Apartment Heart

I never intended for this to be a love song.

The inspiration came a few years ago, when I was hanging out with a friend. It was pretty early on in our friendship, maybe the second time she came to visit at my house. In the excitement of getting to know each other, our lunch date turned into a marathon that continued for three full days.

She was a talented singer but hadn’t really written any songs yet. She told me how she’d sometimes hear melodies in her head, or be struck with an idea for a certain vibe, but she was always blocked when it came to lyrics. Back then I was pretty new to co-writing; I wasn’t prepared for a “session”, and it felt awkward trying to force a song out of a friendly conversation. We kicked some chord progressions around for a while but nothing really caught us.

At some point around the 36-hour mark, we were munching on Doritos and lamenting our love lives. I recounted my high school days spent in the Friend Zone, and she admitted to having a boy-crazy phase. She laughed, “My mom used to say I have an apartment heart, because of all the different people living in it.”

Had we known each other longer, I might have whacked her with the Dorito bag. “Apartment Heart – are you kidding me?” I burst out. “That’s a great song!!” She rolled her eyes and we kept gabbing, but I added the title to the “To Write” reminder list in my phone.

We had a falling out a while back and have since drifted apart. The title peered up at me every time I’d open my phone to jot down an idea or prep for a co-write. It would remind me of her and I’d feel a little guilty, then I’d make a promise to myself that I would definitely work on this song next, just as soon as I finished that other song/arranged those string parts/recorded this demo/had time to kill at an airport.

It finally happened in October 2018. I was summoned to play at the Howl club in Foxborough. The flight to Boston is short, but long enough to write a country song that had been incubating for years.

At first I was thinking about my friendship with this girl; how we intensely met and shared so much in a short period of time. Once I really dug into the apartment metaphor, I knew it needed a male voice. In my mind, I vividly heard Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox cooing each verse, but it might also work for someone like Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, or anyone with the last name Young.

For the original worktape, I enlisted the vocal stylings of the unparalleled Patrick. He learned it in a flash and expertly adapted to all of my performance notes, even the trivial, annoying, finicky ones. I am enormously grateful for his help, especially since we recorded it after playing a private party and the last few takes took us past midnight.

This past weekend, I dug up the session to give it a full-band demo makeover, and I had Patrick back to punch a lyric change in the chorus. Programming drums and tracking bass was painless and fun; guitar was another story. I might have come up with more interesting parts if I didn’t burn out in frustration after literally 64 takes trying to get tight, clean changes. The lesson I’ve learned? Practice guitar more often!

I have a love-hate relationship with vocal pads. I hate making decisions about voice crossings in each part. I hate the tedious process of recording stereo pairs with vowels and phrasing in perfect sync. But I love the end result: a heavenly choir of clones, perfected through the magic of Flex Pitch.

I hope you enjoy both versions of this song. KM

Apartment Heart

I’ve been drifting through the dark on this drive
Windshield wipers swishing out a lullaby
There’s a thousand lonely miles in my rear-view mirror
And the hopeless thought that the rain would never clear

The heavens opened when I knocked on your door
I gotta know, have you got room for one more?

Is there are place for me in your Apartment Heart?
Is there a way for me to make a new start?
There’s a vacancy sign in the light of your eyes
And I might want to stay for more than just a night

All those other guys only gave you pain and stress
Dropped all their baggage down and really made a mess
So you built your walls sky high to keep you safe
And you come to trust that they always leave someday

Well I ain’t no saint, I’ve done my share of running ‘round
But something about you makes me wanna settle down

Is there are place for me in your Apartment Heart?
Is there a way for me to make a new start?
There’s a vacancy sign in the light of your eyes
And I might want to stay for more than just a night

You say tomorrow is a mystery
I just gotta know, can you make room for me?

Is there are place for me in your Apartment Heart?
Is there a way for me to make a new start?
There’s a vacancy sign in the light of your eyes
And I might want to stay for more than just a night