How I ended up on a midnight train from Georgia to The Big Apple with nothing but a suitcase and guitar
The story begins with writing the song "I Can't Lie," the second single from upcoming album Love Lost, Love Found on E. Broad Records
Hello there, Whit Whitley here. I apologize for the extended pause, but I’ve been on an unexpected break from The Party. I’m back now, and if you’re reading this, thanks for sticking around.
I’m excited to share that I released “I Can’t Lie”—my second single from the upcoming album Love Lost, Love Found.
If you haven’t heard it yet (or even if you have), I would be grateful if you’d give it a listen. If you feel inclined, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post to let me know your genuine response to the song. I’m very interested in what you think. You can listen to a preview here or stream the entire song wherever you listen:
This song was written about a situation I had faced many times before—falling in love with someone—yes, I fall in love all the time. I won’t apologize for that.
However, it has gotten me into big trouble many times. So, this time, I decided the best course of action was to make art about it and do nothing.
Have you ever heard of the little c? It’s a super tiny circle and inside is what you can control. It’s surrounded by the medium i circle and inside is what you can influence. It’s surrounded by an infinitely expanding space known as the big A. It’s acceptance for EVERYTHING ELSE because it’s all out of your control. Here’s a visual I created to help you see what I’m talking about.
I come back to this diagram to use as a tool when I’m facing a situation that’s causing an energetic disturbance. It could be an exciting one or an upsetting one. It doesn’t matter. It’s still a disturbance. This diagram helps me be present in the moment and decide what I can do to restore energetic balance.
Writing the song “I Can’t Lie” about my feelings of falling in love was in my control. Posting the first verse of the song on Instagram the night I wrote it was my medium i, and doing nothing else about it at the time was my big A of accepting whatever comes next. That was January 9, 2022. The following month, I boarded a train around 2am in Savannah, Georgia with my new partner and nothing more than a suitcase and my favorite guitar. Arriving in NYC about 15 hours later was far beyond anything I or we could have imagined a mere 30 or so days before.
Though it took some time to record and release “I Can’t Lie,” it’s as relevant as ever. I rang in the New Year in Red Hook (Brooklyn), NY with friends and declared that “Be Honest” is my motto for 2024.
The truth is that I have a habit I’ve been trying to kick my whole life—lying to myself. I don’t lie to others, but at the end of the day, isn’t lying to yourself inevitably lying to others?
The danger I’ve found is that unintentionally and unknowingly lying to others is destructive to all involved. Yikes! I’m not here to beat up on myself. Rather the contrary. I’m here to give myself a hug and say how grateful I am right now and right here as I write this reflection because being honest with myself means I can get to know myself and know the God / Genius / Genie / Muse that dwells within me.
Probably not a coincidence, Ralph Waldo Emerson came up for me this week while working on a forthcoming book that I’m co-authoring with music lawyer Ryan Schmidt of BowenSchmidt Entertainment Attorneys in Savannah, Georgia. He helped me start my indie music label E. Broad Records.
I had to look up Emerson’s poem, “Gnothi Seauton” (Know Thyself). It’s not like I hadn’t read this poem before and touted its wisdom to all my students—if you didn’t know this about me—I use to teach high school English in Dallas ISD and freshman composition at Texas Tech University while pursuing a Ph.D. in Rhetoric. I’m a little embarrassed to say that it’s been a very long time since I’ve read the poem or anything by Emerson.
So, I pulled up the poem on my laptop and read it.
Wow, it fell differently—real different. I heard him whispering in my ear, every word crystal clear, and I felt the words in my body. It was bread. An offering to be ingested, alchemized, and transmuted into golden truth.
Here’s what stood out to me:
“And, as a king
Would do no treason to his own empire,
So do not thou to thine.”
What I heard: Don’t lie to yourself. It’s treason.
“God dwells in thee.
It is no metaphor nor parable,
It is unknown to thousands, and to thee;
Yet there is God.”
What I heard: Your God / Genius / Genie / Muse is literally in you.
“Give up to thy soul—–
Let it have its way—–
It is, I tell thee, God himself,
The selfsame One that rules the Whole”
What I heard: Know yourself, so you can be yourself. No excuses. No hiding. All the fucking way!
I enjoyed Love is a Revolution, but I adore I Can't Lie. Love the whole thing and literally no lie that I had those goosebump tingles throughout the entire song - you know the ones where just the entire thing is magic or just hits absolutely the right notes. My only disappointment was that I wish it was longer, but of course, that's what repeat is for!