Michael Rose - Tornado
Tel Aviv-based singer/songwriter Michael Rose has unleashed his powerful debut single "Tornado", written about a girl he met in Frankfurt with scars on her arm. Driven by acoustic guitar and heartfelt vocals, he says about the song: "Angry at the world, I wrote this song out of my love for her. I just wish I could sing it to her back in time when she needed it most." Rose has previously fronted and toured internationally with the Israeli progressive metal band Distorted Harmony and now he's focused on kickstarting his solo project. With such an impressive debut, we look forward to hearing more from him soon!
"We've all had those moments: when you think things just can't get any worse. When you feel so lonely, so vulnerable. Moments when all you wanted was to be loved, to be understood - to be heard." Read more below from Rose on how the song came about.
I met her a few years ago in Frankfurt.
It was a cool, clear and somewhat sunny April afternoon. I was sitting on the street just playing my guitar and our eyes met almost at random. But there was such power to it. It was magnetic. Like the unseen hands of destiny had pushed us to this moment. Cliché, I know. But that's what it felt like.
Without breaking eye contact she pulled up next to me on her bike and quietly said goodbye to her friend on the phone. It all felt.. almost normal. As if we had known each other for years. As if she knew, somehow, that she would meet me there that day. And as she sat down beside me all of the people, the noise of the city, the cars, everything .. was just gone. Silence. Comfort. Connection.
We spent the day together and talked for what seemed like forever. She had such an innocent smile, from behind her shy auburn locks. Such a light inside her - as well as scars on her arm from when she use to cut herself.
I remember being so vividly angry as she told me about her childhood. Why does someone that shines so bright, that has such a gentle soul, such a loving heart, why do they have to get all this pain? It was infuriating.
She didn't choose to be born, she didn't choose her starting circumstances. And most importantly, she didn't even take it out on anyone. Well, anyone except herself. It was just so unfair.
I couldn't fall asleep that night, thinking about her. How her scars came at different angles on her arm. And how there were so many of them that it almost looked like a tornado. And how all I wanted with my whole being was to go back in time and be there for her when she needed it most. To be her eye of the storm.
And so I wandered the city the next day with my head going a gazillion miles per hour. Trying to make sense of this emotion. Heh, I probably looked like I was on drugs, I remember being in such a daze. But finally, it came to me. I sat down again with my guitar, not far from where we met, and let the emotions flow through me into what became this song.
I dedicated it to her then, but now I dedicate it also to you. To all of you out there. To anyone who's ever felt like the world is just so unfair, like they were stuck in a bad place with no way out. But still, no matter the challenge, had the power to keep on pushing. To stay positive no matter what happens. To you I want to say this:
"Don't ever give up. This pain will fade away, and the lessons it will teach you will only make you stronger. The future is yours and you can conquer anything. I believe in you."