“I’ve Got Butterflies”
“Butterflies” was where it all began. Not to be dramatic or anything.
“Butterflies” is the first song I ever wrote. I was thirteen and at summer camp, and like many tweens, I was infatuated with someone, and I wanted them to know – in song form, of course. So, with the help of a few of my friends, I wrote an early variation of “Butterflies” and performed it for the whole camp to hear. It was a hit, and for the two years after I wrote it, I would get asked to release it on a streaming platform—a purely camp-only phenomenon.
When COVID forced us inside, I wondered if I could produce the song. I knew I couldn’t do it alone, so my wonderful friend Morris Raskin stepped in and offered to help. He was in New York City, and I was upstate, so our collaboration was entirely virtual. However, after a few hiccups, we got a draft of the song we liked. My friend Rebecca Zhang created the artwork for the single, and with that, we released the song!
“Butterflies” went live on April 24th, 2020, and has surpassed 6,500 streams today!
The song is a vital factor in my progression as a musician and a songwriter and a good reminder of my beginnings. I also love talking to camp people about the song because it was a light, carefree soundtrack from our childhood.
“Butterflies” provided the foundation for all of my other songs. I honed a songwriting process I have generally stuck with (I’ve made some minor adjustments) and figured out how I wanted my songs to sound (again, something I am still tweaking). “Butterflies” was so important because it was when I began to find myself as a musician.
Lyrics!
Verse 1:
You know I don’t care for those love songs
But don’t you think it’d be nice
You know I don’t care for those sweet, sappy stories
Or hanging your heart on the line
But don’t you think it’d be nice
PC:
So, for now, I’ll sit here and watch
Wondering how I’ll get out of this mess
Chorus:
Can you tell I’m pretty nervous
Some might even say scared
I’ve got butterflies
And not the good kind
I need somebody to let them out
Verse 2:
Worked up the nerve to say hello
And I just wanted you to know
That I spent too much time thinking about what could’ve been
So nothing happened in the end
PC:
So, for now, I’ll sit here and watch
Wondering how I’ll get out of this mess
Chorus:
Can you tell I’m pretty nervous
Some might even say scared
I’ve got butterflies
And not the good kind
I need somebody to let them out
Bridge:
Maybe one of these days
I’ll wanna do something
About how I feel
But for now, I’ll hold my tongue
And I’ll hope for the best I can heal
Chorus:
Can you tell I’m pretty nervous
Some might even say scared
I’ve got butterflies
And not the good kind
I need somebody to let them out
Chorus:
Can you tell I’m pretty nervous
Some might even say scared
I’ve got butterflies
And not the good kind
I need somebody to let them out
When “Butterflies” first came out, I was obsessed with checking the stream count, but as time passed, I found myself checking less and less. I checked again in November of 2024 and found that “Butterflies” had surpassed 6,500 streams, and I was ecstatic. These numbers seemed unfathomable to me as a 16-year-old releasing her first single.