A Songwriter’s Story with Arlen Ivey of the Iveys

Sometimes a song will come easy, and sometimes…it’s a long road. My two sisters and I (The Iveys) have two albums out now, and I continue to write songs every day. It’s always a different process.

When I was writing songs for our new record Days & Nights, I spent a lot of time alone working through my own personal thoughts. That’s where I tend to go as a songwriter, forcing myself to get in touch with what I feel personally, digging deeper within myself for truth.

A particular track from the new CD that sticks out to me is “Keeping Me Strong.” It came out of a late night session, just diving into this thought process of what one person’s love can do for another. What love has been able to do for me, and how it can lift you up and make you stronger.

I was sitting at an old piano playing some chords when all these lyrics started forming in my head and pouring out of my mouth. “It’s easy to fall apart, in this world of broken hearts, there’s fire at every turn, I can walk right through and not burn, with your love keeping me strong.”

The song is very honest, and I’ve always found honest songs to be the best, though they are very difficult to write for that very reason. It’s hard to be honest with yourself sometimes. I know it is for me. But when I find it, and can channel that honesty into music, those are the songs that I want to share with the world.