The story of The Days We Remember
This song is a song like no other I have ever written. It is not particularly sad, yet not overly happy – it is tucked somewhere in between those polar opposite emotions. I think this song carries a nostalgic, bittersweet feeling with every single word, and it is one of the only songs I’ve ever written that I actually get visibly emotional listening to (and I’ve written some SAD songs).
I started writing this song on a day at the end of summer 2020/2021. I remember that one of my aunties and my cousin were at my house, chatting to my parents in the room over from me. I was sitting at the dining table with my guitar looking out into my sunny backyard, and I just felt like summer was washing away before my eyes,
Then, I thought about my friends – the summers and memories and beautiful moments I have shared with so many people. I felt the need to write all of them down and preserve these special people in a song. All of these lyrics are real memories I have; at the beach with my friends, young heartbreak, being that shoulder to cry on, stupid mistakes – it’s all real.
The line “late night calls on the phone / words no one will ever know / we will forever be bold” are lines I wrote about one of my best friends Amy. I remember one night when I couldn’t sleep so I just randomly called her, and we stayed up until the early hours of the morning just talking and laughing about everything and nothing. She is one of my most special friends, and because of that, I found a video of us from when we were 12 or 13, laughing on video for literally no reason, and I put our laughs in the song.
This song has been my favourite single so far, I think that’s because it has so much personal meaning. Because of that, I really wanted to make a music video for this song! I quite literally said to my music video producer, “I don’t have any solid ideas. I honestly just want to go down to the beach and mess around with my friends for a few hours while you film it.” That’s exactly what we did. The day of the shoot was so so so much fun. It really became what I wrote this song about: memories I will remember forever. My friends and I all got to film part of the video ourselves with a handy cam while Adam (producer) filmed with his professional camera.
I actually cried so much when I watched the video for the first time. Seeing my friends and I intertwined with the song about them was like nothing else. I can definitely say that this video is a piece of work that will forever remain one of my favourites.
Although this song is specific and about my own memories, I have been told by so many people that they relate to the feelings and emotion of the song too, which honestly makes me feel so happy. I do believe that anyone can relate to the meaning of this song because everyone has memories that they cherish and love thinking back to. I’m only 16 but I’ve already experienced so many things that I know I’ll look back on when I’m older (I know I’m gonna get real sappy about this song when I’m wrinkly and grey). I do hope that you think about the people in your life that mean a lot to you when you hear this song,
I wanted to share this piece of art with you because love – both romantic and platonic – are universal, and they deserve to be celebrated.
To everyone who inspired this song, and everyone who was part of the music video filming, you are now forever imprinted in my music. I love you all so much.
Kaiyah Mercedes
