Harriet, and the lyrics to our song 'Trials'

I met Harriet Kilgore in 2013. Her voice was gutsy, her songwriting powerful. At the time, I was playing in the singer-songwriter world in L.A., so I met many great musicians. What was different about Harriet was her life situation: she was homeless. She slept in the alleys behind the Venice boardwalk and had endured many trials and tribulations in her life.

I've already documented many aspects of my time with Harriet: the story of how we met, the morning I found her attacked, my efforts to help her and our songwriting work together. You can find articles on these these in HuffPost and in LA Weekly. The Bravery Tapes episode on her is here, and there's a supplemental video here. 

But I thought it would be appropriate today to publish the lyrics to the song we wrote together, "Trials." It says so much about her life, her perseverance and who she is. 


"Trials"

Like a wildfire out of control 
I would rage and scream 
Life had taken its toll 

I was afraid of everything 
Lying in my soul 
All I really wanted was 
A love to make me whole 

Hard trials came, hard trials went 
And the lesson I learned were lessons well spent 
Looked in all the wrong places, searching outward all around 
When at last I looked inside, love overflowing I have found 

A new life faces me everyday 
Now that I’ve learned to get out of my own way 
Now I’m climbing higher, Sights set for glory 
Helping others is the moral of my story 

Hard trials came, hard trials went 
And the lesson I learned were lessons well spent 
Looked in all the wrong places, searching outward all around 
When at last I looked inside, love overflowing I have found