Running on Empty - VERONIQUE MEDRANO
In 2019, I was living in San Antonio sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on Stone Oak. An area that is meant to be a sign of growth for the north-side of San Antonio, was for me the cause of my ire. I was going on year 3 of being Single as a Pringle on the Fourth of July, and after another glorious rejection by a guy that didn't even LIVE in the same city, I'm at my wits end. Love life is a Fail. Work life is a fail. I've written two songs for "Accordion 2 Me" an album that was set to release in March of 2020, and am just having the worst writers block. Things are not looking good for your singing gal.
Remember that back to back traffic I was in, well...let's add to the bad decision making, my gas tank was teetering on empty, on a steep hill, in back to back traffic. I was miserable, and while I know this is NOT good for my car, I didn't care. The engine is thumping rhythmically and the sound is breaking the numbness in my brain. I start singing a melody line, as I'm staring at the Low Fuel light in the car, the gauge edging closer and closer to Empty.
I wrote the whole song in the time I was slowly moving forward, and by the time I finished. I cared. I got to the gas station at the top of the hill. After that, the songs started coming again, the stories were flowing out of me. Even when "Accordion 2 Me" was scrapped in 2020 for the shortened EP 'La Novela', I kept the song semi-arranged in the vault for future use. It would be 3 years before this song would get some added instrumentals and released. I credit this song for jumpstarting my confidence in my songwriting as I moved toward the MexiAmericana record.
I was lucky enough to actually have the photo from the "Accordion 2 Me" recording session outside the studio where I was completing the final lyrical additions to Running on Empty back in 2020.
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