Jensen McRae - Wolves (Official Video) @jensenmcraeofficial

Jensen McRae Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou
Listen to "Wolves": resources.lnk.to/Wolves

This music video is meant to communicate the story of psychic violence against women. Not to be a frame for frame retelling of the lyrics; no, instead it needed to show the bigger problem, how women’s pain is commodified, fetishized, transfigured by male heroism and then broadcast as artistic. Katharine immediately understood the song completely, and her direction fiercely & precisely interpreted the source material. It was so rewarding to watch the incredible crew so efficiently bring her vision to life. And I’m so glad my music lent itself to something so striking.

Lead: Lina Green
Featured: Sophie Wood, Preston Daniel Grant, Justin Kim, Adam Vaughn, Andy Kenareki, Tania Possick
Background: Bruce Hu, Ashley Hopgood

Director: Katharine White
Producers: Erin Dellorso, Julianne Dowler, Virginia Reece
Production Company: Little Bull Productions
DP: Katharine White
Steadicam: Thor Wixom
1st AC: Kylie Hazzard
2nd AC: Kate Graves
Gaffer: Kyle Thor
Key Grip: Daniel Kang
Swing G&E: Armando Vazquez, Sebastian Lam
Production Design: Gabe Notarangelo
HMU: Tara Segar
HMU Assistant: Megan Nicoll
PAs: Alex Vaughan, Kat Gregory, Cameron Kelly
Editor: Erik Vogt-Nilsen
Color: Dave Levine @ Breakaway Post

LYRICS
I was 15, still in the valley
Walking in a parking garage
First time I met a wolf in person
At first I thought it was a dog
I tried to dodge him, he was faster
Than I’d ever had to be
He smiled and howled in the same moment
It knocked the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

I was 19, still fun at parties
He plied me with shot after shot
He assured me he was harmless
Why did I ever trust a fox
I ignored all of my teachings
How I survived I can’t believe
I almost let him get his claws in
Still knocks the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Saw a teenage girl on my street
Talking tall to one of them
Recognized him in an instant
Heard about him from my friends
Thank god women learned to whisper
But I crave a megaphone
That wolf said “it’s dangerous out there”
That wolf said “let me walk you home”

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

updated 6 years ago

Jensen McRae - Wolves (Official Video)

Jensen McRae 2020-03-04 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou
Listen to "Wolves": resources.lnk.to/Wolves

This music video is meant to communicate the story of psychic violence against women. Not to be a frame for frame retelling of the lyrics; no, instead it needed to show the bigger problem, how women’s pain is commodified, fetishized, transfigured by male heroism and then broadcast as artistic. Katharine immediately understood the song completely, and her direction fiercely & precisely interpreted the source material. It was so rewarding to watch the incredible crew so efficiently bring her vision to life. And I’m so glad my music lent itself to something so striking.

Lead: Lina Green
Featured: Sophie Wood, Preston Daniel Grant, Justin Kim, Adam Vaughn, Andy Kenareki, Tania Possick
Background: Bruce Hu, Ashley Hopgood

Director: Katharine White
Producers: Erin Dellorso, Julianne Dowler, Virginia Reece
Production Company: Little Bull Productions
DP: Katharine White
Steadicam: Thor Wixom
1st AC: Kylie Hazzard
2nd AC: Kate Graves
Gaffer: Kyle Thor
Key Grip: Daniel Kang
Swing G&E: Armando Vazquez, Sebastian Lam
Production Design: Gabe Notarangelo
HMU: Tara Segar
HMU Assistant: Megan Nicoll
PAs: Alex Vaughan, Kat Gregory, Cameron Kelly
Editor: Erik Vogt-Nilsen
Color: Dave Levine @ Breakaway Post

LYRICS
I was 15, still in the valley
Walking in a parking garage
First time I met a wolf in person
At first I thought it was a dog
I tried to dodge him, he was faster
Than I’d ever had to be
He smiled and howled in the same moment
It knocked the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

I was 19, still fun at parties
He plied me with shot after shot
He assured me he was harmless
Why did I ever trust a fox
I ignored all of my teachings
How I survived I can’t believe
I almost let him get his claws in
Still knocks the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Saw a teenage girl on my street
Talking tall to one of them
Recognized him in an instant
Heard about him from my friends
Thank god women learned to whisper
But I crave a megaphone
That wolf said “it’s dangerous out there”
That wolf said “let me walk you home”

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Jensen McRae - Massachusetts (Official Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2024-06-11 | “Massachusetts” by Jensen McRae out now on Dead Oceans.
Stream/Buy “Massachusetts”: jensen-mcrae.lnk.to/Massachusetts

instagram.com/jensenmcrae
twitter.com/Jensen_McRae
tiktok.com/@jensenmcrae

Credits:

Written by - Jensen McRae and Mary Weitz
Produced by - Brad Cook
Engineered by - Paul Voran
Mixed by - Chris Tabron at Rumours, Brooklyn
Assistant Mix Engineer - Kari Estes at Rumours, Brooklyn
Mastered by - David Kutch at The Mastering Palace, NYC
Artwork by - Caity Krone
Recorded at Stadium Heights and Puff City, Durham NC

Photo + Super-8 video Caity Krone @caitytakesphotos
DP: Gabriella Hughes @gabriellahughes
Makeup: Ashley Tani @makeupbyashleytani
Lighting: Lauren Nieves @laurennieves_
Video Editor: Eric Daniels @ericwdanielss
BTS Photo Kendra Harris: @iamkendraharri

Lyrics:
When someone tells me they’re from Massachusetts,
Now I always ask what part.
I wonder if you kept the pilgrim ashtray—
if it’s still propped up on your bar cart.
Could make a grand off of the chain you bought me,
But goddamn, it’s not for sale.
When someone asks me who’s my favorite Batman,
I’ll think of you and say Christian Bale.

As long as I live I’ll remember the names
of your favorite beers and your video games.
The look on your face when you turned 26
and your dad got too stoned, yeah, that one’s gonna stick.
You broke me to pieces but I root for you even
though everything went up in flames.
I’ll never forget how I bloomed for your gaze
or your wall of guitars
or your video games,
Or your video games,
Or your video games.

Pick up your phrases, now I say “it’s aces”
but it always sounds so fake.
I wonder if your tongue is turning over
anything I used to say.
Your sister’s trying for a baby lately
and your parents got new jobs.
It’s getting darker so I turn you down but
I can’t turn you off.

As long as I live I’ll remember the names
of your favorite beers and your video games.
The look on your face when you turned 26
and your dad got too stoned, yeah, that one’s gonna stick.
You broke me to pieces but I root for you even
though everything went up in flames.
I’ll never forget how I bloomed for your gaze
or your wall of guitars
or your video games,
Or your video games,
Or your video games.

At least I’m treading water and not about to drown.
I’m not trying to find you, babe, you’re just around.
Everything reminds me of you even now,
Even now,
Even now.

As long as I live I’ll remember the names
of your favorite beers and your video games.
The fire in my gut that I’ve chased ever since, yeah, you set the bar,
You’re gonna stick.

-

Jensen McRae - Massachusetts (Official Visualizer)
#JensenMcRae #Massachusetts #DeadOceans

#massachusetts OUT JUNE 11 !!!! #newmusic #videogames #christianbale #youtubeshorts

Jensen McRae 2024-06-06 | ...

1 Second Everyday 2023

Jensen McRae 2023-12-31 | goodbye 2023 🤍

Jensen McRae - Sing For My Supper

Jensen McRae 2023-10-11 | I spend the first 18 years of my life being treated like an outcast for wanting to make music and then I woke up one morning and I was in my mid-20s and everyone wa pretending they wanted to be a rockstar all along…

Recorded at Speakeasy Studios in Burbank, CA
Engineered & Mixed by Paul Redel
Assistant Engineer: Leif Eisemann

Director: Mitchell Abraham
Production Co: Dojohouse
Executive Producer: Danny Pollack
Associate Producer: Wade Davis
Production Manager: Jesse Rojas
Cinematographer: Michael Morones
Assistant Camera: JT Boehme
Editor/Color: Mitchell Abraham
Production Assistants: Noah Zaidspiner, Janessa Bizarra, Lucinda Larnach, Iza Icaza
MUA: Bryan Mendez

Jensen McRae - I Dont Miss You

Jensen McRae 2023-10-11 | When I was 20 I wrote this about the boy I was obsessed with when I was 16 and when I was 23 I sang it about the boy I was obsessed with when I was 19 and now I’m well past 23 indeed and I will just keep collecting trivia about the men I have loved like what song makes them cry (nature boy, moon river) or what their favorite movie is (the big lebowski, batman begins) or who their celebrity crush is (why is it never anyone who looks like me) or where they are in the birth order (why is it always the youngest son)…

Engineered & Mixed by Paul Redel
Assistant Engineer: Leif Eisemann

Director: Mitchell Abraham
Production Co: Dojohouse
Executive Producer: Danny Pollack
Associate Producer: Wade Davis
Production Manager: Jesse Rojas
Cinematographer: Michael Morones
Assistant Camera: JT Boehme
Editor/Color: Mitchell Abraham
Production Assistants: Noah Zaidspiner, Janessa Bizarra, Lucinda Larnach, Iza Icaza
MUA: Bryan Mendez

Jensen McRae - Fever Dream

Jensen McRae 2023-10-11 | The morning after you get your heart broken, nothing feels real. All you want is for the new normal to actually feel normal, and for the love you lost to just sound like someone else’s very long and confusing dream…

Recorded at Speakeasy Studios in Burbank, CA
Engineered & Mixed by Paul Redel
Assistant Engineer: Leif Eisemann

Director: Mitchell Abraham
Production Co: Dojohouse
Executive Producer: Danny Pollack
Associate Producer: Wade Davis
Production Manager: Jesse Rojas
Cinematographer: Michael Morones
Assistant Camera: JT Boehme
Editor/Color: Mitchell Abraham
Production Assistants: Noah Zaidspiner, Janessa Bizarra, Lucinda Larnach, Iza Icaza
MUA: Bryan Mendez

It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This…Premiere Party

Jensen McRae 2023-09-20 | Kick it with me while we count down to the release of my new live visual EP!

Jensen McRae - It Wasnt Supposed To Be Like This...

Jensen McRae 2023-09-20 | In 2021 I shot a live performance video for a song I wrote called ‘Adam’s Ribs.’ It’s one of my favorite pieces of art I’ve ever made, and for all of 2023 I have been thinking about it as I have trudged a winding and thorny path to my next record.

Album 2 isn’t ready - yet - so consider this era 1.5.

Playing live is one of my favorite things to do, so I thought I’d try to capture the magic of some of the live sets I’ve played on the road in the last year and a half. The only difference is, very few of you have heard any of these songs in their entirety. They’re brand new (well, new to you), and I performed them live, in studio, with just me and my guitar.

There is something so surreal about recognizing that you’re at one of life’s rare dividing lines—to know you are enduring something that has a Before and an After and you will never be the same. This project is about that—about splitting in two, accepting that half of you is gone, and trying to rebuild the rest from scratch.

It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This…

00:00 Intro
00:40 Fever Dream
04:05 Sing For My Supper
06:31 God Has A Hitman
10:14 Colma, CA
14:01 I Don't Miss You

Recorded at Speakeasy Studios in Burbank, CA
Engineered & Mixed by Paul Redel
Assistant Engineer: Leif Eisemann

Director: Mitchell Abraham
Production Co: Dojohouse
Executive Producer: Danny Pollack
Associate Producer: Wade Davis
Production Manager: Jesse Rojas
Cinematographer: Michael Morones
Assistant Camera: JT Boehme
Editor/Color: Mitchell Abraham
Production Assistants: Noah Zaidspiner, Janessa Bizarra, Lucinda Larnach, Iza Icaza
MUA: Bryan Mendez

Jensen McRae - God Has A Hitman

Jensen McRae 2023-09-13 | This is a song about a time I compared myself to a person who is absolutely nothing like me and feeling like the universe made me aware of their existence either to destroy me altogether or to finally stop the game of comparison once and for all…

Recorded at Speakeasy Studios in Burbank, CA
Engineered & Mixed by Paul Redel
Assistant Engineer: Leif Eisemann

Director: Mitchell Abraham
Production Co: Dojohouse
Executive Producer: Danny Pollack
Associate Producer: Wade Davis
Production Manager: Jesse Rojas
Cinematographer: Michael Morones
Assistant Camera: JT Boehme
Editor/Color: Mitchell Abraham
Production Assistants: Noah Zaidspiner, Janessa Bizarra, Lucinda Larnach, Iza Icaza
MUA: Bryan Mendez

Jensen McRae - Colma, CA

Jensen McRae 2023-09-06 | There is a town in northern California where the dead outnumber the living 1000 to 1 because there are so many cemeteries there. When I was 21, I thought it might be easier to live there than ever actually get close to another human being…

Recorded at Speakeasy Studios in Burbank, CA
Engineered & Mixed by Paul Redel
Assistant Engineer: Leif Eisemann

Director: Mitchell Abraham
Production Co: Dojohouse
Executive Producer: Danny Pollack
Associate Producer: Wade Davis
Production Manager: Jesse Rojas
Cinematographer: Michael Morones
Assistant Camera: JT Boehme
Editor/Color: Mitchell Abraham
Production Assistants: Noah Zaidspiner, Janessa Bizarra, Lucinda Larnach, Iza Icaza
MUA: Bryan Mendez

a song I wrote called ‘mother wound’ 🌙 #astrology #originalsong #songwriter #shorts

Jensen McRae 2023-06-02 | ...

Jensen McRae - Machines (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2022-03-22 | Listen to my debut album "Are You Happy Now?": orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
I found wings in my attic
one more superpower I’ve outgrown
my brother has basketball practice
I’m going to hit on the coach

I saw Jesus Christ in a bookstore
he looked burdened with all that belief
he cut me in line without remorse
said we’re all powering the same machine

oh, grew up and learned the cost
oh, I can’t sleep this one off
now I know that I bleed months
oh, but I was a machine once

I got drunk for the first time
or as drunk as my brain would permit
I swayed beside a stuffed lion
and briefly loved a scientist

I think I saw God in the bathroom
some pretty girl was holding her hair back
and I offered her fistfuls of tissues
she bit back tears and told me not to do that

oh, grew up and learned the cost
oh, I can’t sleep this one off
now I know that I bleed months
oh, but I was a machine once

I saw this boy in a nightmare
after I passed him on campus
you know, the one I’m still scared of
even though nothing happened
I shudder at what might have happened
growing up is bad dreams put in practice

oh, grew up and learned the cost oh...
oh, grew up and learned the cost oh, I can’t sleep this one off
now I know that I bleed months oh, but I was a machine once

Song Credits:
Acoustic guitar - Jensen McRae
Cello - Doc Allison
Viola - Jeremy Jones

Recording engineer: Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - With The Lights On (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2022-03-22 | Listen to my debut album "Are You Happy Now?": orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
got my heart broken
I got aggressive
tried to take pride in being defensive
can’t read the room of
your body well
do you want my love or my help
I can’t keep my heart to myself

I had a bone to pick
wanted a hired hit
I’m second guessing it
I’m feeling generous
I had an axe to grind
you made me change my mind
chip on my shoulder’s gone
let me come on too strong

na, na, na, he only loved me after nightfall
na, na, na, I wanna love you with the lights on (x2)

after he left I
barely survived it
took up with cautious
and keeping quiet
thought hiding would be
good for my health
but you are like nobody else
I can’t keep my heart to myself

I had a grudge to hold
haunted by heartbreak’s ghost
guess I could let it go
don’t wanna be alone
I had an axe to grind
you made me change my mind
chip on my shoulder’s gone
let me come on too strong

na, na, na, he only loved me after nightfall
na, na, na, I wanna love you with the lights on (x2)

Wanna love you, wanna love you with the lights on (x3)

INSTRUMENTAL

Wanna love you, wanna love you with the lights on

na, na, na, he only loved me after nightfall
na, na, na, I wanna love you with the lights on (x2)

na, na, na, I wanna love you with the lights on
the lights on
wanna love you with the lights on (x2)

Song Credits:
Electric guitar - Keith Askey
Bass guitar - Rahki
Percussion (guiro, timbales, shaker, casaba, temple blocks, cowbell) - Rahki
Kalimba - Rahki
Kids Choir Director - JD Steele
**Kids Choir - Erinayo Adeniyi, Korede Adeniyi, Nana Ofusu Okyere, Princess Naawura Okyere, Sara Okyere, Dorcas Aroloye, Oluwaferanmi Oladiran

Recording engineer: Rahki & Stuart Schenk
Percussion recorded by Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Kid’s Choir Engineer: Josh Levy
Kid’s choir recorded at Winterland Studios, Minneapolis, MN

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Good Legs (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2022-03-22 | Listen to my debut album "Are You Happy Now?": orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
I think I learned from you
I think I love the girl you made me
bled out what hurt from you
it’s worthy work but now I’m dizzy

and you said, don’t live in your head
the world’s so wide, why not explore
and you said I got good legs
no one’s ever told me that before

I don’t mind missing you
I don’t mind building up the muscle
it was an honor risking you
a losing bet but worth the trouble

and you said, don’t live in your head
the world’s so wide, why not explore
and you said I got good legs
no one’s ever told me that before

kissed me with a nervous tongue
neither of us had chewing gum
I had almost sobered up
but your laughter got me drunk
cracking jokes with every touch
Fleetwood Mac made loving fun
you left, I cried the morning of
but I’m fine now baby because

you said, get me out of your head
I’m not your last, there’s so much more
but you said I got good legs
and no one’s ever told me that before

you said I got good legs
and no one’s ever told me that before
you said I got good legs
good legs

Song Credits:
Electric guitar - Jensen McRae
Second electric Guitar - Keith Askey
Additional electric Guitar - Mallory Hauser
Drums - Cameron Lee
Grand piano - Sara Mulford
Bass guitar - Mackin Carroll
Percussion - Rahki
Wurlitzer - Sara Mulford

Recording engineer: Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Speakeasy Studios, Burbank, CA

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Take It Easy (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2022-03-22 | Listen to my debut album 'Are You Happy Now?': orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:

I don’t wanna talk about it anymore
it’s a blessing but we’re beating a dead horse
fortune tried to drown me some
so you tell me I’m the lucky one
atlas did your back get sore
I don’t wanna talk about it anymore

I can’t stop the flood from pouring out of me
drowning in my body
& not proud to be
it’s a possession, oh, I’ve done nothing
don’t treat me like I saved something
Noah, was it hard to breathe
I can’t stop the flood from pouring out of me

take it easy
take it easy
take it easy
take it easy

how much of my heart can I afford to hide?
maybe I’m a fraud in a good disguise
first time in the ring today
they got me fighting with the heavyweights
David, help me hit this fear between the eyes
how much of my heart can I afford to hide?

take it easy
take it easy
take it easy
take it easy

can’t feel my face
this must be the place
where there’s no going back
hero from the hometown
don’t tell me don’t look down
it’s too late for that

take it easy
take it easy
take it easy
take it easy (x2)

Song Credits:
Acoustic guitar - Jensen
Bass guitar - Rahki
Electric guitar - Keith Askey
Casaba - Rahki
Background vocals - Larry James Walker II and Lori Roberts

Recording engineer: Rahki
Background vocals recorded by Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Make You Proud (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2022-03-22 | Listen to my debut album "Are You Happy Now?": orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
this is the year you go hungry the first time
but you're no good at it so you quit
one year from now you will say you fell for someone
he's not worthy of you, he goes along with your ruse
you would've taken anyone

if you stick around
I'll make you proud
at nineteen you still won't be skinny
and you'll still be loud
and darling, the world's not against you
someday you'll climb out
don't hurt yourself
give me a chance to make you proud

two years from now, you will give up on loving yourself
you'll sketch lines in the flesh that you so badly want to escape
I can't change the past, but I beg of you, don't do it please
you are worthy of love
you are worthy of all that you need

if you stick around
I'll make you proud
at nineteen you still won't be skinny
and you'll still be loud
and darling, the world's not against you
someday you'll climb out
don't hurt yourself
give me a chance to make you proud

three years from now, you get your heart broken the first time
it'll feel like he's breaking it over again every day
but after you fill up your castle with art that you make in his name
you'll pick up your pieces and promise to keep yourself safe

if you stick around
I'll make you proud
at nineteen you still won't be skinny
and you'll still be loud
and darling, the world's not against you
someday you'll climb out
don't hurt yourself
give me a chance to make you proud

don't hurt yourself
give me a chance to make you proud

Song Credits:
Acoustic Guitar - Jensen McRae

Recording engineer: Rahki
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Happy Girl (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2022-03-01 | “Happy Girl” began, quite fittingly, as a mistake—I was trying to play one chord progression but wound up playing the opening notes of what it eventually became. I was in Rahki’s studio, halfway through my last year of college, reflecting on all the girls I’d been to get me to that point. I thought about how I’d done everything I was supposed to do, had sanded off the edges of myself that had always pushed people away from me, and I still wasn’t happy. And I thought about how articulating the pain and loneliness of being chronically apart from others is often more trouble than it’s worth. So I wrote this song about the language gap between feeling pain and explaining it, and, as on “Dead Girl Walking,” how it is both easier and harder to manufacture a happy exterior than to invite people into your darkness"
- Jensen McRae

Stream my new single "Happy Girl": orcd.co/happy-girl

Sit down, got something to say though
I don’t know if I should
By the way my light’s gone out
You know I’m not doing good

I took the years like a pill so
I’m supposed to be cured
Lost weight and smiled for the camera
What a happy girl

Sometimes I am, I am, I am
Sometimes I am

Know you wanted a happy girl
I can lie if I cannot learn
How to become a happy girl
I can act like a happy happy girl
Happy girl
Happy girl
I can act like a happy girl

These days, not sure where the bruise is everywhere hurts
Say chin up, sad girl
The truth is it could be worse
You want to meet in the middle
We both make wrong turns
I try to map out the pain but
There are no words

Know you wanted a happy girl
I can lie if I cannot learn
How to become a happy girl
I can act like a happy happy girl
Happy girl
Happy girl
I can act like a happy girl

HUMS

Know you wanted a happy girl
I can lie if I cannot learn
How to become a happy girl
I can act like a happy happy girl
Happy girl
Happy girl
I can act like a happy girl

Jensen McRae - Happy Girl (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2022-02-24 | Stream my new single "Happy Girl": orcd.co/happy-girl

Sit down, got something to say though
I don’t know if I should
By the way my light’s gone out
You know I’m not doing good

I took the years like a pill so
I’m supposed to be cured
Lost weight and smiled for the camera
What a happy girl

Sometimes I am, I am, I am
Sometimes I am

Know you wanted a happy girl
I can lie if I cannot learn
How to become a happy girl
I can act like a happy happy girl
Happy girl
Happy girl
I can act like a happy girl

These days, not sure where the bruise is everywhere hurts
Say chin up, sad girl
The truth is it could be worse
You want to meet in the middle
We both make wrong turns
I try to map out the pain but
There are no words

Know you wanted a happy girl
I can lie if I cannot learn
How to become a happy girl
I can act like a happy happy girl
Happy girl
Happy girl
I can act like a happy girl

HUMS

Know you wanted a happy girl
I can lie if I cannot learn
How to become a happy girl
I can act like a happy happy girl
Happy girl
Happy girl
I can act like a happy girl

Song Credits:
12 String guitar - Keith Askey
Acoustic guitar - Jensen McRae
Slide guitar - Keith Askey
Cello - Doc Allison
Bass Guitar - Rahki
Bongos - Rahki

Recording engineer: Rahki
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

one year since the tweet that birthed ‘immune’ 💉

Jensen McRae 2022-01-14 | ...

all about my journals! 📓

Jensen McRae 2022-01-07 | ...

Jensen McRae - My Ego Dies At The End (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-11-23 | Stream my new single 'My Ego Dies At The End': orcd.co/myegodies

“My Ego Dies At The End is about disenchantment with the life you thought you wanted. Growing up and becoming the person I’ve always wanted to be has been rewarding, but it’s also been painful. There’s a lot about being a little girl that I’ve had to let go - things I always valued that no longer serve me, things I miss. Sometimes I don’t recognize the girl I’ve become, even though I’m proud of her. Its a process that I know will continue for the rest of my life. This song is a love song to the girl I used to be and to the woman I’m becoming, and all the glory and growing pains that go with that.”

I think I lost something in the water
I tried to swim to it
I could not swim to it
drowned in a dream that should’ve made me stronger
I tried to swim through it
I could not swim through it

leave my body and the party early
cry on the train playing Justin Vernon
such a long walk back to 30th

I have the dream again
I have the dream again
my ego dies at the end
it’s ego death

I live the dream I guess
still don’t know what it meant
who am I, I’ve lost the thread
my ego dies at the end

I lost the girl I was over a winter
I tried to cry for it
I could not cry for it
sank down to search the bottom of the river
I tried to die for it
I could not die for it

leave my body and the water early
dry baptism but it felt like burning
if I don’t write about it was it really worth it?

I have the dream again
I have the dream again
my ego dies at the end
it’s ego death
I live the dream I guess
still don’t know what it meant
who am I, I’ve lost the thread
my ego dies at the end

leave my body and my ego early
kill it kind with a surgeon’s mercy
claim I put it out of its misery

I have the dream again
I have the dream again
my ego dies at the end
it’s ego death

I live the dream I guess
still don’t know what it meant
who am I, I’ve lost the thread
my ego dies at the end

Jensen McRae - My Ego Dies At The End (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-11-17 | Stream my debut album "Are You Happy Now?": orcd.co/areyouhappynow

I think I lost something in the water
I tried to swim to it
I could not swim to it
drowned in a dream that should’ve made me stronger
I tried to swim through it
I could not swim through it

leave my body and the party early
cry on the train playing Justin Vernon
such a long walk back to 30th

I have the dream again
I have the dream again
my ego dies at the end
it’s ego death

I live the dream I guess
still don’t know what it meant
who am I, I’ve lost the thread
my ego dies at the end

I lost the girl I was over a winter
I tried to cry for it
I could not cry for it
sank down to search the bottom of the river
I tried to die for it
I could not die for it

leave my body and the water early
dry baptism but it felt like burning
if I don’t write about it was it really worth it?

I have the dream again
I have the dream again
my ego dies at the end
it’s ego death
I live the dream I guess
still don’t know what it meant
who am I, I’ve lost the thread
my ego dies at the end

leave my body and my ego early
kill it kind with a surgeon’s mercy
claim I put it out of its misery

I have the dream again
I have the dream again
my ego dies at the end
it’s ego death

I live the dream I guess
still don’t know what it meant
who am I, I’ve lost the thread
my ego dies at the end

Song Credits:
Acoustic guitar - Jensen McRae
Electric guitar - Keith Askey
Bass guitar - Chris Smith
Percussion (guiro, tambourine, djembe, shakers) - Rahki

Recording engineer: Rahki
Percussion recorded by Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Who Hurt You?: Behind The Scenes

Jensen McRae 2021-07-22 | An inside peek into the creative shoot for "Who You Hurt?"

Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': http://orcd.co/whohurtyou

Jensen McRae - Wolves (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-07-02 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou

LYRICS
I was 15, still in the valley
Walking in a parking garage
First time I met a wolf in person
At first I thought it was a dog
I tried to dodge him, he was faster
Than I’d ever had to be
He smiled and howled in the same moment
It knocked the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

I was 19, still fun at parties
He plied me with shot after shot
He assured me he was harmless
Why did I ever trust a fox
I ignored all of my teachings
How I survived I can’t believe
I almost let him get his claws in
Still knocks the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Saw a teenage girl on my street
Talking tall to one of them
Recognized him in an instant
Heard about him from my friends
Thank god women learned to whisper
But I crave a megaphone
That wolf said “it’s dangerous out there”
That wolf said “let me walk you home”

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Jensen McRae - Dead Girl Walking (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-07-01 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou

LYRICS:
grim is knocking
I’m a dead girl walking
always hits me hardest in stranger’s cars
aches in my body
like I stayed up boxing
I’m a dead girl walking but I’ve walked this far

hey, will you hit me where it hurts
I won’t feel anything otherwise
babe, I don’t know anything for sure
don’t think I’ll make it but I guess I might
is there any stopping what the illness causes
I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

world is watching
me, the dead girl walking
keep my ghosts from talking
and the mask won’t fall
friends come often
with their praise and problems
I’m a dead girl walking for a good time call

hey, will you hit me where it hurts
I won’t feel anything otherwise
babe, I don’t know anything for sure
don’t think I’ll make it but I guess I might
is there any stopping what the illness causes
I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

should enjoy it while I can walk
mouth full of blood like I just flossed
does the bleeding mean I’m still alive
you should see the other guy
you should see the other guy

hey, will you hit me where it hurts
I won’t feel anything otherwise
babe, I don’t know anything for sure
don’t think I’ll make it but I guess I might
is there any stopping what the illness causes
I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

Jensen McRae - Adam’s Ribs (Live from The City Of Angels) Pre-Premier Hangout

Jensen McRae 2021-06-29 | The EP has been out for a week and already I am giving you a gorgeous new surprise: a live performance of “Adam’s Ribs,” one of my new songs off my debut EP, “Who Hurt You?” It premieres RIGHT HERE - youtu.be/yeU-4sM9PyQ on Tuesday 6/29 at 11a PST !

In the meantime, stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': http://orcd.co/whohurtyou

Jensen McRae - Adams Ribs (Live from The City of Angels)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-29 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': http://orcd.co/whohurtyou

“Adam’s Ribs” is a rare song that isn’t about one person or experience in particular, but rather a record of a feeling, a pursuit of the explanation of a lifetime’s worth of unrequited love. I’m not a biblical person, but I find the allusions and imagery in the bible to be incredibly profound. The narrative of a love sprung from one’s own bones was too rich to pass up. This live performance is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done, and I hope it reminds you of every time you clung to love that didn’t cling back to you, how utterly hopeless and devastating that was, but also powerful, and how full of light.

Co Director / Creative Director / Production designer: Nicky Parks
Co Director / DP: Madeline Leach
Recording & Mixing Engineer: Stuart Schenk
Gaffer: Tristan Moffatt
Key Grip: Manchin Hsiang
Steadicam: Luke Rihl
1st AC/Loader: Matthew Borek
2nd AC: Amber Buchanan
Editor: Tom Felke
Colorist: Arianna Shining Star
Styling: Kat Typaldos
Styling Asst: Antonio Soto
HMU: Tara Segar
Producer: Amy Geist

Camera Package: Standard Camera
Film Development & Processing: Fotokem
Film Scanning: Origins Archival

LYRICS:
I tried to bargain
not to get thrown from the garden
too fast I fell to begging
have you ever lost heaven
feel like the product
of such a savage harvest
you break it makes me bloom
it’s like I’m made of you
it’s like I’m made of you

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

this heartbreak quietly
rewired me
my world is ending now
don’t tell me to calm down
this love letter begins
to Adam from your ribs
so-called intelligent design
without you I would die
without you I would die

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

the high is worth the bruise I’d still eat the fruit (x2)

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

claim me as your own

Jensen McRae - Immune (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-28 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou

LYRICS:
traffic from the east side got me aggravated
hotter than the day my brother graduated
wait for hours in the sun
in line at dodger stadium
I’m not scared of dogs
or getting vaccinated

lay the seat back, turn this place into a bed
someone’s smoking in the camry just ahead
yeah, I know the irony
would never be lost on me
you don’t have to point it out again

what will we say to each other
when the needle goes in
what will we be to each other
if the world doesn’t end

radio is static through the taylor song
think a college football game is coming on
god you hate top 40 shit
but as the sports preempted it
your mouth in my ear, you hummed along

what will we say to each other
when the needle goes in
what will we be to each other
if the world doesn’t end

think the nurse that gave our shots is judging us
can she tell that we just fucked the friendship up
as we leave, I turn to you
ask how it feels to be immune
and you know what I mean a bit too much

what will we say to each other
when the needle goes in
what will we be to each other
if the world doesn’t end

what will we say to each other
what will we be to each other

Jensen McRae - Starting To Get To You (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-25 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou

LYRICS
you’re tough, so what, I’ve learned to take a punch
you don’t break but I do - I’m starting to get to you

she took your crown but she can’t hurt you now
I will lay my weapons down, I will lay my weapons down

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

low light, few words, some porch on 23rd
you’re warm, that’s new, I’m starting to get to you

did we drink too much before this?
won’t know till it hits in the morning
loving you is habit forming
loving you is habit forming

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

Starting to, starting to, starting to get to you (x2)

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

Jensen McRae - White Boy (Visualizer 2.0)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-24 | Stream my debut Album 'Are You Happy Now?': orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
Now my hair smells like smoke
Something’s burning, I don’t know what it is
I won’t laugh at your dumbass jokes
white boy

I don’t owe you anything
I am learning not to sing for you
Your cage is not Maya Angelou’s
white boy

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed,
If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Passion play, almost biblical
White girl arrives, I turn invisible
I don’t like who I am to you
white boy

Trance state, you’re hypnotic
Twirl my hair, watch my voice jump the octave
I don’t like who I am for you
white boy

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed,
If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Instrumental

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed,
If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Jensen McRae - Adams Ribs (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-23 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou

LYRICS:
I tried to bargain
not to get thrown from the garden
too fast I fell to begging
have you ever lost heaven
feel like the product
of such a savage harvest
you break it makes me bloom
it’s like I’m made of you
it’s like I’m made of you

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

this heartbreak quietly
rewired me
my world is ending now
don’t tell me to calm down
this love letter begins
to Adam from your ribs
so-called intelligent design
without you I would die
without you I would die

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

the high is worth the bruise I’d still eat the fruit (x2)

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own
claim me as your own

Jensen McRae - Starting To Get To You (Official Music Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-22 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou
Listen to Starting To Get To You: orcd.co/starting-to-get-to-you

‘Starting To Get To You’ is a song I will always have a soft spot for, about a person I will always have a soft spot for. There is something so magical falling in love (or something close to it) with a friend, even if it’s only for a brief moment of time. This video seeks to capture the quiet chaos and warm, gentle magic of becoming infatuated with someone, and realizing that those feelings are slowly being reciprocated. I want you to feel like you’re in your room, on the other end of a breathless phone call, hearing that yes, it finally happened, your best friend has fallen again, but this time someone was there for the big catch.

Director: Elizabeth Archer
DP: Madeline Leach
Creative Direction: Nicky Parks
Gaffer: Junbai Zhou
Editor: Tom Felke
Color: Arianna Shining Star
Styling: Kat Typaldos
HMU: Julie Dinh

LYRICS
you’re tough, so what, I’ve learned to take a punch
you don’t break but I do - I’m starting to get to you

she took your crown but she can’t hurt you now
I will lay my weapons down, I will lay my weapons down

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

low light, few words, some porch on 23rd
you’re warm, that’s new, I’m starting to get to you

did we drink too much before this?
won’t know till it hits in the morning
loving you is habit forming
loving you is habit forming

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

Starting to, starting to, starting to get to you (x2)

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

Jensen McRae - Starting To Get To You (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-22 | Listen to my debut album 'Are You Happy Now?': orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
you’re tough, so what, I’ve learned to take a punch
you don’t break but I do
I’m starting to get to you

she took your crown
but she can’t hurt you now
I will lay my weapons down
I will lay my weapons down

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

low light, few words, some porch on 23rd
you’re warm, that’s new
I’m starting to get to you

did we drink too much before this?
won’t know till it hits in the morning
loving you is habit forming
loving you is habit forming

nah nah nah nah nah, I know you’re scared
but you l-l-loved me for a second there
look at what a heart can do
I’m starting to get to you

mm, mm, starting to get to you
mm, mm, starting to get to you

I’m starting to get to you (x2)

Song Credits:
Electric guitar - Jensen McRae
Additional electric guitar - Keith Askey
Bass - Rahki

Recording engineer: Rahki
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios (North Hollywood, CA)
Mix Engineer Robin Florent assisted by Chris Galland, Scott Desmarais and Jeremie Inhaber
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - White Boy (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-22 | Stream my debut album 'Are You Happy Now?': orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:

Now my hair smells like smoke
Something’s burning, I don’t know what it is
I won’t laugh at your dumbass jokes
white boy

I don’t owe you anything
I am learning not to sing for you
Your cage is not Maya Angelou’s
white boy

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed, If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Passion play, almost biblical
White girl arrives, I turn invisible
I don’t like who I am to you white boy

Trance state, you’re hypnotic
Twirl my hair, watch my voice jump the octave
I don’t like who I am for you white boy

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed, If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Instrumental

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed, If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Song Credits:
Acoustic guitar - Jensen McRae
Second acoustic Guitar - Keith Askey
Electric guitar - Mallory Hauser
Live drums - Rahki
Bass guitar - Rahki
Percussion (tambourine, shakers, congas) - Rahki
Cello - Doc Allison
Viola - Jeremy Jones

Recording engineer: Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Speakeasy Studios, Burbank, CA
Mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios (North Hollywood, CA)
Mix Assisted by Chris Galland, Robin Florent, Scott Desmarais and Jeremie Inhaber
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Dead Girl Walking (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-22 | Stream my debut album 'Are You Happy Now?': orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
grim is knocking
I’m a dead girl walking
always hits me hardest in stranger’s cars
aches in my body
like I stayed up boxing
I’m a dead girl walking but I’ve walked this far

hey, will you hit me where it hurts
I won’t feel anything otherwise
babe, I don’t know anything for sure
don’t think I’ll make it but I guess I might
is there any stopping what the illness causes
I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

world is watching
me, the dead girl walking
keep my ghosts from talking
and the mask won’t fall
friends come often
with their praise and problems
I’m a dead girl walking for a good time call

hey, will you hit me where it hurts
I won’t feel anything otherwise
babe, I don’t know anything for sure
don’t think I’ll make it but I guess I might
is there any stopping what the illness causes
I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

should enjoy it while I can walk
mouth full of blood like I just flossed
does the bleeding mean I’m still alive
you should see the other guy
you should see the other guy

hey, will you hit me where it hurts
I won’t feel anything otherwise
babe, I don’t know anything for sure
don’t think I’ll make it but I guess I might
is there any stopping what the illness causes
I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

I’m a dead girl walking
I’m a dead girl

Song Credits:
Electric guitar - Jensen McRae
Second electric guitar - Keith Askey
Additional electric guitar - Mallory Hauser
Bass guitar - Mackin Carroll
Drums - Cameron Lee
Percussion (tambourine, shaker) - Rahki
Grand piano - Sara Mulford
Organ - Sara Mulford
Viola - Jeremy Jones

Vocal engineer: Rahki
Vocals recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank
Live band engineer: Stuart Schenk
Live band recorded at Speakeasy Studios, Burbank, CA

Mixed By Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Adams Ribs (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-22 | Listen to my debut album 'Are You Happy Now?': orcd.co/areyouhappynow

LYRICS:
I tried to bargain
not to get thrown from the garden
too fast I fell to begging
have you ever lost heaven
feel like the product
of such a savage harvest
you break it makes me bloom
it’s like I’m made of you
it’s like I’m made of you

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

this heartbreak quietly
rewired me
my world is ending now
don’t tell me to calm down
this love letter begins
to Adam from your ribs
so-called intelligent design
without you I would die
without you I would die

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

the high is worth the bruise I’d still eat the fruit (x2)

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own

I can’t lose you yet
I refuse to let you go
loving you is in my bones
something’s gotta give
Adam, will you claim me as your own
claim me as your own

Song Credits:
Electric guitar - Jensen McRae
Cello - Doc Allison
Viola - Jeremy Jones

Recording engineer: Rahki
Recorded at Rahki’s Room, Pulse Burbank

Mixed by Tony Maserati
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae - Immune (Official Music Video)

Jensen McRae 2021-06-15 | Listen to my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou
Listen to "Immune": orcd.co/immune

This video looks and feels the way the song sounds—a little hopeful, a little colorful, tentative but still reaching. We went all around LA because LA is my home and because I have spent all of this pandemic in LA and because LA was absolutely battered by the virus in the winter but now, in the spring and early summer, it’s getting better every day, and everything about this song and this city feels like me: both irony and earnestness, slapstick romcom dramedy rolling like the wheels of a car that I’m trying my best to steer.

Director: Elizabeth Archer
DP: Madeline Leach
Creative Direction: Nicky Parks
Producers: Nicky Parks, Kristin Gregory, Armand Troy
Editor: Tom Felke
Color: Arianna Shining Star
Styling: Kat Typaldos
HMU: Julie Dinh

LYRICS
traffic from the east side got me aggravated
hotter than the day my brother graduated
wait for hours in the sun
in line at dodger stadium
I’m not scared of dogs
or getting vaccinated

lay the seat back, turn this place into a bed
someone’s smoking in the camry just ahead
yeah, I know the irony
would never be lost on me
you don’t have to point it out again

what will we say to each other
when the needle goes in
what will we be to each other
if the world doesn’t end

radio is static through the taylor song
think a college football game is coming on
god you hate top 40 shit
but as the sports preempted it
your mouth in my ear, you hummed along

what will we say to each other
when the needle goes in
what will we be to each other
if the world doesn’t end

think the nurse that gave our shots is judging us
can she tell that we just fucked the friendship up
as we leave, I turn to you
ask how it feels to be immune
and you know what I mean a bit too much

what will we say to each other
when the needle goes in
what will we be to each other
if the world doesn’t end

what will we say to each other
what will we be to each other

Jensen McRae - Wolves (Acoustic Version)

Jensen McRae 2021-02-24 | Wanted to give you all something to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of the release of my song 'Wolves'. To everyone who’s been here since the beginning thank you SO much for all you support, and to all the new friends and fam who just arrived I hope you enjoy! Thank you! Love you! Happy Trails!

Black Girl Culture - by Jensen McRae

Jensen McRae 2021-02-17 | “Black Girl Culture” is a poem I wrote about all the experiences that I have taken for granted as just a part of life growing up as a Black girl in America, but have now realized are more than that. There is a constant emotional labor and weighing of other people’s moods and expectations. It has made me weak just as often as it has made me strong. And the compulsion to perform who I am for other people is something I am trying to transfigure into a performance I do only for myself.

Jensen McRae - Immune (Visualizer)

Jensen McRae 2021-01-27 | A couple weeks ago I had this idea about the idea of the vaccination anthem. This pandemic has colored pop culture permanently, whether we like it or not. On the way to us, almost inevitably, are pandemic romcoms and pandemic novels and, in my case, pandemic songs. This song came about partly as a joke, a parody of one of my favorite songwriters of all time, Phoebe Bridgers, who specializes in dark, spare, precise lyrics about Our Unprecedented Times. My prediction about how Bridgers would tackle love in the time of vaccination—and an accompanying clip of the hypothetical song—took off on Twitter, so me and my producer, Rahki, decided to finish the song and turn it into something that sounds like me. It’s about how the emotional stakes of our relationships have been ratcheted up in light of global calamity, about hipsters and science and dogs and love. Enjoy.

25 Facts About Jensen McRae

Jensen McRae 2020-08-21 | here are some facts about me the human person

tweet - twitter.com/jensen_mcrae
gram - instagram.com/jensenmcrae
spotify - open.spotify.com/artist/11dABkjSoOjcP9p3TFSNRj?si=m0G4t9NfTXeYQpZS1DB4OQ

here are the vloggers I like
lindseyrem - youtube.com/lindseyrem
claudia sulewski - youtube.com/claudiasulewski
nayna florence - youtube.com/naynaflorence
moya mawhinney - youtube.com/moyamawhinney

Ive Written 6 Novels In 6 Years (not clickbait)

Jensen McRae 2020-08-17 | in which I answer questions from my instagram followers about how I write novels. lmk if I should vlog?? y/n

tweet - twitter.com/jensen_mcrae
gram - instagram.com/jensenmcrae
spotify - open.spotify.com/artist/11dABkjSoOjcP9p3TFSNRj?si=NzQ5SPZyRReezG1jPNrXIw

Jensen McRae - The Plague (Official Audio)

Jensen McRae 2020-03-30 | I wrote this song to cope. I wrote this song because last weekend after the virus had been declared a pandemic I started thinking about the history of this country and how bad it has been, how it feels worse now. me and my fellow americans are living in a country with an economic system that is quite literally debating whether or not the deaths of millions is a “good trade-off” in order to save the economy, as if the economy is not in fact a metaphor that is made up of people and their work, people that deserve time and support and free healthcare. I cried while recording this video because I was hit, all at once, with all the horrors I’ve watched unfold on the national stage since I was born. we will recover from this outbreak, but I sincerely hope that as we move forward, we focus on mutual aid, civic engagement, and most importantly: empathy. care. please please take care of each other, and of yourself. make choices that are driven by people rather than profit. please. and assuming we get an election in november, please vote.

Jensen McRae - The Plague (Original Video)

Jensen McRae - Wolves (Lyric Video)

Jensen McRae 2020-02-24 | Listen to my debut album "Are You Happy Now?": orcd.co/areyouhappynow
Subscribe to my channel: youtube.com/channel/UCZTnNKbAAoWx2eIQEfrvN1Q?

This visual is a sort of confessional. By writing the lyrics in a notebook, the song becomes a diary entry. The sharp cuts lend themselves to the raw, fragmented way that stories of sexual harassment and assault get told. And while I tend to write my lyrics digitally, I spend hours filling longhand journal pages with my feelings, so this is definitely a nod to that as well.

LYRICS

I was 15, still in the valley
Walking in a parking garage
First time I met a wolf in person
At first I thought it was a dog
I tried to dodge him, he was faster
Than I’d ever had to be
He smiled and howled in the same moment
It knocked the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

I was 19, still fun at parties
He plied me with shot after shot
He assured me he was harmless
Why did I ever trust a fox
I ignored all of my teachings
How I survived I can’t believe
I almost let him get his claws in
Still knocks the wind right out of me
And though I got away
I never walked the same

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Saw a teenage girl on my street
Talking tall to one of them
Recognized him in an instant
Heard about him from my friends
Thank god women learned to whisper
But I crave a megaphone
That wolf said “it’s dangerous out there”
That wolf said “let me walk you home”

Now I bury my smile and show no interest
Now I carry myself a little different
Now I avoid the woods
Now I know the wolves

Song Credits:
Electric guitar - Jensen McRae
Recording engineer: Stuart Schenk
Recorded at Speakeasy Studios, Burbank, CA

Mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios (North Hollywood, CA)
Mix Assisted by Chris Galland, Robin Florent, Scott Desmarais and Jeremie Inhaber
Mastered by Michelle Mancini, Demifugue Mastering at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood CA

Jensen McRae- Killing Me Softly [Cover]

Jensen McRae 2020-01-07 | don’t normally stretch myself this much vocally but after all the love I’ve been getting on these covers I decided to try somethin new!!! here’s my folk alt pop rendition of killing me softly!

Jensen McRae- White Boy: Behind The Scenes

Jensen McRae 2019-12-19 | Behind the scenes magic from my new music video 'White Boy.'

Watch the official video now: youtube.com/watch?v=P2RIbzcfe9c

Stream “White Boy” everywhere now: resources.lnk.to/WhiteBoy

Jensen McRae - White Boy (Official Video)

Jensen McRae 2019-12-12 | Stream my debut EP 'Who Hurt You?': orcd.co/whohurtyou
Listen to “White Boy” now: resources.lnk.to/WhiteBoy

“White Boy” is about a party I went to my junior year of college, where I felt completely and utterly invisible, but it's also about all the cultural issues I've grappled with my entire life--wondering whether I'm truly so different from my white peers and finding a way to be okay with it if I am. It’s about unpacking what I’m looking for from love, how I seek it out, and why.

Follow me on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/jensenmcrae
Twitter: twitter.com/jensen_mcrae?lang=en
Facebook: facebook.com/jensenmcraeofficial

Writer: Jensen McRae
Music Producer: Rahki
Video Director: Nikko Lamere
Video Producer(s): Shawnette Heard, Spittin Image
Cinematographer: Michael Greenwood
Makeup: Raoul Alejandre
Hair: Suzette Boozer
Male Lead: Christian Collins
Female Lead: Mattie Harris-Lowe
Female Dancer: Aisha Skye
Male Dancer: Brandon Beltran
Choreographer: King Chris

Lyrics:
Now my hair smells like smoke
Something’s burning, I don’t know what it is
I won’t laugh at your dumbass jokes
white boy

I don’t owe you anything
I am learning not to sing for you
Your cage is not Maya Angelou’s
white boy

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed,
If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Passion play, almost biblical
White girl arrives, I turn invisible
I don’t like who I am to you
white boy

Trance state, you’re hypnotic
Twirl my hair, watch my voice jump the octave
I don’t like who I am for you
white boy

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed,
If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Instrumental

But you’ve still got a grip on me
Sword to hilt, hand to God, bring me to my knees
If I stand down, if I bleed,
If I am what you ask me to be—
White boy, what will you make of me?

Jensen McRae- White Boy (Official Trailer)

Jensen McRae 2019-12-10 | Stream 'White Boy' everywhere now- resources.lnk.to/WhiteBoy

'White Boy' Official Video out now- youtube.com/watch?v=P2RIbzcfe9c&feature=emb_title

Follow me on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/jensenmcrae
Twitter: twitter.com/jensen_mcrae?lang=en
Facebook: facebook.com/jensenmcraeofficial