"Let Your Words Be Anything But Empty - Why Don't You Tell Them The Truth?"

I don't often perform / record cover songs - but the lyrics of 'Brave' by Sara Bareilles were too good to miss! I didn't like the song when I first heard it a good few years ago, because the production is very up-beat and overly positive - it seemed a bit "happy-clappy". But when you actually listen to the lyrics carefully, there are some very dark and poignant messages embedded in the song - which is fundamentally about empowerment. I decided to give my cover version of the song a melancholic twist to match the seriousness of the lyrics. 

LYRICS

You can be amazing,

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug,

You can be the outcast, or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love,

Or you can start speaking up,

Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do,

When they settle beneath your skin,

Kept on the inside and no sunlight, sometimes a shadow wins,

But I wonder what would happen if you:

Say what you wanna say,

And let the words fall out,

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave,

With what you want to say,

And let the words fall out,

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave,

Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down by the enemy,

Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing,

Bow down to the mighty,

Don't run, stop holding your tongue,

Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live,

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in,

And show me how big your brave is,

And say what you wanna say,

And let the words fall out,

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave,

With what you want to say,

And let the words fall out,

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I wanna see you be brave,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I wanna see you be brave

Since your history of silence,

Won't do you any good,

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty,

Why don't you tell them the truth?

And say what you wanna say,

And let the words fall out,

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave,

With what you want to say,

And let the words fall out,

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I wanna see you be brave,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I just wanna see you,

I wanna see you be brave