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Cool Under Pressure

by Ali Sperry

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Renie Praver
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about

Released on Jan 14, 2022, and the lead single off of the upcoming full length record, in Front Of Us.

This song began with a melody and a groove and lived without words for some time. Carey Ott has been one of my most relied-upon co-writers through the years and we spent a sunny October afternoon in 2020 working out ideas. The session culminated in a demo of the melody and basic arrangement, with me singing gibberish sounds through my mask into the mic. Any lyrics we tried weren’t sticking, but we both sensed we had something worth seeing through. I played the demo for Jamie later that day, to which he responded “you guys gotta finish that one”. Looking back on the calendar now I realize that the very same evening of the co-write, was the Vice Presidential debate. Kamala Harris was a force to be reckoned with that night and made a deep impact on me. I stirred with pride to be a woman, pride that there was such a woman as her ready for the task of leadership, and honestly the most pride I had felt in our country for a long while. She was graceful and commanding, intelligent and elegantly self-assured. The way she calmly fought for her time to speak, insisted on it, was almost shocking to me, as it was an example too-seldom seen. I thought about this debate for the weeks to come and sensed there was a song in there. When I endeavored to create lyrics, I called upon my impressions of that debate, along with quotes from our now Vice President that moved me. For example, her words at Spelman College, “My mother would look at me and she’d say ‘Kamala you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.’ And that’s part of what breaking those barriers, that’s why breaking those barriers is worth it. As much as anything else, it is also to create that path for those who will come after us” and in her Vice Presidential acceptance speech she spoke the words “I know a predator when I see one”.

lyrics

(Ali Sperry, Carey Ott)
Well she never was a someone who would hide from the truth
And every move you make her eyes are following you
She doesn’t look away, uh-uh
And when she’s speaking oh you’d better shut your trap
Did you ever learn to listen without talking back?
It’s someone else’s turn, uh-huh
She’s running the game again
Ain't no stopping now
Running away with it
She’ll show you how
She’s gonna carve a path, gonna break the glass
And she won’t be the last, oooh
Cool under the pressure when the gloves are removed
And when she sees a predator she knows what to do
But she always fights fair, mmm-hmm
And all the girls at home with faces glued to the screen
Will remember what it felt like watching history
They’re seeing something new up there
She’s running the game again
Ain't no stopping now
Running away with it
She’ll show you how
She’s gonna carve a path, gonna break the glass
And she won’t be the last, oooh
Well she never was a someone who would hide from the truth
And when she sees a predator she knows what to do
All the girls that someday gonna walk in her shoes
Every move you make her eyes are following
She’s running the game again
Ain't no stopping now
Running away with it
She’ll show you how
She’s gonna carve a path, gonna break the glass
And she won’t be the last, oooh

credits

released January 14, 2022
Ali Sperry: vocals
Jen Gunderman: piano, hammond B3, synth
Audley Freed: electric and acoustic guitars
Kristin Weber: strings
Jamie Dick: drums, percussion
Owen Biddle: bass
Kyshona Armstrong: background vocals
Sarah Dugas: background vocals
Produced and engineered by Jamie Dick
Mixed by Joe Pisapia
Additional vocal mixing by Jon Estes
String arrangements by Kristin Weber
Mastered by Dave McNair
Cover art by Jennie Okon
Album design by Fetzer Designs

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Ali Sperry Nashville, Tennessee

Ali Sperry, when faced with a year of trauma, racial reckoning, and downright worldwide existential crisis, did what she has always done-turned inward and wrote songs that channeled, mirrored and ultimately DISTILLED those cultural currents…
In Front Of Us will be released march 11, 2022, a record that should quietly find its way into a lot of needy hearts. ... more

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