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ALL LYRICS COPYRIGHT © 2019 EMMA CAVA

In the tradition of great vocalists like Jon Hendricks and Mimi Perrin, Emma writes lyrics and vocalese for instrumental jazz.
If you would like Emma to write lyrics for your composition, please contact her here.

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Anxiety
​(Anxiety & The Creature Within - Brownman Ali)
Am I good enough to be here?
Up here,
Front center
With no one to lead the way?
No one but the crowd in the dark,
Dark eyes Their faces bright
As if expecting a pro to play
Can they tell I’m only a fraud?
Dumb broad,
Brain hollow
With nothing inside of me
Nothing but the creature within
Who hides until it’s time
To tear apart any light in me. [free B]

No one’s even thinking the worst
Who cares?
They’re busy
Critiquing their own mistakes
Dealing with the creatures within
Who knew?
Cuz everybody else appears to have what it takes
Will I ever feel like enough?
Too much!
Mouth running
Too quickly for my own good
Time for someone else to step up,
Step in,
And let the melody say more than I ever could

Am I good enough to be here,
In charge?
​Front center
The band at my beck and call
Can they tell I’m only a fraud?
What if
I do my best but fail to fully impress them all?
There it is, that creature, the one I’ve locked away
There it is, that creature, the one I’ve locked away
There it is, that creature, the one I’ve locked away
There is is, that creature, I’m facing it today
There it is, I name it, anxiety, today
There it is, I own it, I’m feeling it decay

Am I good enough to be here? Stop, Breathe... 

Hung Up On The One
​(One By One - Wayne Shorter)
Friday, up high
Night is young and so am I
The girls are going out but I'm staying in
All alone, playin' around on my phone.
Swipe left, swipe right,
Who will be my friend tonight?
I shuffle through the deck of cads one by one
To forget why I'm feeling so bad:
I want the one that I had, once.
How can I ever find a love as supreme
As a love from right out of a dream?
One gone by one
And I feel so friggin' done.
Playing the field doesn't feel very fun
When you're still Hung Up On The One.
I guess I'm meant to be alone for a while
​Cuz I'm still Hung Up On The One.

À La Porte St. Denis ​
(Strasbourg St. Denis - Roy Hargrove)
co-written with Martha Cava
Enfin c’est l’heure, le fin du jour, les gens passent 
Aucun détour, ils nous ignorent, tu m’embraces
Ah oui!
La scène s’est mise, salue la nuit, je te suis
On monte ici, salue la nuit,
 à Strasbourg-Saint-Denis.

Sur les trottoirs descend le noir viens le voir
Nous promenons par les néons pénétrants
Ah oui!
N’aies pas ennui, on trouve ici bonhomie
La bonhomie, elle vit ici, à Strasbourg-Saint-Denis.

Egalité, fraternité, Multiculturalité
​Nous les trouverons dedans
Peut-on les donner la chance?)
Voyons moins avec les yeux
Et plutot avec le coeur
La diversité unie
À la Porte Saint-Denis tous sont accueillis,
C’est l’harmonie.

When You Sailed Away
​(Lawns - Carla Bley)
Vocalese on Carla Bley's solo from 1978 'Duets' live recording.
The world began to wake
​The snow had met its day
The rain fell like tears, the ice ran in fear
When you, you sailed away.
The earth began to thaw
The air was warm and grey
But the night brought a chill
And the lake stood still 
As you, you sailed away.

All of a sudden a life was thrown 
In a ring of the intense unknown.
You said I'd know you in time;
We'd have lots of time in this mortal coil.
I would rather play a song like that October
Over and again: anytime you call me,
I will run to your side and I will cling;
I'll give you shelter, laughter, and song
To keep you warm through fall and winter.
In the summer, when the city turns green
In each park and ravine,
Full of leaves and ferns unfurling
Like little sixteenth notes from an invisible guitar,
How many nights will we spend
In the dark on our porches and patios,
Waiting for that brilliant, troubled firefly
To light our lawns up again?
There's a place out there where you'll be free of
All the burdens that you bore,
That we couldn't hold.
All those who love you will live on
To make up for lost time,
And the friends made in a short life 
Will share in the love you couldn't give to yourself.
Teachers and taught, your bandmates and brothers and lovers old and new
Will count in the first beat,
Play the right notes to a song with no end,
And we'll raise your child;
Living life in service to the memory of you.

The birds began to sing
For spring had shed its veil
But my heart can't be told,
For my blood still runs cold.
Through the pain and grief,
I feel some relief
You're at sea,
You're free to sail.