Hold Back the Stars: Zolie’s song
In October 2018, Zolie – a 17-year-old self-taught, singer-songwriter from Hong Kong – emailed me to say she’d written a song for Max and Carys from my novel Hold Back the Stars.
I was blown away. It’s so beautiful!
Zolie said in her email:
I was halfway through the book – I think it was around the time when Max and Carys had 52 minutes of oxygen supply left, and it struck me that I should write a song about this love story […] So I sat myself down and I started writing the song, and before I knew it, I was finishing it up without even reading till the ending. I figured that the ending could either be a happy or a tragic one, and I decided to take it to my own hands and wrote a song with a happy ending. I was really proud of how it turned out because I love how writing songs allows me to capture stories as such, and allows me to contribute my own ideas into it.
Zolie has been writing her own songs for 2 years. I can’t believe she’s only 17 – that voice! You can listen to the song here, and her lyrics are below.
I am frequently amazed by the teenage girls who email me about my books. They blow me away with their questions, creativity and talent. Here’s to every girl out there creating magic – I can’t wait for the world to hear you.
Hold Back the Stars
In the shadow of the moon lie the stars
The enchanting snow-white milky way
But all l I see, in front of me
Is a distant fantasy
that you and me, Max and Carys, could defy gravity
You strolled into my daydream
Told me that you’d break those rules for me
Be my white knight and save me every time
If this is our last night before the end to us
Please don’t let me go, please take me home
CHORUS
For you I’d Hold Back the Stars
Swear by the stardust in our hearts
90 minutes will never be enough
so when the galaxy fades
And constellations start to change
you’ll rearrange, re-navigate the way
While I hold back the stars
Flashback to the magic
To our secret love affair
To the first time we met in September air
on top of the Aurora
beneath a thousand stars
we slow danced bathed in Saturn Light
For the last time
CHORUS
Feet off the ground
heart drumming loud
We’ll make it out of this somehow
Wonderstruck, and panic much
but listen to these coral lips, hear me out
Let’s Hold Back the Stars
home can’t be that far
see those fireworks tearing through the clouds
So when the galaxy paints
A sky of purple blue and pink
Thats when we’ve made it back to the ground
No longer crying, but safe and sound
Because we held back the stars
You can listen to the song in full above.
Follow Zolie on instagram: @zoliechan