The story behind the song
Running the wrong race
I spent years chasing things. Titles, output, recognition, the next thing. The thing after the next thing. I am not sure exactly when I realised I was exhausted and still somehow behind, but I remember the particular quality of that tiredness.
“I’ve been running up that hill / Chasing shadows, chasing gold / And I’m tired of what I’ll never hold.”
That is where this song starts. Not in judgment of the culture. Just in honest recognition that I had been playing a game I could never win by the rules it gave me.
The paradox
The central line of this song is the one that surprised me when it came out: “The more you got, the less you have.”
It is counterintuitive, but it is true. The more we accumulate, the more we have to manage, protect, maintain, and worry about. The faster we chase, the further the destination seems. Something in the relentless forward motion actually pushes us backward from what matters.
What I wanted instead was simple. Morning light through the trees. Food that heals. Breathing. Forgiveness. The empty space where your heart can finally breathe.
“Turns out freedom’s in the empty space / Where your heart can finally breathe.”
A slower pace
Musically, this one is upbeat but chill. Folk duet, male and female voices. It has a groove without urgency. The chorus harmonies are warm. It does not lecture. It invites.
Listen to “The more you got” from the album In the fog.
