I Don't Need Your Permission

I Don’t Need Your Permission

Everything you might possibly want to know about my second album. But especially lyrics!

For buy links, see my “music” page.

Mary Strand – lead vocals, electric guitar

Ryan Smith – electric guitar (except track 4), acoustic and 12-string acoustic guitar (track 12), reverse guitar (track 12), E-bow (track 8), sitar (track 12), Mellotron (track 12), piano/synth (tracks 9, 12), synth bass (track 5), bass (track 4), synth (track 11), LinnDrum (track 11), percussion (track 5), tambourine (tracks 3, 9), shaker (track 3), lead vocals (track 3), backing vocals (except track 2)

Mark Wade – bass (except track 4), upright bass (track 5), electric guitar (track 4), lead vocals (track 4), backing vocals (except track 2)

Jack Strand – drums

Released by Hygh Tension Records (TLG)/Virgin Music Group

Produced by Ryan Smith, Mark Wade, and Mary Strand

Recorded at Flight Simulator, Time Capsule Studio, and Flowers Studio

Engineered at Flowers Studio by Kris Johnson

Mixed by Ryan Smith

Mastered at Rare Form Mastering by Greg Reierson

Photography for album cover by Dan Michener

Graphic design for singles (except "Does Any of This Really Matter") and photo editing for
album cover by LB Hayden

Graphic design for "Does Any of This Really Matter" single and album cover by Ryan Smith

Other photography by Kristen LeClair and Mary Strand

MIL GRACIAS to Ryan, Mark, and Jack ... aka The Garage.

More thanks: Hygh Tension Records, The Label Group, Virgin Music Group, Tom Fraser, Pony Hixon-Smith, Kris Johnson, Ashley Ackerson, Greg Reierson, Laura Hayden, Dan Michener, Paul Lundgren, Kristen LeClair, Niels Schroeter, Janet Thompson, Darron Hemann, Dennis Sanders, Cecilia Dupey, Sam Roskoski, Marc Platt, Krista Vilinskis, Brad Gunnarson (Copycats Media), Singer/Songwriter Songwriting Challenge, Chili, and Philip.

Much love to Ashley James, Darrell Gerber, Paul Engebretson, and Paul Lundgren. We lost you too soon.

1: Take Your Time

VERSE 1

I watched you strut down Hennepin
A grin on your face, another win
Full of yourself and ten feet tall
But I didn't feel anything at all
I'm not the Bonnie to your Clyde
anymore
'Cause I chose another door

CHORUS

Take your time, boy, but understand
That I don't need just any man
Couldn't be better, I'm feeling great
I finally lost all your dead weight
But take your time, take your time,
take your time

VERSE 2

You left a jacket, your favorite shoes
As if you couldn't believe I'd ever
choose
A life in which you're never there
But I realized that I don't care
I'd like someone to believe in, true
But that someone isn't you

CHORUS

BRIDGE

Make it easy, make it hard
You always were a wild card
You want to be right but you already
know
It's past time to let me go

Ooooooooohhhhhh

CHORUS

4: Ditch Your Fate – feat. Mark Wade

VERSE 1

Trails of starbursts light the
constellations
10-foot waves explode upon the shore
Early ice-out, April snow, so many
aberrations
In this mixed-up world
Capture the moment while it lasts

CHORUS

Ride the wave, make some noise, risk
your heart
Climb a mountain, make a brand-new
start
Explore the globe, ditch your fate
Find the "you" you wanna be before it's too late

VERSE 2

So much technology and
disinformation
Waves of refugees cast aside by war
Bombing children, banning books,
endless discrimination
We dream of something more
Seize the day before it's past

CHORUS

Ride the wave, make some noise, risk
your heart
Climb a mountain, make a brand-new
start
Explore the globe, ditch your fate
Find the "you" you wanna be before it's too late

BRIDGE x2

Give us back our choice, we demand
an equal voice
We need to do more than just cope
Don't preach gratitude but change
your attitude
We want a future filled with hope

CHORUS

Ride the wave, make some noise, risk
your heart
Climb a mountain
Explore the globe, open your eyes
Find the "you" you wanna be, ditch
your fate before it's too late

7: Wanna Talk Dirty

VERSE 1

You don’t know that my favorite color
is yellow
Or that I love candy corn and Jell-O
And I don't even know what car you
drive
Let alone what makes you feel alive
But from the start, you’ve intrigued me

VERSE 2

I love how you roll your eyes but rarely
speak
Every time I admit what I did this week
There’s magic in how you gaze at me
Even when you question my sanity
And though I don’t breathe a word,
you dazzle me

CHORUS

I kinda, sorta, maybe wanna talk dirty
to you
But it’s not the sort of thing I tend to
do
And though there’s nothing I’d ever
fake
I just can’t afford to make a mistake
So I’ll settle for hi and bye and try not
to sigh
In front of you

VERSE 3

I wish I had the guts to put myself out
there
But you've never hinted that you might
care
Thank God my eyes don’t give me
away
‘Cause there’s even more I’ll never say
Like how you simply always slay me

CHORUS

I kinda, sorta, maybe wanna talk dirty
to you
But it’s not the sort of thing I tend to
do

BRIDGE

But just this once, let me be clear
About some words you’ll never hear
’Cause I’d totally fumble
And rush them out in a freaking jumble
I’d like mad kisses and the tightest hug
Before we roll around on the nearest
rug
And at the end of a sweet but sexy day
I wish we’d kinda, sorta, maybe take it
all the way

CHORUS

LYRICS

2: Yours Until Tomorrow

VERSE 1

You rock on drums or bass or keys
Or maybe lead guitar
A guy like you might be a tease
Or an epic shooting star

VERSE 2

You’re up on stage past midnight
Singing love songs for me
Your sweet eyes gleam like starlight
Though your ex might disagree

CHORUS

I’m yours until tomorrow
But in case you misconstrue
I plan to fade to black
Before you can make me blue

VERSE 3

The last set ends at bar time
And you tip back a final beer
I tell myself it’s not a crime
That the moment’s finally here

VERSE 4

I climb up on your Ducati bike
Your hand brushes against my hip
Baby, you’ve got a lot to like
But this might be a one-way trip

CHORUS

BRIDGE

I’ve kissed a few boys, made a lot of
mistakes
Now I know how to tell the good ones
from fakes
But there’s something about you, so I’ll
take a chance
’Cause sometimes a girl wants to get
up and dance

VERSE 5

I drift off to sleep floating on a cloud
But it’s not as if I’m blind
A voice in my head is shouting so loud
Still, tonight you blew my mind

CHORUS

I’m yours until tomorrow
But in case you misconstrue
I plan to fade to black
Before you can make me blue
Or maybe not tomorrow
I guess I need to think this through
My plans to fade to black
Might depend on you

5: A Place to Roam

VERSE 1

In the fabled land of Hemingway
Where Cuban music can't go wrong
I came here to write a novel
But I'll settle for this song

VERSE 2

Distractions are everywhere
From Calle Ocho to Versace's place
My willpower is barely there
When mojitos set the pace

CHORUS

Even without a margarita
This sure feels like the pura vida
But it's not home
And I'm not here to stay
It's just a place to roam

VERSE 3

I know I'm way too late
But the sky's so blue, it blows my mind
How can I articulate
A plot when I'm past deadline

CHORUS

BRIDGE

It's just a dream, a fantasy
An interlude, not ecstasy
Imperfect, yes, but the days are warm
And turn sloth into an art form

VERSE 4

My agent's going insane
She'll do anything to make me write
She might even hop a plane
So I guess I'll have to work all night

CHORUS

8 - Least of All Her

VERSE 1

They all called it a minor hiccup
A boys-will-be-boys understandable
slip-up
An accident, no big deal
As if I shouldn't feel
Hurt or scared, let alone pissed
That the charges got dismissed
And you got off scot-free
But hey, enough about me

VERSE 2

No, let's talk about you and the way
You twisted black and white into gray
And my rep into a wreck
As if I cashed a bad check
Just because I said no
And you couldn't let it go
But after you broke my arm
You told the cops you meant no harm

CHORUS

Another day in a girl's life
That might end before it begins
With a chokehold, a gun, or a knife
But the truth is no one wins
Least of all her

VERSE 3

We both know you wanna mess with
my head
So maybe I'll think I'm better off dead
But I'd rather send you to jail
And hope your mom can't post bail
You'll cry on cue for the judge
And tell the world about your grudge
But I'll speak the truth in my own way
And pray you're f*cked [nailed] on
judgment day

CHORUS

Another day in a girl's life
That might end before it begins
With a chokehold, a gun, or a knife
But the truth is no one wins
Least of all her
Least of all her

10: If We Could

VERSE 1

It was a technicolor life with your
hundred-watt smile
Filled with no-win games but we
arrived in style
You'd squeeze my heart like a
tourniquet
And tempt me in ways I'll never forget
But did we both really fall so hard, so
fast
Before I called your bluff and came in
dead last?

CHORUS

If we could travel back through
Time and space and maybe unravel
All the things that went wrong
Before accusations took up half the
night
And truth wasn't just some trick of the
light
Would you? Could you? Ohhhh

VERSE 2

Are the details hazy or was it just
hypnotic
'Til your full-court press became too
chaotic
Were the trips to Paris a calculated
move
Did you suck up to my mom 'cause
she disapproved
Did I lose my heart or was it vanity
Or like my friends all say [friends all
say], insanity

CHORUS

BRIDGE

I'm not saying it's all your fault [yes it
is, yes it is]
I'm known for locking my thoughts in a
vault
But I can't decide [can't decide]
whether to stay
And fight for this or run away

CHORUS

3: Costa Rica – feat. Ryan Smith

VERSE 1

Why'd we go to Costa Rica
That's where everything went down
Come on now, we're gonna hit the
dance floor
Don't you want to light up the town

CHORUS

Oh oh oh, what a disaster
It's gone so wrong but I'm not mad
Oh oh oh, I can't drive any faster
I wanna be your hero, wanna be your
Galahad

INTERLUDE

So what's wrong?

VERSE 2

Dirt roads, flat tires, getting lost for
hours
And why does our bathroom have cold
showers
Now, don't make some big commotion
Let's take a quiet walk down to the
ocean

CHORUS

BRIDGE

I just want a love song to me
I'll send you a message in a bottle
Filled with JD on the rocks

VERSE 3

Tell me why we're heading to the city
It's not our town and not our scene
We'll have a blast if we face this together
Let's take it to the limit, like we did when we were eighteen

CHORUS

6: Stay Or Let This Go

VERSE 1

Rain splatters on the roof, through the
ceiling
Like the drip drip drip of
We prob'ly oughta fix that leak
Before another week, a month, or
maybe three
Of excuses, delays, or French ennui

VERSE 2

Glasses shatter after years of silence
The crash crash crash of
I really hate your mom's old crap
So I finally snap but it's not a waste
'Cause the rest of us know she had
lousy taste

CHORUS

The years have not been kind
And I've nearly lost my mind
Should we stay or let this go
I can't fake the status quo - oooooh

VERSE 3

Kids scatter 'round the globe, leaving
us with
The bye bye byes of
Missing them, wishing they'd stay
For another day, but it breaks my heart
And I know that this is just the start

CHORUS

BRIDGE

Minor hassles to epic disasters
Raining down on us like ceiling plaster
The world keeps spinning, and we're
not winning
But I give up the fight and turn out the
light
Another day, another sleepless night

CHORUS

9 - For All of Us (Dear Taylor)

VERSE 1

You were a kid with a dream
And, really, you are still
Maybe you're not everything you
seem
But you're still climbing up that hill

VERSE 2

They want you but claim they don't
While they waste their lives in
obscurity
They hate it that you won't
Sooth their fragile insecurity

PRE 1

You live each day with a target on your
back
And the more you slay, the more they
attack

CHORUS

Stay the course, girl, light it on fire
When they go low, keep reaching
higher
For all of us
For all of us

VERSE 3

Your success gives us a beacon of
hope
While you wish they'd all go away
You could teach a class on how to
cope
But you don't have time for that today

PRE 2

You show us how to live without fear
And keep hitting the gas while they're
stuck in first gear

CHORUS

BRIDGE

Haters gotta hate, though your wins
are their loss
Just keep standing tall: you're the
boss
'Cause their so-called rocks land like
puffs of air
And your eyes tell the world that you
don't care

CHORUS

12: Does Any of This Really Matter

VERSE 1

The loves we pretended in our teens
and twenties
Made a joke out of all those meant-to-
be's
Work and kids in our thirties and
forties
All the insane years passing before these
Too many regrets we felt in our fifties
The parents we lost in our sixties

CHORUS

You race to keep up but still fall behind
And try oh so hard not to lose your
mind
But like Alice said to the Mad Hatter
Does any of it really matter?

VERSE 2

Expensive trips to exotic lands
Or cheap beer, bars, and local bands
Limping through life on failing knees
And trying to avoid the latest disease
Angry words and bitter tears
Too many losses through the years

CHORUS

You race to keep up but still fall behind
And try oh so hard not to lose your
mind
The years fly by and you start to forget
How this all began, and it's not over yet
But like Alice said to the Mad Hatter
Does any of it really matter?

BRIDGE

And 'til the day I die
I'll always wonder why
Everything changes
But stays the same

CHORUS

You race to keep up but still fall behind
And try oh so hard not to lose your
mind
The years fly by and you start to
forget
How this all began, and it's not over
yet
But like Alice said to the Mad Hatter
Does any of it really matter?

11: I Don’t Need Your Permission

VERSE 1

I grew up a geek with a brainiac twist
Not exactly a freak, but not often
kissed
I played Tchaikovsky more than "Let It
Be"
Small wonder how everyone looked at
me

VERSE 2

Euclid and geometry left me amazed
But the other kids' eyes were always
glazed
The sports that I played set me apart,
too
So what was a girl like me supposed to
do?

CHORUS

I'm blasting through this life of mine
A woman on a mission
So don't try to give me advice
'Cause I don't need your permission
I don't need your permission

VERSE 3

I still love sports and Venn diagrams
While I run through airports and play
rock jams
I'm a closet geek who drives a stick
But I've given up theorems to learn this
lick

BRIDGE

What I love might not make sense to
you
Or maybe I get lost in translation
But though my life might seem intense
I don't owe you explanations

CHORUS

VERSE 1

I grew up a geek with a brainiac twist
Not exactly a freak, but not often
kissed