Jensen Stiles & Elyse Shackleton – Before We Part

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Stream/download: https://jensenstiles.fanlink.tv/before-we-part

Elyse and I wrote this track about the incredibly bittersweet feeling of being at a brony convention concert, surrounded by friends in that magical place, having the time of your life... but knowing, in the back of your head, that before long, it will be over.

This track went through a lot of iterations before we settled on what you hear now. I originally made the first drop of this track along with some extremely rough lyrical concepts directly after returning home from HarmonyCon 2024 in February of that year. The chords in the breakdown and melodic drop are taken from a track I wrote all the way back in early 2016 which is no longer listed anywhere online as it's not up to my current standards. This track also originally focused around melody that was from the 2016 track, but I got sick of it and decided it needed a re-write – a mere four days before I needed to leave for HarmonyCon 2025, where Math and I were planning to perform this track live. I spent a good few hours frantically trying several ideas that went nowhere before having a true eureka moment when I landed on the melody you hear in this final version, and I'm so happy that I found it – it might be my favorite melody that I've written.

I held back on bringing on a vocalist for a long time because I wanted someone who I trusted to nail the emotion I was going for, and when I finally brought the idea to Elyse, she was immediately on board. Her ability to tell stories and evoke strong imagery in her lyrics is some of the best in this fandom, and I couldn't think of a better person to make this song with me. The verse (1:15—2:15) also went through a heavy re-write fairly late in the project, with the rhythm and melody changing quite a lot. After all of this arduous process, Elyse and I both landed on a song we are incredibly proud of and is better for all of its evolution.

Check out Elyse's other work here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2dsQAnrrpwzRsVZXkGUHau?si=egBTt5wbRVSaI-S9rcaBTA
and under her other alias here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2yf8kEYkBb8FRT8DGQwR4K?si=FsiI5_SFSS2K25fkNChRxQ

Cover art by Lou R.R. Zurn: https://www.louisrzurn.com/

Lyrics:
The energy
is filling me
excitement to escape reality
Chase that high
it’s finally time
a moment where I get to feel alive

I find my peace
in a crowded room
the walls all shake
though it’s ending soon
impending end
ignoring it
but it’s a little much
I can’t forget

I wanna live
in the moment
but here and now
I find I’m frozen
the lights are bright
I don’t know why
I’m picturing returning
to my normal life

You catch my eye
please don’t see
the way I feel
even though it’s on my sleeve
I’m scared that I
might bring you down
Can time just pause,
can it stay right now

Tell me it's not over
As the lights come up
And as the curtain closes
Say you'll see me soon enough

Tell me it's not over
I hope with all my strength
You'll still be there come sunrise
Before it's time to wake

And when I find myself alone
Along the path I take
I hope I'll have the memory
of that look on your face

And when what's in the hallways
is the ghost of all we shared
I swear I'll hear you echo
like we're all still there

And while the end approaches
meet me where I'm at
Let's share these final moments
and promise we'll come back

I'll freeze this image of us
to hold while you're so far
So let's just take a moment
One more before we part