… Read Full Bio ↴Tyrone Wells is an American singer-songwriter from Spokane, Washington.
Wells’ fourth full-length album, Where We Meet, balances acoustic vulnerability and pop rock irresistibility over the course of eleven anthems. Ultimately, Where We Meet is the place for Wells to start anew while keeping the same ethic that has won him his loyal fan base from his early independent days.
The journey to Where We Meet actually began on the high seas in 2010. He was playing The Rock Boat, an annual floating festival that travels from Tampa, FL to Cozumel, Mexico. Out on the ship in the middle of the ocean, he had an epiphany. With two lauded major label releases under his belt—Hold On [2006] and Remain [2009]—and countless high-profile film and TV placements including American Idol, One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries, Rescue Me, Grey’s Anatomy, My Sister’s Keeper, Something Borrowed and more, Wells felt the urge to go independent again.
“I was thinking about my relationship with my record label,” he recalls. “I didn’t feel like they were capitalizing on the momentum that I had. So I wrote this long letter to my manager that I wanted to part ways with the label. When we reached port the next morning, my manager told me that the label actually just ended the relationship. Talk about serendipity! It’s like a relationship where both parties want to go their separate ways. After that, I didn’t have to worry about anyone else’s timelines and concerns. I could just focus on making a great record.”
Free from any constraints, Wells started working on that “great record” by penning over 80 songs. In the middle of that process, he managed to release the digital EP, Metal & Wood in 2010. Metal & Wood spent nearly three weeks at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart and debuted at #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
Inspired immensely, he feverishly kept writing, experimenting, and pushing himself for almost two years. Taking his time in the studio, Wells worked diligently with two producers Thomas Doeve and Bill Lefler. The result is Where We Meet.
“I always wanted to make an album that was both sparse and intimate but also had these epic moments,” he says of the sound. “I love singer-songwriter albums that are vulnerable, but I’m also drawn to big, epic rock music. The record really is a meeting place between those two. I truly tried to incorporate both of those flavors. For the first time, I feel like I accomplished it.”
You can hear it on the album’s first single “Freedom.” A sunny acoustic guitar and handclaps resound as Wells delivers one of his catchiest choruses yet. It’s energetic, upbeat, and utterly undeniable. About the song, he reveals, “I was listening to a lot of Simon & Garfunkel, and I wanted to write something upbeat. I was hoping they’d peek into the room and inspire me.”
He continues, “So often, we try to hold on to things that aren’t working. When you open up your hands and let things go, they come back to you—maybe not even in the way you expect. As an independent artist, I have the freedom to do anything. I feel like this is a fitting opening to the album.”
On the other end of the spectrum is the pensive, powerful, and poetic, “I Can’t Save You Now.” Wells says goodbye as gorgeous instrumentation bristles in the background.
“I was crazy about this girl in college, but she was always in the middle of some sort of crisis,” he remembers. “At some point, I realized I can’t fix her and her problems. I couldn’t be in a relationship in that capacity because it was making me totally nuts. I had never felt so ungrounded. That’s what the song talks about.”
The title track sums everything up for him though. He goes on, “It delves into all of the madness and chaos of the world right now. There’s so much in life that we can’t control, but we can control how we treat each other. The heart of the record can be encapsulated in the closing lyric of Where We Meet: ‘Take my hand, all we have is a moment, so hold nothing back.’”
In some ways, Where We Meet brings Wells back to where it all began. Being independent again is like going back to his roots, except this time it is selling out venues, rather than coffee shops. He’s carving his own path. “I’m not in music so I can get rich,” he declares. “I have what I need and more. The aim for me isn’t to get famous. The aim is to make great music that I can stand by.”
With his first baby on the way and Where We Meet dropping this spring, he certainly has a lot to stand by. Wells concludes, “I’m doing what I love and if my art resonates with other people, I’m happy. I love it when someone tells me that my music is the soundtrack to their lives. I hope I can continue to provide that.”
Where We Meet is just the beginning…
Use Somebody
Tyrone Wells Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you and all you know and how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you
Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice
Someone like me, someone like me
Someone like me, somebody
I'm ready now, I'm ready now
I'm ready now, I'm ready now
I'm ready now, I'm ready now
I'm ready now
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
I've been roaming around, I was looking down at all I see
The lyrics of Tyrone Wells's version of "Use Somebody" convey a sense of loneliness and longing for human connection. The singer has been wandering aimlessly, observing the world around him but feeling disconnected from it. He sees painted faces and lovers, but they are out of reach. He expresses a desire for someone like the person he is addressing in the song - someone who understands him and speaks to his soul.
The second half of the song takes on a more urgent tone, as the singer declares that he is "ready now" for the kind of connection he's been seeking. He insists that he is someone that the listener should notice and acknowledges that they might be living a different kind of life than he is. Despite these differences, however, he believes that they are both in need of someone to fill a void in their lives.
Overall, the lyrics of "Use Somebody" are simple but effective in conveying the emotions of loneliness, longing, and hope that the singer is experiencing. The repetition of phrases like "you know that I could use somebody" and "someone like you" lend a sense of urgency and make the song's message clear.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been roaming around, I was looking down at all I see
I've been wandering aimlessly, lost in thought and consumed by my surroundings, unable to connect with anyone or anything
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
The people around me seem to be putting on a facade, hiding their true selves and emotions from me
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
I feel lonely and disconnected, and I know that I need someone to connect with emotionally and fill the void in my life
Someone like you and all you know and how you speak
I need someone who understands me and can communicate with me in a way that resonates with me
Countless lovers under cover of the street
There are people around me who are in relationships, but they seem to be keeping their love hidden or superficial
Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep
While others are out socializing and having fun, I am often alone and isolated, spending my nights in solitude
Waging wars to shake the poet and the beat
I am struggling internally, fighting against my own thoughts and emotions in an attempt to find inspiration and creativity
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I am trying to make a connection and gain recognition and acknowledgement from someone else
Someone like me, someone like me
Someone like me, somebody
I am hoping to find someone who is similar to me and understands me on a deeper level
I'm ready now, I'm ready now
I'm ready now, I'm ready now
I'm ready now, I'm ready now
I am eager to make a connection and put myself out there, ready to take a chance on finding someone
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
I am specifically seeking someone like the person I am addressing, looking for someone who can fill the void in my life.
Contributed by Tyler K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.