TRACK 4 - THESE HANDS

‘These Hands’ is a song about redemption during a difficult life, it’s a song about someone who was brought up in a difficult environment and therefore fell on the wrong side of the tracks to a life of trouble, the lyrics talk about how it’s difficult to change certain things in your life and when you’re in a troubled environment it can be very difficult to get out of that environment and make a positive change in order to become a better person, the song tackles those difficulties that many people face in their life due to their upbringing and the environment that they’re born into.
The song is heavily influenced by gospel and soul music, it’s drenched in redemption and faith and the piano is the primary instrument on the song as it not only sets the mood but enhances the power of the song during the chorus as Alicia lifts her vocals with power while she sings the hope-filled chorus with lyrics that encourage people to take a chance and make a change and know that there’s people out there that are willing to help you become a better person and it’s the rousing chorus that becomes the highlight of the song, almost a church-like anthem with a choir providing backing vocals during the chorus.

“These hands redeem the wounds of sinners
These hands are raised for the winners
These hands comfort lost souls in the night
These hands make you believe it will all be alright
These hands will be waiting for you
These hands are here when you make it through
These hands will be your guiding light
These hands comfort lost souls in the night
These hands will be waiting for you
These hands will make all your dreams come true”

TRACK 5 –DROP THE NEEDLE AND PRAY!

“Drop The Needle And Pray!” was not originally written with the intention of appearing on Alicia’s third studio album but after finishing the writing process for the song it was quickly decided that the song would fit in with the theme’s that Alicia was looking to approach on her third record but still unsure about the songs emotional connection the instrumentation and key of the song was changed by Alicia. Finally confident with the song, Alicia decided to debut the song at the 4th Chaos Awards in late 2011 to a positive reaction, one critic even said “Performed in a set alongside a cover version of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ only served to prove Alicia’s songwriting ability as she makes the move from pop’s sweetheart to a singer-songwriter that could someday rival the best the industry has seen”. She spent the following months of 2011 rather quietly with the exception of one or two blog updates, but in early January she announced that she would be entering a studio in the following weeks and months to work on her third studio album. In an interview with Rolling Stone in February 2012 she confirmed that the lead single was almost ready for release and a demo version of the song was handed to a reviewer for the magazine and the first official review of the single was written in the February 2012 issue of the music magazine.

The songs only instrument is the piano playing throughout which sets the emotional and tender backdrop to the song which is enhanced even further by Alicia’s bluesy vocals, midway through the song the key changes as Alicia unleashes a powerful vocal that ignites the song fully. It flows well throughout maintaining a good pace and at 4:17 in length it never feels rushed as Alicia takes her time to get to the highest point of the song with the lyrics, “But if you take a walk and find yourself looking down/Remember you’ve got something to give in this life/Everything will turn around someday/Just drop the needle and pray.” But then quickly switches back to a more slower-paced melodic run to see out the end of the song with the bluesy piano ending.

“I can’t force you to do anything
I can try to pick you up but all that I can say
Is that you will find your way someday
If you just drop the needle and pray
I don’t know when the pain will disappear
I don’t know how to remove this fear
I know it sometimes helps to scream and shout
We all live in fear and doubt”

TRACK 6 – HOLD ON, MY CHILD

‘Hold On, My Child’ is another song that pushes Alicia’s elements of faith to the forefront once again, in a similar way to ‘Drop The Needle And Pray’ and ‘These Hands’ it’s lyrics directly relate to her own personal beliefs and once more it pushes positivity ahead of negativity, it’s a song that could take on different interpretations as it initially appears that it could be a mother singing about a lost child and needing to believe that there’s something perhaps more special waiting for her child, however the interpretation of the song could be seen differently by others.
It’s an emotional track that again is primarily piano based, a relatively soft acoustic guitar can be heard playing throughout but the main focus is on the combination of piano and Alicia’s emotional vocals, you can feel what she’s singing almost like she’s singing about something that has personally happened to her as she puts emphasis on specific parts of the song, in particular “And as your fears will start to fall away/I know that we’ll be together again someday”

“Hold on, my child because heaven awaits
All of the beautiful angels are waiting by those pearly gates
As you step up to the light and let the greater good shine through
There’s a new world waiting right here for you
So hold on, my child don’t be worried about your fate
The angels are waiting by the big pearly gate
And as your fears will start to fall away
I know that we’ll be together again someday”

TRACK 7 – LIVING FOR THE MOMENT

‘Living For The Moment’ is a song about taking your chances when they come rather than letting opportunity’s pass you by because you’re too afraid of the risks, the song is something that Alicia feels directly relates to her own life as she stated, “I lived a very basic life when I was younger, my parents worked hard and saved money for their whole life and never spent that money on themselves in case they may have one day needed it, which is obviously an intelligent thing but I think that was passed onto me. I discovered that I’m not one to take risks whether it’s love, money or fun and it’s something that I’ve decided to change if I can and that’s what this song pretty much directly relates to.”
It begins with a soft RnB beat but quickly powers into life to create perhaps one of the more instrumentally heavier songs from the album as drums, guitars and a piano provide the musical backdrop to the song about taking risks and chances, it reaches a peak during the chorus as Alicia unleashes a powerful and emotive vocal as she sings about how she’s gonna make a change and not be left alone in the shadows regretting the things that she never took a chance on. It’s a moving song with a somewhat uplifting life message.

“I’m tired of letting so many things pass me by
I’m way too predictable and I don’t understand why
It’s time for me to take a blind leap of faith
And just living for the moment
I’m just living for the moment”

TRACK 8 – BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

‘Behind Closed Doors’ is a song about how someone’s life may not be quite as it’s seen to other people on the outside and it’s a song that tackles the issue, whether the song relates to Alicia’s own life remains to be seen but it has dark undertones which are evident throughout as she sings about how Behind Closed Doors there is fear and lies, this song is one of many on the album that feature guitar from ‘Benji Luna’.
A blues guitar introduction begins the song and increases in its intensity as the song progresses and the combination once more between Benji’s guitar playing and Alicia’s piano player seem to be a perfect combination that not only adds to her own music but shows the ability of her close friend. Alicia’s vocals once more are powerful and emotional with her trademark soulful style that became more evident on her sophomore album ‘Waking Up’. She sings the song with a passion as expected and backing vocals are provided by her own cousin and fellow musician ‘Kara Romero’.

“Behind closed doors things aren’t as they appear
Behind closed doors your surrounded by fear
Behind closed doors is where the truth is set free
Behind closed doors rather you than me
Behind closed doors is where you can’t pretend
Behind closed doors is where you’ll fight and defend”

TRACK 9 – WHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE

‘What Will Your Legacy Be’ is a song that was written by Alicia the day after her 25th birthday in January, it’s a track that tackles the obvious thoughts of someone who is growing older and is wondering what they have to show for their life and is something that Alicia personally felt at the time that she wrote it, “I’ve never had a real plan for my life, I never thought that I need to be married at 25 and have children before I’m 30 or anything like that but when you hit a certain age landmark and you hear about another old friend getting married or becoming a parent of course you feel very happy for them but there’s also a sense of why don’t I have that? And I wrote the song after my 25th birthday, I was feeling a little down but you get out of that state of mind pretty quickly and learn that you’ve got your own accomplishments to be proud of”
The song is performed solely on the piano but as the chorus arrives Alicia sings acapella, the piano then continues for the next verse but then isn’t heard again for the rest of the song as Alicia finishes the song by singing acapella, she felt that just her voice alone without any instrumental backdrop would sound more moving and raw if it was just her voice and nothing else and felt that it’s lyrics lent itself to a more emotive and moving sound which was acquired during the acapella parts of the song.

“Each room is empty and there’s nothing to show
For years of hard work and nothing more
Your life is empty for everyone to see
Don’t you ever wonder what your legacy will be
What will your legacy be?
What will your legacy be?”

TRACK 10 – MY FOUR AM MIRACLE (FEAT. BENJI LUNA)

‘My Four AM Miracle’ is the second vocal collaboration on the album and once more features Alicia’s close friend ‘Benjamin Luna’ on vocals and guitar, it’s a rare love song that Alicia has often tried to avoid writing as she feels that those kind of love ballads don’t quite lend themselves to lyrical depth or real emotion but the song that was written by both Alicia and Benji does take on those traditional love song feelings, it’s a song that isn’t quite as obvious as other love songs and could pose a few questions for the listener.
The song is very heavily influenced by a more modern sound, Benji’s electric guitar provides a screeching riff mid-way through the song as the lyrics progress to a more dramatic feeling and the trade-off of the vocals between Alicia and Benji provide an interesting combination as her powerful soulful tones and Benji’s emotional and almost Caribbean influenced vocals provide the main highlight of the song, it’s interesting to see how they work together on a more obvious collaboration.

“My four am miracle is so far away
Just living his life, getting through each day
There’s a water that tears us apart at the seams
But I know that I’ll be forever in his dreams
So I’ll keep on waiting for my four am miracle to come back to me
It’s a dream I keep having that keeps coming to me”

TRACK 11 – LAST KNOWN SURROUNDINGS

‘Last Known Surrounding’ is a song that is heavily influenced by many artists of the past, it has the emotive beauty of old-fashioned soul and the lyrical influence of folk musicians that have gone by most notably ‘Simon & Garfunkel’. The song follows an emotional narrative of a woman that has lost the people in her life that were most important to her and as she’s stuck in the town that she grew up in while almost everybody has managed to leave and create a better life somewhere else she is almost haunted by a former love and her family try to hide her pain, “They just whisper your name under their breath/But they don’t understand that it has the same effect” is perhaps one of the most emotive lines from the album and the track in particular is one of the most artistically interesting tracks and shows a different side to Alicia’s songwriting.
The song is dominated by the echoed tones of the piano keys and the soft twang of the strings of an acoustic guitar that set the mood throughout the song, it’s a rather quiet and emotional song and Alicia’s vocals are reigned in as she sings with a softness that isn’t often heard by her, throughout the song you can almost feel a silence and the loneliness that Alicia sings about as the narrator and finishes with the combination of piano and acoustic guitar.

“And in these last known surroundings I’ll find myself searching for you
They’ll pretend you don’t exist
They just whisper your name under their breath
But they don’t understand that it has the same effect
In these last known surroundings, I’ll search for your face
But the more that I look, It gets harder to trace
In these last known surroundings, I’ll mention your name
But it’s clear to me, things can’t ever be the same”

TRACK 12 – PLACE A WISH IN YOUR HEART (FEAT. CHLOE)

The song was written in February 2012 during the initial recording sessions for her third studio album and an early version of the song was recorded during the sessions without the rap verse on the song, however upon hearing the initial version of the song it was suggested by her producers, Nevaeh Martinez-Smith and Will.Rocca that perhaps an addition to the song would be best and after consideration Alicia decided to include a rap verse to the song which is something she’s never really took on as a songwriter in the past but two weeks later the official version of the songs lyrics were completed and she called upon her friend Chloe, the two have worked together on a number of occasions throughout their careers and they recorded the song together with featured rap vocals from Chloe.
The initial idea for the song came back in November 2011 as Alicia was starting to think about ideas for the new album, she wanted to create an album filled with optimism which included elements of her own faith and after writing ‘Drop The Needle And Pray!” the lead single from the album around this time it was during a meeting with a friend a couple of weeks later where she played a demo version of the aforementioned lead single, after talking about ideas for the album, she scribbled the chorus of the song on a napkin which became the foundation on which the song was built.

A trademark soft twinkly piano introduction is heard at the beginning of the song, it takes around 13 seconds for Alicia to begin singing the opening lyrics to the song as the piano plays consistently throughout, it’s soft, emotional and slow but it builds in pace as the first rap verse with vocals from Chloe begins and the song hits its peak during her second rap verse which Alicia then follows up with the chorus and then the final verse which softly fades back out. Two vocalists a piano and the use of echo are the primary backdrop’s to the song and it’s the combination of the echo and piano which give the song the emotional and inspirational feel to the song that Alicia is clearly going for with the songs hopeful lyrics matched with her soulful RnB vocals. The rap vocals from Chloe help enhance the song and give it a little more energy which helps turn it from a slow paced ballad into a more energetic and soulful song.

“Somebody once told me that this is the place
Where everything is better and everything is safe
Somebody once told me that dreams come true
So make a wish and watch it come to you
Just make a wish and place it in your heart
Because we were born with dreams from the very start”

TRACK 13 – LISTEN TO THE PROPHETS (PART I)

‘Listen To The Prophets (Part I)’ is almost an anthemic track which is seemingly about being a musician and performing in front of crowds and hearing them singing your words back to you, it’s a rather uplifting track that has a rousing chorus and shows a slightly different songwriting approach compared to the rest of the album as Alicia states “It’s something that directly talks about what we do as performers and that’s something I’ve always usually avoided as a songwriter because I’m sure there would be some alienation whenever I performed a song because how are the audience gonna relate to it but it’s a song that hopefully people can enjoy and sing along to because that’s basically the theme of it.”
An upbeat piano introduction and a drum beat signal the beginning of the song and it’s lyrics progress as they tell a story of what it’s like to be a professional musician and having people hanging onto your every word, the chorus is a chest beating anthem type of chorus and backing vocals once more provided by ‘Kara Romero’ add to the anthemic effect off the song’s lyrics, Alicia’s vocals are strong and clear and hit a peak with the last note of the song.

“The prophets sing Hallelujah
The crowds listen to their every breath
They repeat those words back to you all at once
It’s a life changing effect”

TRACK 14 – AMERICAN DREAM OR AMERICAN REALITY

‘American Dream Or American Reality’ is almost a protest song in a similar vein to Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger that has Alicia asking what her country has become, she asks several questions as the song progresses including, “What sort of world are we living in that we can’t spare time for the needy and the poor/What sort of people are we becoming when we’re too afraid to open the door/What happened to the promise/What happened to the grace/What happen to the people/What happened to this place” it poses its primary question, “Is this the American dream? Or American reality?”
It’s soft acoustic opening is quickly followed by Alicia’s vocals that are almost spoken rather than sung, like ‘Last Known Surrounding’ it’s one of the more raw songs on the album and only features an acoustic guitar and Alicia’s vocals, you can hear everything clearly and the large space in the studio where this track was recorded provides an almost hauntingly beautiful echo which unintentionally adds to the song, Alicia sings the song with a slightly more aggressive and forceful vocal throughout and as the song ends it softly fades out with the twang of the acoustic strings that created a sombre mood.

“So here we stand in the land of the free
Wondering what happened to the promise to you and me
So is this the American dream or American reality?”

TRACK 15 – THE TRUTH OR A BEAUTIFUL LIE

‘The Truth Or A Beautiful Lie’ is a modern sounding RnB track, its instrumentation includes keyboards and a synthesizer as well as the piano and the backing beat provided by the drums and gives a modern feel as it’s perhaps one of the most modern sounding tracks from the album. The song’s lyrics takes on the narrative of a woman that has fallen out of love with someone and attempts to rationalise the situation and try to make the guy understand as she sings, “The choice is entirely up to you/I can tell you the truth or a beautiful lie/Either one will make you cry/But the decision is yours and yours only/But either way you’re gonna end up lonely.” It’s a slightly different take on a song by Alicia.
The song opens with an almost high pitched wail from the synthesizer that is played by Alicia and is quickly followed by the tones of the keyboards provided by Benji Luna and then the addition of the drum beat appears in the song and gives it the energy, Alicia sings with energy as the song is a slightly faster pace than previous songs from the album and as the synthesizer and keyboards seemingly disappear towards the middle part of the song the introduction of the piano begins and slows the pace and eventually fades out the song.

“The choice is entirely up to you
I can tell the truth or a beautiful lie
Either one will make you cry
But the decision is yours and yours only
But either way you’re gonna end up lonely”

TRACK 16 – DON’T LET IT GET TO YOU

‘Don’t Let It Get To You’ is another uplifting song and it’s about hope and not letting things drag you down and instead believing that whatever difficulties surround you will fall away if you just keep the belief and faith that things will get better, it’s a song that most people will be able to relate to and perhaps some people will find solace within its lyrical themes, again it’s a song that Alicia has often taken on in her career with its uplifting message and the soulful vocals it is a quintessential Alicia Lena type song.
It opens with a piano introduction and the addition of an echo and as the song progresses it appears that it includes layered backing vocals from Alicia herself that add to the effect of the songs hope-filled chorus, the piano playing adds an urgency and emotion throughout and the vocals from Alicia remain loud, powerful and drenched in her soul influences as she sings, “But there’s things that people say that just aren’t true/Don’t listen to a word they say/Don’t let it get to you.” And the song slowly fades with the keys of the piano.

“When the world is crumbling all around
You’re no longer standing on steady ground
Hopefully what will happen when the smoke starts to clear
Somewhere in the aftermath you’ll no longer have fear
But there’s things that people say that just aren’t true
Don’t listen to a word they say
Don’t let it get to you”

TRACK 17 – SOMEBODY OUT THERE LOVES ME (FEAT. DOMINIC BROWN & ISABEL MERJOS)

‘Somebody Out There Loves Me’ was written by Alicia Lena in August 2011 towards the end of her world tour. Alicia said that it’s one of the rare songs that she’s written which don’t directly relate to something in her own life, she stated that it has a theme that she was interested in writing a song about and it initially wasn’t planned to be recorded but after finishing the song, she decided to record it and after recording a rough demo, she felt that it would work better as a collaboration which is when she decided to edit the song a little which led to her calling Dominic Brown and Isabel Merjos to talk about them featuring on the song. They then met up and recorded the song in New York and within 4 days, they had completed recording the song with Will.Rocca and following the announcement of Alicia signing a new record deal with Tric-Jam Records, they decided that it would be the perfect way to begin her new era with the new label.

‘Somebody Out There Loves Me’ is an R&B ballad which shows a breezy soulful vocal from Alicia Lena. The song begins with a soft piano introduction which complements Alicia’s vocals at the beginning, the only other primary instrument heard in the song are the drums which begin during Dominic Brown’s R&B vocals which fit the song perfectly. Alicia continues to play the piano throughout and the upbeat pop vocal from Isabel add to the song perfectly, the combination between the three fit the song very well. The song rises in power towards the end with the piano increasing in volume and power, the final part of the song shows a more powerful vocal combination from Alicia and Isabel as they give the song a strong R&B vocal which shows off both emotion and strength from Alicia and Isabel, perhaps an unlikely combination but it works very well for the song and the heart wrenching final notes from Alicia and Isabel give this song a hugely powerful ballad feel to it.

“You’ll never take what I have
You’ll never take it away from me
I’m gonna rise to the top tonight
Because somebody out there
Somebody out there
Oh, somebody out there
Loves me”

TRACK 18 – REBUILD FROM THE ASHES

‘Rebuild From The Ashes’ is a song that was written as a 9/11 tribute, although never released, the song’s lyrics were posted on her official website in September 2011. The song’s lyrics focus on hope and strength and how people are there to lend a helping hand when things get a little too difficult to take, it’s lyrics sing about the loss that people faced but put the focus on the belief that they can make it through despite whatever difficulties come their way.
The song is just Alicia and the piano, although her voice overpowers the tones of the piano and make the song almost feel acapella it’s another rousing almost anthemic song that pushes the positive ahead of the negative once more and it’s almost gospel-like chorus create a positive and almost upbeat energy throughout the song, as it progresses it focus on the loss but it returns to the positivity on the final line of the song, “Don’t feel alone in this empty world because we’re all here for you”.

“Emptiness and longing for one last kiss
One last I love you, one last moment of bliss
One more candle, one more prayer
One more hug from your daughter and sons
This is too unfair
---
So with letters in the mailbox and work boots by the door
The memories of your loved ones will return to you once more
The light shines through the window pane and seems like things will be alright
But we know that it gets tough sometimes but you’ve gotta brave the fight
And the pain can sometimes hurt so bad, but know that this is true
Don’t feel alone in this empty world because we’re all here for you”