You’re My

02 / Know

Know the Story

Kenny could make the whole room feel chosen.

The song grew from my memory of Kenny performing Top Notch’s Dream Come True, my admiration for economical 1970s songwriting and my attempt to say something complete to Sharna with as few words as possible.

A few words can still fill the room.

From a Top Notch memory to my own song

Like every glam-rock band worth remembering, Top Notch had a power ballad. Theirs was called Dream Come True. I can still see Kenny reaching that part of the song onstage. Instead of choosing one ‘lucky’ woman in the audience, he pointed to as many people as he could: ‘You’re my, you’re my, you’re—and you’re my dream come true!’

That was Kenny. He was a master front man because he understood that the audience was not scenery. He could make a whole room feel seen, one person at a time. If I ever recreate another Top Notch song after She’s All Talk, their Dream Come True would be the one.

But this is not that recreation. With the title now stuck in my head, I wanted to try a different writing exercise. I thought about the great songs of the 1970s and the way someone like Bill Withers could use repetition without wasting a word. I wanted to see how few words I could use while still writing a complete song—with a verse, chorus, bridge and pre-chorus all doing their jobs.

Naturally, it became another love song for Sharna. I did not need to explain our entire life again. The challenge was to leave only the words that carried the feeling and trust the arrangement, repetition and performance to do the rest.

That experiment produced two released versions. You’re My is the larger big-band and vintage-showband ride. Dream Come True takes the same compact song into pure Soul. The words and dedication remain connected; the music changes the way they arrive.

One day I may return to the original Top Notch power ballad and rebuild it with a MarTinman twist. For now, this is You’re My: my own song, born from the memory of a great front man and written directly to the woman who is still my dream come true.

03 / Feel

Feel the Soul

What I want you to feel

A master performer can make everyone feel that the song belongs to them. A lasting love gives you the one person you still mean every time you sing it.