This song is based on a mantra that helped me get through the last couple months of the year.

This one is fairly straightforward musically — just the usual diatonic suspects, with a truck-driver modulation. I imagine a “full” recording would use clean, palm-muted electric guitars for the first half, with the full band coming in for the instrumental part right before the bridge.

I recorded this track live, with the Zoom H6 on the acoustic guitar, and the Sm57 on the vocals. There are overdubbed backing vocals, but otherwise everything is from the live take.

Lyrics

It seems so far in the long run

No indication of any rest  

You can’t connect those far-off dots

And when will you catch your breath?

You know you gotta get outta here

You’ve got a direction but no plan

You worry you’ll stall forever

And you’ll be stuck where this all began

 

One step at a time, one step at a time

I know you’re feeling overwhelmed, one step at a time

One step at a time, one step at a time

Inch by inch we’ll get through this, one step at a time

 

So look to what you can do now

Where will your next step land?

This tiny piece is manageable

Not so hard to understand

Take a breath if you need some space

We’ll soon be on our way

Momentum helps to clear the air

And pulls to the next new day

 

Some steps are vast, some steps are small

But you won’t feel you’ve lost sight

We’ll take it on, we’ll fight them all

And we’ll know every step, every single step was right