Q&A: Cody Lee Releases Debut Single “More to Say (Chris’ Song),” Opening Up About Love, Loss, and Finding His Voice
WRITTEN BY GUNNAR CIERLEY
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Melancholic, raw, and personal, OC-based rising singer-songwriter Cody Lee debuted his musical career with “More to Say (Chris’ Song)” in 2024. The release of the song marks Lee’s cathartic first studio release ahead of his promised forthcoming album.
With honest, deliberate lyrics and textured harmonies, Lee infuses the track with a longing disposition. The song serves as a tribute to Lee’s late father, with the song’s crescendo-style rise-and-fall instrumentation serving as a testament to the stages of grief. “More to Say” is a love letter to loss, and a promise to not only listeners, but Lee himself, that musical expression will be his lasting legacy.
In this interview, Lee divulges the creative process from initial draft to release, how his pain inspired his lyrics, what listeners can expect next, and more.
LIFE ON JUPITER: What inspired you to choose this as your debut single?
CODY LEE: I chose this track to debut my music career in a sense, because it does highlight a part in my life that was a huge turning point for me – becoming an adult and dealing with new problems. Completing it in general was a major accomplishment for me, considering the other problems I had going on in my life; I was at least able to finish this song.
What is the story that you're telling in this song?
LEE: “More to Say” is a song that I wrote for my dad after he passed away from liver cirrhosis in 2023. I wrote this song to help me grieve, in a sense, as I had a very complicated history with my father. I didn't see him until towards the end of his life. The emotional process I'm feeling while going through this track is the stages of grief, including sadness about the death of my father, as well as a kind of anger or frustration with the fact that, after I came in contact with him again, he just died. I'm angry about that. I'm guilty that I didn't make better connections myself, and I waited for other people to do it for me. I was regretful for the same reasons of not reaching out further… Angry about everything. I was angry at him for not being a father figure in my life until the very end. And then towards the end of the track, in the chorus, there's a major buildup to a belting part that I do that represents all of the emotions I feel throughout the track, all jumbled up together. And right at the tail end, it drops off into a soft acoustic guitar that's a good representation of the final stage in grieving, which is acceptance. Acceptance of his death, as well as our past, and who he is to me, in a sense.
This is a deeply personal reflection on your relationship with your father and his passing – are there any lyrics that drive that message home for you?
LEE: In the second line with the first verse, I said, I never had you to myself, now you're sitting on my shelf. This is a real-life example of feeling neglected or jealous for not seeing him. I was deprived of having him, and now he's in a little jar of ashes, sitting on my shelf, so that's real. I barely knew him, and I was just getting back in contact with him, so I was hoping to rekindle that kind of relationship. When I “get there someday,” meaning the afterlife, I also hope to see Bill, my grandfather on my mother's side, who wasn’t significant in my life either. I wish to know more about their story, so the line is about rekindling or learning about my family. I promise I'll keep my distance, and I'll think of the questions to ask means I promise I won't go into the afterlife right away. I'm going to take my time, and I'm going to live a life until I get there. In the final chorus, I added the lyrics but only for one final time. And doing that, I signified that I will no longer be distancing myself from him, that I have given up that mindset of betrayal and anger towards him, and I wish to create a new relationship with him. Once I reach that, whatever the afterlife would be with him, I would create a better relationship and no longer have a separate life from him at that point.
What instruments are involved in the track, and how did you approach the production?
LEE: Acoustic guitar carries the main rhythm. There’s a cool little bassline, drums, some layered backing vocals, and a mandolin that comes in sparingly throughout the song. That mandolin was a stylistic choice. These are all instruments that I enjoy – I like writing music like this. The mandolin, for example, was an instrument I learned or picked up how to play while writing this song, after listening to “Going to California” by Led Zeppelin for the first time. It has such a unique sound, and I think it contrasts with the rest of the instrumentation really well. Normally, you'd put a lead guitar, maybe a piano part in that kind of spot, and switching it to the mandolin was a stylistic choice that I think was the right call.
Tell me about the songwriting process. How did the song evolve?
LEE: I had a lot of writing blocks that I encountered throughout writing this song because this was the first full song I've ever written. I've written little bits and pieces of other songs in the past, but I've never finished writing a complete song before, at least lyrically. My engineer and producer, Indigo Lopez, was a keen participant and was a vital part of the writing of the lyrics. He would help me switch up words to make them more, make them have a better flow, lyrically, in terms of music. He would give good ideas on melodies to switch up to. He was very helpful. He helped write the entire bass part because I'm not a bass player.
How was it being in the studio for the first time as a new solo artist?
LEE: It's very overwhelming at times, not only for me, but for Indigo, because all the songs were recorded after the fact – all the instruments were not recorded at the same time. They were all recorded after one another because it was only him and me. He recorded the bass part. I did all the other instruments. So it was very overwhelming to have to listen back to all these instruments and touch up things and just make sure everything sounds correct, make sure everything is on tempo. It's very hard to listen back to an instrument that's not there. So it was a taxing process, but to complete it was very, very rewarding. I also basically taught myself how to sing in these sessions – before “More to Say,” I didn’t have any confidence in my voice, but now I feel more confident with the sound of my voice. That was something that this song helped me conquer.
How did other bands or artists influence your sound?
LEE: An artist who helped me in my creative process is Evan Steven Hall, the lead singer of Pinegrove, who played a very pivotal role in my writing process. His sound overall, his sound overall is really good, and I feel a strong connection to it. His writing process is very emotional and earnest. Another artist that I very heavily relate to, and relate to my artistic style, is Thom Yorke from Radiohead. In my upcoming album, some songs have a similar melodic vocal melody to that of Radiohead or Thom Yorke’s singing style.
Have you done any live performances of the track?
LEE: I have done two live performances of this single, one at an open mic down in Mission Viejo, as well as an open mic in Fullerton at the Night Owl. I'd like to do more of those open mics, but my biggest hindrance right now as a solo artist is the lack of a band – I'm looking for band members to play instruments and to work on my album with me to make the process a little bit easier.
What does this single represent for you going forward with your music?
LEE: This single is a promise that I've made to myself to continue making music, no matter what sort of career path I end up on. I try to always make music or play music. My goal is to have an album soon. I don't want to put a deadline because I've set deadlines that have not been met before; however, I can say there is a full album coming soon with “More to Say” as one of the tracks and many others that are finished writing.
How do you hope listeners will connect to the song, and have you had any memorable reactions so far?
LEE: Yeah, I've had some. I hope that they like it, I hope that they enjoy it, and I hope that they can connect to it emotionally. If they have had a similar experience, I hope that they listen back to it and think about loved ones who have passed. I've had some positive feedback in the past about it from plenty of family members who are close with my dad, who remember him. They have trouble listening to the song because it brings them to tears. I feel like everybody on the planet can relate to this song, because grief is universal – everyone has experienced loss of some kind. Everyone has experienced the regret of not saying more. It's cool to have somebody be interested in a piece of art that I've created. I’m very grateful to be able to share it with a larger audience. This is going to be a fun process, and I’m excited to see how this goes.