Video Premiere: Lake & Lyndale's Tenacious 'Still Here'

Nashville indie-folk and Americana group Lake & Lyndale's "Still Here" is a song for anyone with a dream. The soulful track is about overcoming obstacles through tenacity and perseverance.

"I watch the flicker and the flame/I stay the same," vocalist Channing Marie sings. "Doubters call me crazy, saying that it's just a matter of time/ Waiting for the day I pack my bags so they can say there were right/ But I'm still here."

The song, written by bandmember Channing Marie and Jonathan Krentz and singer-songwriter Alyssa Trahan, was inspired by the band's own highs and lows.

"'Still Here' is a song about perseverance," Marie says. "Goals can sometimes take longer to achieve than you want them to, and life has a way of taunting you by the obstacles it throws throughout that process. We have had our share of highs and lows along our journey as a band, but the beauty is when you're standing in that 'low' and saying, 'Hey, I'm still here. I'm still doing what I love. I'm not quitting.' We know that there are many people who have felt or are feeling the same way so we hope this song speaks to everyone out there chasing what they love and hope it encourages them to keep on keeping on."

Krentz says the song was also inspired by singer-songwriter and actor Tom Waits' appearance in the 2019 Coen Brothers film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

"It was a difficult topic to write about," guitarist Jonathan Krentz says. "We wanted it to come from a personal place, but we didn't just want it to sound like we were complaining. Life is hard, chasing down your dreams is hard. I get it, and everyone else who has taken risks to get what they want also gets it. In order to say all that, we decided to convey that message through the eyes of a gold mining prospector, which was directly inspired from the Coen brothers film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs specifically the vignette featuring Tom Waits. You watch Tom Waits' character go to great lengths to get what he wants, all on his own. He is highly motivated and also a little crazy. As I was watching it, I just started to notice some parallels to that situation and the music industry. Through the eyes of the crazy prospector is where the opening line of our song comes from, 'I can't say for certain that there's any gold left in these hills.'

"Another thing that we really wanted to get across in this song was the harsh reality that a lot of people sacrifice so much to chase a dream, and often never get it. That is a terrifying thought and that crippling fear often prevents a person from even trying in the first place," Krentz continues. "It is a gamble, it is a risk; and that thought inspired the lyric, 'Planted all my pennies, call it gambling cause there's no guarantee.' I've witnessed a lot of criticism towards those who choose a less 'safe' path, which is frustrating because I know the amount and discipline and work ethic it takes to build something from the ground up.  Those dream chasers are some of the ballsiest people I know!"

Watch the video for "Still Here" below.

 

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