My cousin died earlier this year. She was only 36. Her death was unexpected and quick, leaving us all shaken. I couldn’t even see my family because traveling was still not an option. I’m guessing, many people have probably found themselves in a similar place in recent times. In my dream, I saw my aunt sitting alone in a dark empty room with her head in her hands. I couldn’t get that image out of my head. They were very close, my aunt relied on my cousin for everything. I wanted to scream, “it’s not fair!” But I couldn’t. My 6 year-old says “it’s not fair!” all the time, and I always answered him with “well…life isn’t fair, buddy.” So I wrote a song. I can say “it’s not fair” as many times as I want, as long as it’s a song. It’s funny that way. The gaping hole in me without my cousin will remain, I know that. But at least this song will get me through the days when I miss her the most. As soon as I wrote this song, I knew I wanted to get my friend Yula involved. She's somebody I respect and enjoy collaborating with. She made a beautiful vocal arrangement and added just the right amount of tension and texture. This was the first time 3 of us sung together since the pandemic. It felt really emotional to sing together again. Joyful yet somber for what we have went through individually and collectively. I hope you enjoy this song. Thank you for listening.
Miwa
Throw Your Tantrum Written by Miwa Nishio
Vocal Arrangements by Yula Beeri
Performed by Miwa Gemini Miwa - guitar & vocal Rebekah - vocal Jennie - vocal
Shot at Montauk House in Brooklyn, NY -
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A child falls on the ground, tears in her eyes
She looks for her friends but they’re long gone
Climbing trees, way up in the sky
She jumps but she misses
Her friends just laugh and climb even higher
A middle age man rips a letter in two
In his head swirls thoughts I lost my job
and my house
And my wife took my kids
My cancer is back
He screams to no one
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Life isn’t fair, isn’t it ever, “It’s not Fair”
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Life isn’t fair, I wish I knew how to tell you
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Life isn’t fair, isn’t it ever, “It’s not Fair”
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Throw your tantrum, it’s ok by me
Life threw you many bags of lemons
Lifetime supply for your lemonade stand
But you got up again, over and over
With a little bit of luck, you may land on your feet
An old mother is crying
Her daughter went to sleep and never got back again
How could this be possible?
It should’ve been me
How am I going to face life?
How am I going to do anything?
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Life isn’t fair, isn’t it ever, “It’s not Fair”
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Life isn’t fair, I wish I knew how to help you
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Life isn’t fair, isn’t it ever, “It’s not Fair”
Isn’t it fair, isn’t it ever, isn’t it?
Throw your tantrum, it’s ok by me