Little By Little Things
(key of E)

I’m a child of the ‘80’s. I should have been listening to the music of my time (which I did to a degree): the big-hair bands with cool band names and screaming lead male vocalists who had no business singing in such high octave ranges. So, instead, I discovered and listened to my dad’s collection of vinyl albums: The Who, Mamas & the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Grand Funk Railroad, The Turtles, etc. It was, and continues to be, great music from an era that managed to infiltrate every little corner of my songwriting methodology. Ah, the power of a hook.

This song began with the pre-chorus (“into the day, into the night….”) on April 1, 2002 and was all I could manage at the time. After putting it away for a few months, I stumbled upon the catchy chorus (“little by little by little…..it’s becoming all I need…”) during one afternoon’s tinkering about and recalled the previously written pre-chorus. I realized the potential for such a marriage, pieced the two parts together, quickly wrote some verses and completed a favorite song of mine on July 2, 2002. This is my attempt at a “Brit-pop invasion” song.

what you see is what you get
in the empty shell of a full-grown man
who's dealing from the bottom of the deck
it breaks my heart to see my past
like an unfurled flag that's flown half mast
i used you like a back door welcome mat

into the day, into the night
if we could see things through your eyes
where it's safe, where we might
catch a glimpse of holy heights
little by little, by little, by little
it's becoming all i need
little by little, by little, by little
these little by little things

prayed my prayers as a wordless psalm
held back myself for far too long
save my heart from turning into stone

into the day, into the night
if we could see things through your eyes
where it's safe, where we might
catch a glimpse of holy heights
little by little, by little, by little
it's becoming all i need
little by little, by little, by little
these little by little things