A gentle country sounding song in a ¾ time; “Just Getting By” weaves together acoustic and slide guitars with evanescent percussive waves ebbing and flowing with the subtle pulsing of this beautiful ballad. It is a song with a Carpenter's type softness, Jim Croce classic sound and “Puff, the Magic Dragon” kind of charm in which Jessica Leia sings heartfelt lyrics about the struggles of facing our own, self-imposed prisons.
lyrics
Verse 1
Well I sell my soul every day.
They make payments on Saturday.
And in return, I owe them my life.
But what other way would I pass the days?
I resent them anyway,
All they seem to do, is take what is mine.
Verse 2
‘Cause it seems more like everyday,
This home is just a cage.
And possessions earned, aren’t treasures at all.
‘Cause they just remind me that I owe.
And if I wanted, I couldn’t go,
I’m committed to my own prison walls.
Chorus 1
But hey, don’t you tell me that’s life.
‘Cause if I were livin’ I wouldn’t feel myself die,
When I settled for just getting by.
Chorus part deux
But I’m left just the same with the question of what to do.
There were answers I thought I knew.
But it seems lately that I don’t know.
Verse 3
And I don’t know if dreams run out,
Or just get plagued by doubt,
But either way, they do you no good
‘Cause then you’re left to go without
The things that life’s about
And you start sayin’ things like, “I wish I could.”
Chorus 2
But hey, don’t you tell me that’s life.
‘Cause if I were livin’ I wouldn’t feel myself die,
When I settled for just getting by.
Chorus part deux
But I’m left once again with the question of what to do
There were answers I thought I knew
But it seems lately that I don’t know
released December 2, 2020
* Jessica Leia on Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
* Rich DiBenedetto on Percussion
* Dean Kattari on Lead, Acoustic and Bass Guitars
* Mixed and Mastered by Dean Kattari
* Produced by Dean Kattari and Jessica Leia
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