The Apple and the Tree — Pre-Pro Sheet

p. 38 — Pre-Pro

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Act 2, Song 9 — Solo Write

Core Concept

"We both were just kids. Working with the tools we had."

A song about generational inheritance, not from a place of blame but from a place of recognition. Kris and her mother are both awake and aware. They both know crazy runs in the family. This song honors the fact that they are breaking generational trauma together, not against each other. Her mom was 15 when she got pregnant, 16 when Kris was born. In many ways they grew up together, learned together, and are still figuring it out side by side. That's the love at the center of this song.

Companion song: "Babies Raising Babies in the 80s" shares the same backstory from a different angle.

Emotional Arc

Opens with the warmth and pride of being her mother's daughter, the spitting image, the smile, the way. Then watches that light dim as real life piled in. Verse 2 sits with the weight of it honestly, the heaviness, the wish for something steadier, without putting that on her mom. The chorus is the resolution: not healed, but listening. Not fixed, but willing to be the ones who break it first.

Thematic Language

Generational patterns as inheritance, not fault

Babies raising babies — growing up together

Hurt people hurt people, but awareness is the break

Hand me down genes and what we do with them

Being the ones to break it first

From resisting to finally listening

Sonic Palette

Demo Status

Demo direction is solid and locked. Open to whatever magic players bring in the studio, but the foundation is right.

Gospel Vocals

A defining element of the demo. Keep and develop. This is part of what makes the song feel communal and bigger than one person's story.

Groove

Stomp, clap. Cinematic and theatrical without losing the intimacy of the story. Part of the Greatest Showman thread running through the album.

Guitars

The riffs in the demo are a keeper. Let the players elevate in session.

Chord Changes

The unexpected chord changes in the demo create real dissonance and friction. This is intentional and right. Protect it. The harmonic tension mirrors the emotional tension of the story.

Album Arc Note

Thematic Thread — Greatest Showman Vibe

The stomp-clap energy here connects this song to Midnight Church Aftermath, Renovate Me, and You Better Fix My Life. All four share a cinematic, theatrical groove. Worth being intentional in production about how these moments land across the record so they feel like a cohesive motif rather than a coincidence.

Music Video / Visualizer

Visualizer TBD

Open Questions

Ask Eric: should we just program the drums on this one and skip Dark Horse Studios? It's mainly acoustics, dobro, and stomp claps.

Gospel vocal arrangement — how many voices, live or layered?

Preserve the dissonant chord changes from demo in final arrangement

Visualizer concept TBD

p. 39 — Lyrics

Act 2, Song 9 — Solo Write

Verse 1

Spitting image...
They used to say
Had her smile
And her kinda way
I took no greater pride
Than being by her side
Always lookin' up at her
With those please love me eyes

But as the years grew by
So did the stress
And the bills piled high
When daddy left
And I watched her light dim
As she carried all that weight
And now I'm feeling mine slip
Running at the same pace

Chorus

I thought I could heal it
But ya know I still feel it
In the parts of myself
I don't always see
I go from resistin'
To finally listenin'
To who I've always been
Underneath these hand me down genes
And like a spade is just a spade
I think we all can relate
To the apple and the tree

Verse 2

Hurt people
Hurt people they say
Generations
Lead us in their own way
No one signed up for this
We both were just kids
Working with the tools we had

But some days I wish...
I didn't feel so heavy
I wonder what it's like...
To feel so steady...
But I don't put that on her
Yeah, we both got this curse
Running through our blood
We'll be the ones to break it first

Chorus