Page 38 - Write Away November Issue
P. 38
San Francisco
We said goodbye in a hurricane San Francisco started off as one of those moments
Only 10 days since I learnt your name you know you need to write a song about. I was on a
Took bottles from the bar we were six floors high backpacking trip in Vietnam and I remember sitting
Fireflies and a drinking game in my hotel room at 4am knowing that I needed to
We were hanging in that almost moment leave for the airport in an hour but I also had to write
You could have gone there but you didn’t about something that had just happened earlier that
We were hanging on a last word night.
knowing that I’ll never see you again
I jotted down a whole load of lyric ideas in the
But if I’m ever in San Francisco moment and when I got home to the UK I brought
Would you want to know? them to my cowriter Kaity Rae and we wrote the
Yeah I’ll forget it song in an afternoon.
I’ll leave it where we left it
But if I’m ever in San Francisco We wrote the lyrics and melody together and did it
chronologically – we knew roughly where the song
I’m not jumping on a plane, nothing to say was going from the outset so we started with the first
5,000 miles yeah I’d be insane verse and went from there.
But I’m always on the road
“Pack a bag just go” kinda girl you never know babe We tried to stay as faithful to the moment as possible,
We could be hanging in that same moment so there are a load of little details in the lyrics that
See where this goes just for minute were intentionally written and actually happened. I
Get coffee by the bay, spend the day even googled how many miles it is from London to
Craft beer and your eyes taking me away San Francisco (5,351 miles to be exact...)
So if I’m ever in San Francisco Beth Keeping is a singer/songwriter from Surrey, UK.
Would you want to know? Drawing influences from both traditional country
Yeah I’ll forget it storytelling and modern pop music, Keeping delivers
I’ll leave it where we left it a fresh and modern take, creating songs that speak
But if I’m ever in San Francisco about real situations. Her honest lyrical approach and
emotive vocals have built her a reputation as an artist
‘Cause we were standing on the street to watch in the UK music scene
Long look at me
Last night in the lights of that city Inspired into the music industry by artists such as
I wish you’d kissed me Delta Goodrem, John Mayer and Martyn Joseph,
Keeping found herself travelling the world, writing
So if I’m ever in San Francisco and recording in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Estonia,
Would you want to know? Andalusia and America. Her debut EP Fool, which
Yeah I’ll forget it was recorded in Nashville, showcased her love for
I’ll leave it where we left it country music and its powerful ability to depict vivid
But if I’m ever in San Francisco stories through sound. However, her most recent
single ‘Building Bridges on the Dancefloor’ marked a
I’m not jumping on a plane, nothing to say move towards more mainstream pop, whilst
5,000 miles yeah I’d be insane reserving her signature authentic anecdotal lyrics.
But if I’m ever in San Francisco
‘San Francisco’ narrates letting go of a moment or
To listen click here... person and wondering what may happen if you
could only have another chance. Keeping wrote the
38 www.writeawaymagazine.co.uk
