The Story Behind The Tide and the Will
I started with a phrase that sounded almost too blunt: you always have power. What I actually meant was more precise. Even when we cannot control a situation, we often still have agency. We can learn more, change a habit, speak more directly, do the work, ask a better question, or simply choose a different response. That distinction between control and agency became the center of the song.
Agency had already become an important word for me before this song, especially in how I thought about technology and making music. I kept coming back to the idea that tools and circumstances can shape the field, but they do not have to make the choice for us.
The tide and the will became the right pair of images because they hold both sides of that tension. One is larger than you and never entirely yours to command. The other is the part you still bring to the moment. I wanted the song to feel less like a pep talk and more like earned, practical encouragement: circumstances matter, but so do the choices you make inside them.
Creative Notes
I originally considered “Agency” as the title, but that name was already in use, and I wanted something more lyrical. “The Tide and the Will” grew out of the song’s natural imagery and better captured the tension between external forces and personal choice.
I chose RoyRoy Genkins early because the idea needed an Americana voice with some weather on it. During the lyric pass I worked section by section, tightening lines that sounded too abstract or logically muddy and keeping the message outward-facing rather than autobiographical. The cover went through a similar evolution, from a literal sailboat steering image to a wider cinematic Americana scene with a vintage truck, a lone figure facing the ocean, and typography styled to sit naturally beside “The Wind Still Moves.”
Lyrics
Listen & Follow
Play the song while you follow the lyrics.
When the days get long and the work feels thin And the storm rolls back just to start again You can curse the sky or learn the sound Of thunder calling you to stand your ground
It’s not the weight that breaks you down It’s forgetting you can shift the ground
You might change the world, if you steer your soul Find your rhythm, and take control Every breath, every step you take Is proof that change is yours to make You own your path, never give it away It’s yours to say, how this day will play
You don’t need the map, just the will to move One small truth and a heart that proves The river bends where it wants to flow But you still choose where your feet will go
It’s not the weight that breaks you down It’s knowing you can shift the ground
You might change the world, if you steer your soul Find your rhythm, and take control Every breath, every step you take Is proof that change is yours to make You own your path, never give it away It’s yours to say, how this day will play
You can’t own the wind, but you can raise the sail You can’t force the tide, but you can learn the swell The current turns, the moment tells The course reveals the truth we dwell
The tide and the will, they both still move One’s the test, the other’s the proof Every dawn, every night you face Is a chance to move with a little grace You own your path, never give it away It’s yours to say, how this life will play
The tide and the will, they rise and fall But choosing, that’s the heart of it all
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