Jessica Walker has released her latest single as a songwriter, a track featuring and cowritten with Josiah Prince of Disciple. The song is premiering exclusively here on Rock On Purpose, and you can listen to it below. “You Can’t Control Me” is now available on bandcamp.
The song features aggressive vocals and guitars from Josiah Prince alongside lyrics that fight against the limitations negative influences might try to enact in our lives. “I often find some personal healing when I am able to put my feelings to words,” Jessica shares. “The lyrics to ‘You Can’t Control Me’ really started out as me allowing myself to be fully vulnerable on paper.”
“In my early teen years, I was bullied by an adult,” the songwriter continues. “For a long time, rather than identify it for what it was, I would get upset with myself and wonder why I was being so sensitive– and that, of course, would just make me feel worse. Writing ‘You Can’t Control Me,’ I looked back at what happened to me and thought you know what? That was NOT okay. Let’s stop minimizing it and trying to justify it. I began to identify the ramifications of it in my life, and as I wrote, the song expanded to be about how negative voices in general affect us. Maybe that voice’s name is Anxiety or Depression. It became important to me that this song encompass both the hurt and the healing, as well as the still-present struggle.”
In the past, Jessica has been known for her YouTube piano covers as Gotchu Covered, for her other original songs (listen to a full playlist), and as a contributing writer for Rock On Purpose. She has been sharpening her songwriting skills by working with Josiah Prince, producer, songwriter, and Disciple guitarist. “I wrote the lyrics first, then within a day or two the majority of the music (in addition to piano, I also play some guitar). It came pretty naturally. I showed it to my songwriting teacher, Josiah Prince, and during one of our sessions we finalized some of the heavier guitar parts and such,” Jessica recalls. “Josiah did full studio production, and I am thrilled with the end product. He is extremely talented, and I am very grateful that he was so on board with recording this song!”
For Jessica, writing this kind of song was a natural extension of the creative process of arranging piano covers of rock songs: “I always want to challenge myself to think a bit outside the box, while still creating an end result that I am comfortable with sharing and personally enjoy.”
Although “You Can’t Control Me” is the first song of this kind that Jessica has released, it won’t be the last. It’s the first step in fulfilling what feels like a calling for her, a call to offer her songwriting skills to other artists. “My hope is that God would use my songs for His glory, and that they might make an impact in peoples’ lives,” Jessica concludes. “I think of songs by artists like Skillet, Disciple, Thousand Foot Krutch, and Seventh Day Slumber that have made such a difference in my life… and the idea that maybe God could use something I write to be the exact song that someone needs to hear, is incredible. That is my prayer.”
You can follow Jessica on YouTube, or keep up with her on Instagram.
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