Break It Down

⟵ back to Let’s Go

This song began as a pun: I thought it could be funny to have song with a ‘breakdown’ section, except it was about *literally* breaking something down. Hilarious.

Then one night, I was lying in bed and I was struck by a realization: I felt like my life had been spent trying to become more and more independent and self-sufficient, as if that was the highest ideal. I tend to do a lot myself; I like having control, and I don’t like asking for help. It was almost like I had built these walls around myself. But the truth is that God designed us to be utterly dependent on each other — and dependent on God. These thoughts became the chorus of this song.

At the time, I was studying audio at NSCC, and our end-of-term assignment was to record a full song. It could be any song, but my classmate (the amazing Keigan Fortune) and I decided to record an original. I brought out my chorus, and in less than 15 minutes, Keigan wrote these perfect rap verses to go with it.

We recorded my ukulele through a guitar amp, layered some distorted trombone solos, and asked some friends to add drums, bass, and vocals. Years later, I polished it off, added some parts, and included it on this album.

<a href="https://markflowerdew.bandcamp.com/album/lets-go" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Let’s Go by Mark Amadeus Flowerdew</a>

Buy

Stream

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube

Tidal

Amazon Music

YouTube Music

Deezer

SoundCloud

Thanks for listening! Please consider buying too, as streaming sites hardly pay artists.

Lyrics

The road I chose left me lost in the cold
I was all alone with nobody to hold
And there ain’t no love when you’re on your own
Harsh words break bones like sticks and stones
So I looked to the stars in the dead of the night
Can’t see beyond the clouds to look into the light
I turned my back on what’s right, gave into by vice
Am I living with my sins for the rest of my life?

I got a heart made of stone inside me
Won’t you break it up, break it up
The same old life will not satisfy me
Won’t you shake it up, shake it up
Been working twenty-two years so I
Could build a wall that reaches so high
And looking back I don’t even know why
Won’t you break it down, break it down

[breakdown]

I found hope in the middle of suffering
Was a hand reaching down to bring me back up again
Now I’m never feeling low ‘cause my heart has been saved
Now I got somewhere to go on the nights when it rains
My best friend, blessings, help me learn my lessons
When I can’t stand up under the weight of my stresses
Gave me strength in my heart to stand up proud
Now when there’s walls in the way, we just break ‘em down

I got a heart made of stone inside me
Won’t you break it up, break it up
The same old life will not satisfy me
Won’t you shake it up, shake it up
My daddy wants for me know him
But I feel so far below him
But the time, it has come to show him
That I’m giving up, giving up
I been digging a moat around me
Won’t you fill it in, fill it in
In the dark where no one has found me
Light it up again, up again
Been working twenty-two years so I
Could build a wall that reaches so high
And looking back I don’t even know why…
Won’t you break it down, break it down

(Won’t you break it down)
Break it down, break it down
(Won’t you break it down)
Break it down, break it down
(Won’t you break it down)
Break it down, break it down
(Oh won’t you break it down)

[breakdown]

(Break it up, break it up)
(Shake it up, shake it up)
Won’t you break it down, break it down

Credits

Keigan Fortune: rap vocals
Andre LeBlanc: drums
Brycen Gunn: bass
Emma Flowerdew: vocals
Sadie Hirschfield: vocals
Mark: vocals, ukulele, trombones, organ, tambourine, mixing

Written by Keigan Fortune & Mark Amadeus Flowerdew. Recorded at NSCC and Mark’s home in Halifax NS.
Mastered by Don Chapman. Cover illustration by Nathan Little, then Mark made it red.
Single released July 2, 2021.

ISRC: CAREH2100006