Songwriting Sample

“Lily Allen”

Melody & Lyrics by Mandi J. Smith

A deeply personal, poetic anthem about release, resilience, and reclaiming your power

VERSE 1:

You said I was divinely protected
But oh, I couldn’t hear it
I always just wanted who I wanted
And oh, how I would scream it

PRE-CHORUS:

If you were oh so powerful and wise
Surely you could change the way
The cards read at night
But time and time again
Like you weren’t listening
His silence was painful
But your silence was deafening

CHORUS:

But now I look back
And I sing Amazing Grace
While the tears run down my face
’Cause I know you knew it all along
Could’ve been the story on the stage
Newspaper front page
All my systems failing
Could’ve been like Lily Allen

VERSE 2:

I’ve got no proof or reason to believe it
But I cannot unsee it
You bend my ear to songs so I can hear it
And oh, how you reveal it

​PRE-CHORUS:

Now I’ve become so powerful and wise
All because he wasn’t there to fuck with my life
And time and time again
When I’m not listening
My silence will be painful
But your silence will be a reckoning

CHORUS:

But now I look back
And I sing Amazing Grace
While the tears run down my face
’Cause I know you knew it all along
Could’ve been the story on the stage
Newspaper front page
All my systems failing
Could’ve been like Lily Allen

​BRIDGE:

Addiction and women
Swimming in indecision
Would have been the cruelest cold
For the warmest hand you hold
Bedtime stories at night
Making s’mores by gaslight
I’ll never have to know
The darkest depths my soul would’ve had to go…

​CHORUS:

But now I look back
And I see a smiling face
The pain turned into strength
Knowing I’m where I belong
Gonna tell the story on the stage
A newfound sense of brave
With gratitude I’m feeling
Now I’m free like Lily Allen

Now I’m free like Lily Allen
Free like Lily Allen