essay · 2026 · 4 min

Why 'over' took four months longer than the actual song

the song was never the hard part.

TThe song part of 'over' took maybe three sessions. Verse, chorus, a bridge I almost cut and I'm glad I didn't. The part that actually took four months was everything after: mixing my own vocals with no formal training, googling the same three plugins over and over, and re-recording one line so many times I started hearing it in my sleep.

Nobody warns you that finishing is its own separate skill from making. I can write a hook in an hour. Deciding a take is good enough to release, when I can hear every flaw because I made it, is a completely different muscle — and it's the one I actually had to build.↑ this is a skill issue and I'm aware

A song sitting in a folder isn't a song yet. It's just a very convincing draft.

What got it out the door wasn't a better ear or better gear. It was a deadline I made up and told exactly one person about, which is apparently all the accountability I need. Turns out the bar I was clearing wasn't 'perfect,' it was 'done, and I can live with it.'

It's on SoundCloud now, mistakes included, on purpose. The next one is already sitting half-finished, which is either encouraging or exactly the same problem starting over. Probably both.the next one has been "almost done" for three weeks