One Day I Will

Album: Venus (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • Joy Williams told American Songwriter magazine the story of this song, which was a major influence on her writing for Venus. "I was set up with Matt Morris (Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson) who ended up being my main collaborator, and the first time we sat down to write, I was really burnt out," she said. "I had written over 50 songs at that point. But Matt totally called me out and said, 'I think you're so worried about saying something wrong that you're at risk of saying nothing at all.' And that's when I ugly cried and being OK with cutting the metaphor and saying it as it is. And after I could catch my breath I said, 'I would love to write a happy song one day.' And he said, 'That's a great way to start a song. Why don't you put your laptop down and put the pen and paper away?'"

    "And every single line in the song 'One Day I Will' is me talking to Matt and us putting it down. And that was one of the turning points for me as a songwriter and as a human being," Williams continued. "I've been so worried about people judging or misunderstanding or taking things out of context that I had to get a friend in the room brave enough to say, 'Hey, it's okay. Just say it.' And that changed me and changed the trajectory of the record in a way that I'm really proud of."

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