In my life, singing makes each day more joyful and bright. My passion for music started when I was little and has really grown and blossomed over the last few years. I’ve seen myself let go of shyness, walk past the curtain, and grasp courage as I step onto the stage and open my mouth to sing. What a beautiful and blessed thing it is to untangle oneself from the tethers of worries and silence and break free in joy and singing!
My favorite person to sing with is my best friend, Clara Monahan. Our voices blend beautifully together as she sings melody and I add harmonies. Our friendship started because our moms were roommates at Covenant and became life-long friends. They even took walks together when they were pregnant with us! Now, Clara and I are roommates at Covenant, which is amazing, and almost every day we find ourselves singing together around campus.
Making music together has helped our friendship flourish through each emotive experience. It is a blessing and pleasure to sing the poignant, poetic lyrics she writes and harmonize with her melodies. Clara’s lyrics tell wonderful stories about childhood, nostalgia and the lovely people in her life.
We began making music together and recording in my dad’s studio during our freshman year of high school. The first song we ever performed live was called “Lavender.” This sweet song tells the story of our friendship. We used to live within walking distance of each other, and when I would walk to her house, I would pluck a flower from a lavender bush and bring it to her. Overtime, she filled a ceramic jar with all the lavender I brought her. This flower became a precious symbol of our friendship, and we decided to write a song about it. This was also the first song we recorded together and shared with the world on all streaming platforms. It was an exciting experience that sprouted a love for making music together and sharing it with others!
Thus, Little Lemons was born. We are a duo that delights in singing in the stairwell and serenading the souls of the world with our voices and guitar. What was once a childhood nickname became the iconic name for our band. Since producing our first song, we’ve released two other singles. Our most recent song is called “St. Elmo,” which describes the neighborhood we both lived in and grew up in. Clara says, “It’s a song about wandering and what you are leaving behind and is almost a song of warning because you’re leaving just as many memories behind as you’re going off to create.”
Here are the lyrics to the chorus of “St. Elmo:”
Step by step by step to home
Farther from you I'll roam
Oh, where are you now?
Take me take me take me there
Too much heart and love to bear
Oh where are you now?
This is the song we performed at Mountain Affair. It was a thrilling experience that grew our confidence and courage as musicians and performers.
I think we’ll be making music together for the rest of our lives. It is beautiful to see how far we have come in our journeys as musicians, going from small live performances at our high school to singing an original song in front of a gigantic audience at Mountain Affair. We are both so grateful to God for the gift of music and how songwriting soothes the soul.
When our hearts feel heavy with emotions of joy and sorrow and everything in between, we write lyrics, she plays guitar, and I softly strum chords on my ukulele. Putting music to the motions and meditations of our souls replaces stress with serenity. Writing songs is a wonderful way to tell stories that have put a mark on our hearts and share them with the world, hoping to touch the hearts of others. It’s exciting to look back on where we’ve been and move forward into the future with the joy of spreading the beauty of the music we make together!