Title: “Golden Hearts Shine Forever”
Artist: Alex Simms
Release Date: April 21, 2013
Length: 4:21
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single, Weekly Airplay
Recorded: April 2013, Orlando, Florida
Genre: Pop-punk, Post-hardcore
Label: Songs To Love And Die By
Written: February 2013
Writer(s): Alex Simms
Producer(s): Alex Simms, Amy Meyer
“Golden Hearts Shine Forever” is a song that was written and recorded by American post-hardcore/pop-punk musician ‘Alex Simms’, it marks the relatively unknown musicians first foray into the music industry following a couple of years of attempting to break into the industry and upon release the track will serve as the debut single from the New York based musician and it will also serve as the leading single from his as-yet-untitled debut album which he is currently writing and recording in his hometown of Orlando, Florida and the record is expected to be released at some point in 2013 following his recent signing to the independent New York based record label ‘Songs to Love and Die By’ founded by Riot! In The Boulevard lead singer ‘Amy Meyer’.
The four minute long guitar and drums driven track was written back in February 2013 by Alex Simms and it quickly became the centre-piece of his live performances, it was the track which the musician opted to start ending his performances on, the reason for this according to Alex was this;
“To me, it’s a song with a simple but important message. It’s about individuality and empowerment I guess. You know? It’s about not letting anybody judge you or try to take you down because of the way that you are or because of the things that you do. It happens a lot with people that I’ve became friends with over the years, they have their individuality and uniqueness and it’s the essence of what makes them who they are and somewhere along the line that can get taken away from these sorts of people, I’ve seen it happen so often, people are too quick to try to change the things that they don’t like about another person and it shouldn’t happen.
So yeah, the song is about being an individual and following your own path and not getting swayed to become someone that you’re not. It’s kind of a message to sorta remind people to just embrace the weirdness. The world would be pretty boring if these sorts of people didn’t exist and long may they exist.”The song was recorded primarily by Alex Simms with additional instrumentation from two Orlando based session musicians ‘Frankie Fallon’ and ‘Josh Kingston’, the track was produced by both Alex Simms and Riot! frontwoman and label owner ‘Amy Meyer’ at a recording studio in Orlando, Florida in early April only a couple of days after officially signing his first record deal. The track is four minutes and twenty-one seconds in length and it will be made available to purchase as a CD Single, Digital Download and 7” Single and will be made available to listen to on Airplay, Soundcloud and Spotify as well as a lyric video being made available on Youtube via the official ‘Songs to Love’ youtube page. The single will be officially released on April 21, 2013 through ‘Songs to Love and Die By’.
BACKGROUND‘Golden Hearts Shine Forever’ was written in February this year by Alex during a turbulent week. At this time he was still performing in small clubs in and around New York City and the session work that he had previously been doing had started to dry up in the previous months which meant that things were proving difficult for Alex financially which led to him crashing on the floor of a friend’s apartment called Amelia, for the first few months of 2013, that friend was the inspiration for the song as Alex saw first-hand the destructive nature that judgement from others can have on a person’s life, during live performances Alex has publicly dedicated the song to the person in question called ‘Amelia’ and the cover art for the single was designed by ‘Amelia’.
Alex recently spoke about the reasons for her being the inspiration behind the song,
“I had known her for a few years now and she always managed to maintain her happiness even in her toughest moments. But she went through a difficult time, where the happiness went completely and there was no joy in her eyes, it was a drastic change to how she had always appeared to be and it was clear that the negative shots from people who once claimed to be friends had just dragged her down to a point of almost no return. We all have that limit, where we’ve taken enough trouble and sadness that we get to the point where we feel like we can’t continue or don’t want to continue and she was at that point. I found her on her bedroom floor with cuts to her wrist and barely conscious, she made it and that evening in the waiting room of the hospital I began writing the lyrics to what would become this song.”The song begins rather forcefully as a strong drum beat is the first instrument heard and is quickly followed by a rather loud and powerful guitar riff that signals the intention of the song, this combination continues throughout the song but at around the eleven second mark the opening vocal arrives, it’s sung loud and clear but with a tender tone initially as Alex shows off the differing vocal ranges. It’s a delivered in a beautiful and mellow vocal as he sings
“I once knew a girl who had a heart too big for this world/A heart that money just can’t buy/They tried to take it from her.” and then follows that up with a powerful high pitched rock scream
“They tried to take it from her!/They tried to rip it from her inside.” before returning once more to the softer and more solemn vocal as he set the emotional scene of the song
“And she cried and cried in her room after every heartbreak/After every guy that said it would be different/That said it wouldn’t be like the last time/It’s a heartless crime/And this is what I told her.” And the musical backdrop of the opening verse remains the same, the heavy pounding of the drums are matched with a driving guitar riff as the song leads its way into the second verse and the main point of the song that changes the pace and quickly turns the second into an almost anthemic track.
The bass guitar arrives into the song just in time for the powerful second verse in order to add a little something extra into the instrumentation and it combines with the heavy drums and lead guitar sound of the opening verse with seamless ease and comfort, making the song even more powerful. However it’s both the lyrical theme and the vocal delivery of the second verse that changes the overall tone of the song from tender and emotional to something more powerful and with a little more attitude, showing the differing styles of Alex’s music and evidently his vocals once more as the second verse is sung loud and powerfully, again using his high-pitched tones but combining it with sheer force and power as he almost screams out the lyrics that highlight the song
“F*ck em’ they don’t know you/And they don’t deserve to/F*ck em’ they don’t know/They don’t know the real you.” and as the guitar becomes increasingly dominant in this verse the entire music stops dead instantly as it’s just Alex’s voice than can be heard as he bellows out the following lyrics,
“I’m not the only one, cause if they could see your heart/They’d be f*cking smiling too!”The lead guitar riff comes back into play instantly after the second verse and is then followed by the drums and bass guitar to continue on from what has already gone before but it’s back to the tender and emotional lyrical theme of the opening verse as Alex sings about the young girl in the song and the demons and sadness that she faces, he delivers the lines once more like the opening to the song, in a soft and tender delivery as the lyrics call for
“She rests alone in bed/Where she overthinks her greatest fears/She places the pillow over her head/Presses it hard against her ears/Just hoping that her thoughts will go away/Like the ringing sounds that she hears every day/And nobody will ever know if she cries/They could just ask how she’s doing/But no one even tries.” and as Alex stops singing briefly, the guitar and bass instrumentation fades into the background for a number of seconds as a powerful and repetitive drum beat adds tension and build-up in the second and awaits the bass and lead guitars arrivals which then signals Alex’s arrival back into the song as the music has now moved back into full focus and Alex sings
“Well don’t you know that her heart shines bright/Trading the darkness for infinite sunlight/Everybody should follow her and do this together/Because golden hearts shine forever/Blinding you with beauty and love/It’s a heart that belongs with the angels above”The lead guitar continues into the next verse as the main focus point of the instrumental backdrop of the song, the chords are changed slightly and it gives the instrument a more melodic sound that hits the ears a little more easily than in the previous verses of the song, the drums can be heard in the background but are less elemental to this verse and the combination of lead guitar and the vocal from Alex are the high point of the verse as Alex once again sings with a tinge of sadness and emotion
“But they all try to mess her around/They all try to drag her down/I’m in dismay and this is what I’ll say.” before the guitar becomes louder and the drums also follow in a similar vein as Alex raises his voice once more as he screams out in a high pitched rock wail once again
“F*ck em’ they don’t know you/And they don’t deserve to/F*ck em’ they don’t know/They don’t know the real you/I’m not the only one, cause if they could see your heart/They’d be f*cking smiling too.”And for the final verse of the song, all of the instruments become softer and merely just fading background noise as Alex’s vocals are sung almost acapella, showing off the tenderness that he can put into vocal delivery as he sings,
“ Don’t you know that her heart shines bright/Trading the darkness for infinite sunlight/Don’t you know that her heart shines bright/Trading the darkness for infinite sunlight/And she’ll make everybody hold hands together/Because golden hearts shine forever/Blinding you with beauty and love/It’s a heart that belongs to the angels above” and the final vocal echoes before fading out slowly.
LYRICS “I once knew a girl who had a heart too big for this world
A heart that money just can’t buy
They tried to take it from her
They tried to take it from her!
They tried to rip it from her inside
And she cried and cried in her room after every heartbreak
After every guy that said it would be different
That said it wouldn’t be like the last time
It’s a heartless crime
And this is what I told her
F*ck em’ they don’t know you
And they don’t deserve to
F*ck em’ they don’t know
They don’t know the real you
I’m not the only one, cause if they could see your heart
They’d be f*cking smiling too
She rests alone in bed
Where she overthinks her greatest fears
She places the pillow over her head
Presses it hard against her ears
Just hoping that her thoughts will go away
Like the ringing sounds that she hears every day
And nobody will ever know if she cries
They could just ask how she’s doing
But no one even tries
Well don’t you know that her heart shines bright
Trading the darkness for infinite sunlight
Everybody should follow suit and do this together
Because golden hearts shine forever
Blinding you with beauty and love
It’s a heart that belongs with the angels above
But they all try to mess her around
They all try to drag her down
I’m in dismay and this is what I’ll say
F*ck em’ they don’t know you
And they don’t deserve to
F*ck em’ they don’t know
They don’t know the real you
I’m not the only one, cause if they could see your heart
They’d be f*cking smiling to
Don’t you know that her heart shines bright
Trading the darkness for infinite sunlight
Don’t you know that her heart shines bright
Trading the darkness for infinite sunlight
And she’ll make everybody hold hands together
Because golden hearts shine forever
Blinding you with beauty and love
It’s a heart that belongs to the angels above”
PERSONNELAlex Simms – lead vocals, lead guitar, lyrics, production
Frankie Fallon – bass guitar, backing vocals
Josh Kingston – drums, hand claps
Amy Meyer – production
Amelia Fontaine – cover art design
SOUNDS LIKESleeping with Sirens – Who Are You Now?
