These ties, they choke us.

Merchant Ships will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you for being a wonderful band. Thanks for being there when I needed you. Thanks for an amazing summer I won’t ever forget. Thank you.

I remember the first time I heard them. It was my Sophomore year in High School. My friend Molli showed them to me. That was before everyone stopped talking. Or at least while it was happening. Anyway, she showed me Long Distance Relationships. After that I was hooked. I remember the music scene here. Before it died there were shows all the time. But everyone grew up. I’m fucking sick of people leaving and not saying goodbye. I’m sick of people growing up and thinking they’re better than us, than what we had.

After a week I remember knowing every lyric to that song. “We stand on our own, looking for a place to call our home.”  It was so perfect. Our group of friends. We were all growing up. We were all distancing. I remember at least 15 of us, but there were more. We were the kids who went to shows and rode bikes and had fun. What happened to that? We all grew in different directions, like branches. I wish I would’ve clung to the past and dragged it with us.

This past summer was my last summer whilst in Public School, I spent it with my two best friends. Riding our bikes into the distance. When it was shitty for one of us, it was shitty for all of us. The two truest friends I’ve ever had. Whether I was bumming over a my ex or if Zach was upset about his household issues. If Joel was upset. We’d be there for each other. We planned to go see Merchant Ships this summer too. Take a road trip. It was what we needed. We were stoked, but they broke up again. I was devastated. Worst night. Worst night. I remember a close friend of mine warned me a week before, but I couldn’t say. I promised.

As the school year started we were all getting better. Less bitter. Less unhappy. I learned that I don’t need a crutch when I’m down, because my best friends will carry me when I’m down. I’d do the same for them. I learned a lot from Merchant Ships. I learned a lot this summer. It probably sounds really stupid, but they were a big part of my summer.

They were and continue to be one of my favorite bands. I look forward to their new musical projects. When I look back on it, the two songs that stick out the most are “Something that Matters” and “If a Bear is Hungry (He will Eat)” Both songs have inspired two separate tattoos I plan on getting. They are both really meaningful to me. A lot of times people hear that I’m getting lyrics tattooed on me and think it’s stupid. It’s just that they mean a lot to me. Anyway when I think about it, “Something that Matters” is probably the perfect summer anthem for me. For this past summer, for my past. For my life. So without further adieu I’ll just post the lyrics for “Something that Matters”

I look around at all my friends, the 1-2-3-4-5 dead ends, the kids I’ll never see again, the kids who mean the most to me.
Staying up until the morning, in my kitchen swapping stories; memories I can’t forget, no matter how the summer went.


We’re here forever, and we’ll die together.


If you plant a seed, it grows into a tree, and to us, to everyone, this never meant thing. I’m sorry Cameron, that she never meant a thing. This song’s for you, wherever you might be, I pray that you stay golden and never come back home.


This song’s for you, this song’s for movin’ on.
This song is for our friends who’ve been there all along.