When Words Fail: How Processing Other People’s Pain Inspires My Music
Songwriter Tyell on Mental Health, Empathy, and His New Single "In The Rain"
They say that “When words fail, music speaks.” Well, when I experience big emotions, words always seem to fail. It is at those moments that I sit down at my piano or with my guitar and begin playing. Sometimes I play songs by other artists that hit just right. When I can’t find a song to match what I’m feeling, I often start writing one of my own. It was one of these moments that inspired my latest single “In the Rain.” But before I get into the magic creative moment, let me tell you a little bit of back story…
Ever since high school, I wanted to become a therapist. After starting grad school in 2024, I finally began seeing clients. Being a beginning therapist comes with a TON of learning, but the thing that has surprised me the most is how much I care about my clients. We only talk for an hour a week, but during that time, they come to me in their most vulnerable, broken state, trusting that I can help them grow into a new and improved person. They tell me about their hurt, pain, and sadness. About how they don’t experience the same joy they used to. After talking through their emotions and discussing strategies to confront their problems, they leave. But after they leave, I am left by myself to work through my own reactions to their pain.
When I tell people that I’m a therapist, one of the most common questions I get is: “isn’t it hard to hear people talk about the bad things in their life all the time?” My honest answer is “yes, it is hard to see the people you care about hurt.” But I love being a therapist because I have a viewpoint that my clients don’t that I get to share with them. I can see the forest when they’re stuck in the trees.
One day, after talking to a few clients who were in the depths of depression, I was reminded of a time when I felt hopeless. A time when I felt that life used to be good, but that it no longer was, and that it wouldn’t be in the future. I was feeling a big emotion, so, as per usual, I sat down at my piano and began playing. I couldn’t identify a song to match the story I wanted to tell, so I started writing. I wrote about the feeling of living in the rain. About how it feels to live in what feels like a never-ending night, thinking about better days and wondering why, during those seemingly perfect moments, you couldn’t pause life and stay there forever. I wanted the piano to match the lyrics, so when I mentioned rain, I played notes like the falling rain. As I sang about warmer days, the piano was bright and hopeful. I left the vocals raw and emotional, the way my clients feel as they talk to me.
As I combined the piano with the lyrics, I recognized that this song has the power to connect with people. To tell their story in song. It’s for those moments when it feels like everything is going wrong. I felt that I had to share it. So on January 30th, In The Rain is coming out on all streaming platforms!
I’ve been thinking bout’, when days were warm
Tough to remember, in the storm
Maybe I, maybe you, maybe we
Could go back to
When times were warm
And now I feel so jaded
I can’t smile and I hate it
I just wanna be
I just wanna stay
I just wanna… be happy
What if I pressed pause on life
Back when times were good
Before the clouds
Filled the sky
When there was sun
Wish that I
Had known then
My dreams could crash to an end
Now I’m awake
The visions gone
Bio:
Tyell is an acoustic pop singer-songwriter whose work centers on turning life into lyrics through narrative-driven songs. Drawing from real-life experiences, his music explores themes of connection, vulnerability, and everyday human moments. Tyell prioritizes lyrical clarity and emotional accessibility to resonate broadly while remaining deeply personal.
Links:
Listen to Tyell on Spotify & Apple Music - click for links
