Written by TCKs

Run of the World – Original Song

Run of the World is an original song written by Hannah Mathews and performed by Hannah and Moriah Mathews. Hannah and Moriah are TCKs, and this song is about the mobility and transition of an international lifestyle, and how it impacts an understanding of “home”.

Lyrics:

Run of the World

Will you hold on to me
When my soul is giving up?
Will you stay by my side
When my mind slides past midnight?
And I know that I am asking
For more than I can give
But I’ve never had enough
To settle down

Cuz I’m on the run from something
But I don’t know what
Like a hound from hell
Baying on my heels
And I never get away
But it never catches up
I keep letting go
And it keeps me moving on

Will you whisper in my ear
That the world is all the same?
Will you hold my love for ransom
If I choose to walk away?
And I know that I’ve been traveling
Far and farther away
But it seems now that I’ve gone
Nowhere at all

Cuz I’m on the run from something
But I don’t know what
Like a hound from hell
Baying on my heels
And I never get away
But it never catches up
I think it’s using satellites to trace me

Maybe you could try that
Maybe it might work
All I ask is if you find me
That you help me find myself

Cuz I’m on the run from something
But I don’t know what
Like a hound from hell
Baying on my heels
And I never get away
But it never catches up
I race for greener grass
But all the earth’s the same garden

I never get away
But it never catches up
Maybe I could call this home
After all

More TCK music videos

More videos from Hannah and Moriah

By CulTuremiKs, ago

I hardly know where I have been – Angela Soffe

Listen to the song here!

Second Wind – Angela Soffe

Lyrics: by Angela Soffe

Let us speak of daytime dreams
And those forbidden things
That you dare not tell one another
They will say it can’t be done
But you’ve already won
Put your shoulder to the wheel and start walking

If you can dream it up it’s yours to keep
These walls are made of sand
Wasted all my time being not enough
And I hardly know where I have been
Traveling on a second wind

Come and paint your name in frost
When the sun comes all is lost
As it slips and drips through your fingers
Callous minds now don’t be shy
You’re afraid and so am I
Of the fire that burns just beneath us

If you can dream it up it’s yours to keep
These walls are made of sand
Wasted all my time being not enough
And I hardly know where I have been
Traveling on a second wind

Woah, woah
Wasted all my time being not enough
And I hardly know where I have been

Woah, woah
Wasted all my time being not enough
And I hardly know where I have been
Traveling on a second wind

Find out more about Angela Soffe here

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Home – a song by TCK artist maddie rien

HOME LYRICS

Boxed up in cars
All memories of ours
are on the go
Like footprints in snow

Autumn leaves change
But I stay the same
Green highways signs
Just wave goodbye

I’m tired of living on the road
I’m tired of leaving what I know

When will I find somewhere to call home
Is it a place or someone I don’t know
Where will I get my last set of keys
Tell me to stay without
without always leaving

My hearts content lies
Left in cement
It was permanent
Or so you said

Same stars, same sky
Same moon at night
But its different
‘Cause you’re not in it.

I’m tired of leaving what I know
I’m tired but now I gotta go

When will I find somewhere to call home
Is it a place or someone I don’t know
Where will I get my last set of keys
Tell me to stay without
without always leaving

Wishing on shooting stars
To know, to stay, to be just where you are
Am I close or are you far
‘Cause miles are like galaxies apart

Right now I have no where to call home
It may be a place or someone I hope
These will not be my last set of keys
Wish I could stay but now
Now I’m leaving

Click here to listen to this song on a streaming service

Follow Maddie on Instagram

Listen to more TCK music

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Josh Barkey – Third Culture Kid Artist and Writer

About under our own piece of sky, written by third culture kid artist Josh Barkey

I recorded “under our own piece of sky” on Sept. 13th, 2020 during a Facebook-livestream at The WAV Lab in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Just one mic, my baritone ukulele, and a bucket of jitters.

The album title was suggested by my artist friend James Alfred Friesen, then chosen from a poll-list during a livestreamed run-through the week before. After we recorded, James threw together this amazing album cover and here I am four days later, posting my first-ever EP to bandcamp.

I’m hoping that if enough people dig my vibe I’ll be able to head back into the studio with some of the musical genius-friends I’ve accumulated over the years and record a full-length album of my favorite songs.

released September 18, 2020

About Josh Barkey

When I was six months old, my Canadian father and American mother took me and my older brother Jo-Ben to the Amazon basin of Peru, South America, where we would live (excepting the odd furlough in AmeriCanada) until I graduated high school.

My childhood, then, was spent migrating from fruit tree to fruit tree, paddling a dugout around Yarinacocha, and catching iguanas and boa constrictors and anything else that got too close to my bare, nature-stealing hands.

These days, I live a pretty idyllic life: I keep house with my fabulous wife, hang out with my family, play a little soccer, and write. Oh boy, do I write.

I’ve got aspirations, see?

I intend to write and write and write until I croak, telling stories that entertain, delight, and challenge the entire world. I’m honing my craft in the belief that this will lead to widespread acclaim, which will assuage all my insecurities and give me the financial resources to buy everybody I know a pair of gold-plated pinking shears. Because that makes total sense.

Mostly, though, I’m trying to do it for the love. Writing and making is at its best a love-based endeavor, and I want nothing more than to up the love-quotient in the world before the lights go out. I firmly believe that storytelling is the best way for me to do this.

Check out Josh’s blog and his other art here

Check out some more TCK music here

By CulTuremiKs, ago

A Night In Transit – by forecast

by forecast, a TCK who grew up in Spain and the USA

Artist’s description of the album:

“So this album means a lot to me. We all go through these tough times, our “nights in transit,” where we struggle to get somewhere during a precarious time in our respective lives.


As I’m becoming an adult, being that I’m 20 now, I get it. You don’t just wake up one day and say “okay, I’m an adult now,” and that’s that. No. It’s a phase. Just like transit systems; it takes time, but you’re moving forward. It’s all about the progress you make, and you’re rewarded for it. It’s all a part of growing up. For anyone who’s reading this and resonates with you, then this album is for you. You can make it through your night in transit.
It may feel like it’s taking a while (I mean, have you ever tried to stay up all night? It drags ooooon for so long), but you’ll be rewarded for it in the end.

Stay strong, keep moving on. It’s worth it. I believe in you.”

Check out the album on Spotify or on iTunes!

More music written by third culture kids
By CulTuremiKs, ago

Homesick by Alice Merton – a TCK song

HOMESICK LYRICS:

I was the new kid
I was scared of dogs and the weather
Never went on a field trip
Scared I’d lose my mother and father

I was the new kid
Didn’t understand what’s going on
But I tried my best to fit in
Started putting it in a song

No I don’t get homesick
But I’m sick when I’m without you
And I don’t feel lonely
I just wanna be alone with you

And I said I’d never write a love song
Because they always end
But you caught me off guard
And I found a home again

No I don’t get homesick
No I don’t feel lonely

I was the new kid
I like to wear the same shirts again
It reminded me where I’ve been
All the places I’ve left my brothers

I was the new kid
I never understood what’s going on
And I didn’t know how to talk
So I put it in a song

No I don’t get homesick
But I’m sick when I’m without you
And I don’t feel lonely
I just wanna be alone with you

And I said I’d never write a love song
Because they always end
But you caught me off guard
And I found a home again

I don’t feel alone
I don’t feel alone
I don’t feel alone
I don’t feel alone

I was the new kid
I was scared of dogs and the weather
Never went on a fieldtrip
Scared I’d lose my mother and father

I was the new kid
Didn’t understand what’s going on
But I tried my best to fit in
Started putting it in a song

No I don’t get homesick
But I’m sick when I’m without you
And I don’t feel lonely
I just wanna be alone with you

And I said I’d never write a love song
‘Cause they always end
But you caught me off guard
And I found a home again

No I don’t get homesick
No I don’t, no I don’t, no I don’t, no I don’t
And I don’t feel lonely
I just wanna be alone with you

I don’t feel alone
I don’t feel alone
I don’t feel alone

No Roots by Alice Merton

Alice Merton’s YouTube channel

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Xenai – a Sonic Kaleidoscope of Music

by Xenai

“I been making waves like I am the storm”

About the artist:

Bahrain raised Hip hop and RnB artist Xenai represents a sonic kaleidoscope between the East and the West. Being born to a Hindu family in a Muslim country while attending a Catholic school, he was exposed to a wide spectrum of traditions and cultures growing up. This led to a rich musical palette whose hues and patterns can be heard in his tracks today.

Xenai transcribes his third culture upbringing into his music, melding Middle-Eastern textures with East Coast street grit and Indian rhythms. His work combines countless influences spanning from Alt Rock and Metal to RnB, Hip Hop and sometimes folk.

Click here to listen to more of Xenai

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Suitcases by Haddie Grace

original song by Haddie Grace

Lyrics:

We’ll unpack our suitcases
Begin to embrace this
Unfamiliar place so
Different from what we’ve known

We’ll learn and go exploring
We know our best stories
Happen well outside of
Our comfort zone

We can make anywhere home

Constant changing is our sameness
Uprooting is our routine
We’ll bloom in winter
Our resilience is our stability

I am all the places that changed me
I am all the cities that made me me
I am all the people who named me
Home is wherever I happen to be

Not a number on a street

I’ll send you a letter
We’ll compare the weather
I need to borrow languages to tell you how I feel
You’ll listen like a true friend
Like when we jumped in the deep end
We’ve moved six times since then
That’s how you know that it’s real

Constant changing is our sameness
Uprooting is our routine
We’ll bloom in winter
Our resilience is our stability

I am all the places that changed me
I am all the cities that made me me
I am all the people who named me
Home is wherever I happen to be

Not a number on a street

I’m moving again
Soon you’ll hear it in my accent
Uprooting again
Daydreaming in past tense

I’ll unpack my suitcases
I promise I’ll embrace this
Unfamiliar place so
Different from what I’ve known

I promise I’ll be open
Won’t bury my emotions
My heart’s caught between oceans
But I can make anywhere home

We can make anywhere home

I am all the places that changed me
I am all the cities that made me me
I am all the people who named me
Home is wherever I happen to be

We are all the places that changed us
We are all the cities that shaped us
We are all the people who named us
Home is wherever we’re known and we’re loved

Not a number on a street

Thoughts from the author:

Just wanted to explain two lyrics.
“We are all the people who named us” — When you are invited into a new culture, you are often given a new name. In Oniyan (Bassari)in Senegal, there are ordinal names meaning “first son” or “second daughter” that tell your place in the family. In Southeast Senegal I am “Ingama.” In Dakar, I am “Khady” which is short for Khadija, but works for me because it sounds like “Haddie.” In the US, various groups of friends have given me different nicknames, which is different than cultural names but still, in the act of naming there is affection, a sense of relationship, and belonging. And of course, my parents named me Hadassah, and my family is a part of me as well.


“I am all the people who named me” is another way of saying my identity has been shaped by all the people who are important to me.
“Constant changing is our sameness” — sameness being the shared identity of all third culture kids.

Other original songs by Haddie Grace

Denizen (Distance)
Neutral Room
Bittersweet

By CulTuremiKs, ago

Match – Memories From Before

Match – Memories From Before

I’ve been playing games with fire,
I’ve been watching flames grow higher,
In my burning home they rise up,
Working through the walls around us.

But do you know,
How tight I hold on to these memories from before?
The feeling’s cold,
But while these embers glow I hope to keep them close.

Every single word that’s spoken,
Every desperate breath is choking,
As the floors collapse I free fall,
In the snowing ash i’m peaceful.

But do you know,
How tight I hold on to these memories from before?
The feelings cold,
But while these embers glow I hope to keep them close.

Now my boiling blood it runs slow,
And the strongest flames feel ice cold,
Trying to find a way to end this,
As the fire soothes my senses.

Melting windows frame a warped view,
Have I passed the point of rescue?
Such a simple game to start this,
From the brightest light to darkness.

But do you know,
How tight I hold on to these memories from before?
The feelings cold,
But while these embers glow I hope to keep them close.

By Third Culture Kids

Listen to more music written about the TCK experience!

By CulTuremiKs, ago