This song went through many different sets of lyrics. I loved the jazzy uniqueness of the guitar part so much that I really wanted the lyrics to be special. It took me about three months to write.
I finally landed on the concept of re-discovering your inner child. At the time, I was working with my therapist on self-love. Starting out, I found it easier to be kinder to my child self than to my adult self, so I would practice talking to myself the way I would talk to the tiny human standing in the mirror in front of me. It was reeeaaally challenging after all of the years I spent neglecting her.
I have been faced with a lot of truths about this kind of work - especially during my plant medicine ceremonies (specifically ayahuasca) where I was able to personally connect and hang out with my inner-child. I sat with her and told her she is safe and worthy and that my adult self would always be there for her, even when others hadn’t been or could not be. After that ceremony, my mom framed a photo of me at five years old to keep as a reference. It is a practice and a journey I will be on for the rest of my life.
So back to the song - I was 25 years old and starting to feel jaded. It was becoming harder to access that childlike joy when playing, writing, or recording music. I was also feeling discouraged about where I was at in my career and scared that my time was running out to follow my dream. I think almost every musician/artist has this wave of crippling self doubt at some point in their life.
The song title “5:25” refers to the time of day as well as my age.
In the first verse:
“It’s 5:25 now, and my train hasn’t come.” - The train being a symbol for my music career.
In the bridge:
“I’m trying to find 5 in 25” - Meaning age five in age twenty-five.
I love the Bossa Nova groove the band and I found on this one. It adds the perfect feeling of bittersweetness to the push and pull of the melody. There is a dissonance in the music that reflects the unsettled feeling we all experience at that age.
