IMC Listening guide

Best weather to enjoy this song

Rainy day

Best time to listen

Dusk reflections

Best place to listen

At home, Before bedtime

Does this song haunt the silence?

Melody lingers

Goosebumps scale

Maximum goosebumps

Our thoughts

After "We'll See" in August 2023, Hope DeLuca is back on Indie Music Center with a highly emotional song!

Hope DeLuca doesn’t yell to be heard. She never did. She just drops one line, and you’re stuck with it for the rest of the day. “You’re the right person, it’s just the wrong life.” That’s not flashy. Not poetic for the sake of it. It’s just devastatingly true.

Hope is in her twenties, but she writes like someone who has already packed up and left a few important things behind. This stripped version of words i choose is exactly what it says on the label. No decoration. No padding. Just the essentials. A voice, a few chords, and that quiet space where real things live.

The song doesn’t beg for attention. It follows the slow shape of a goodbye. Not the dramatic kind. The one you whisper because shouting won’t change anything.

She sings about getting everything she ever wanted. Writing songs. Playing shows. Living her dream. But the person she loves won’t be there for it. They’re staying behind, building a life she won’t be part of.

She knows she’ll see it anyway. In photos. A wedding. A couple of kids. A house somewhere in New England. The love is real, but it doesn’t fit. Not in the story she chose. And maybe that’s the worst part: not losing someone, but realizing you have to leave even if you love them.

“I will mourn the world where this was almost mine.” No metaphor needed. Just that.

Hope is based in Boston. She writes and produces her music herself. She doesn’t overdo it. She doesn’t try to sound like anyone. And that’s exactly why she sounds like someone you believe.

This isn’t playlist material. It’s not built for algorithms. It’s the kind of song that stays with you when nothing else does. And honestly, that’s enough.

Hope DeLuca's take on "words i choose - stripped"

I wrote ‘words i choose’ a couple of years ago when I was wrapping up my last EP. I always had two versions in mind – the fun, upbeat, folky version, & the slower stripped-down version. I thought I would be releasing the stripped-down version a year ago, but life had other plans (as it does), & I had to take a step back from music for my own physical & mental health. Somewhere along the way, I also lost confidence in my ability to write, produce, perform, & release music. Releasing this version was just going to be a small thing, and then, once everything fell through, I thought I wouldn’t release it altogether. I rediscovered it while sorting through songs for the next project (!!) & its meaning changed entirely for me. It has served as a reminder to me that this is what I chose – writing songs, playing shows, producing – over everything else. This song, & this version mean a lot to me, & while I would never have expected to release a second version of a song a year & a half later, something about it feels right. I hope that you love it just as much as I do.

A bit more about Hope DeLuca

Hope DeLuca is a 20 year old singer-songwriter/producer currently based out of Boston, MA. Weaving indie-folk lyricism with handcrafted production, DeLuca's music focuses on storytelling, reminiscent of artists like Lizzy McAlpine, Taylor Swift, and Gracie Abrams. Her debut album is set for release in 2023.

Reach out to Hope DeLuca

Lyrics

I'm getting paid to play a show in new york
I'm writing songs, and in July i'll be on tour
these are the things i wanted when i was kid
and i still want them now; at least, i'm pretty sure

i always dreamed i'd have someone to share it with
their face turned into yours after a little bit
i love that i can shape my words around a note
but i hate the way they fit when we still don't

i would trade this all for you if you just asked me to

i know the life i almost lived all too well
i see it in my dreams and nightmares, i can tell
maybe i'd be happier, more comfortable
but i'd feel the restless aching in my bones

and so i chose the lonely life out on the road
i'm stopping in your town tonight, you are front row
i sing the songs about you so reluctantly
we'll talk about it later, then i'll leave

cause i can't trade this all for you, please don’t ask me to
watch me go, and please just know it hurts to have to lose

i will watch your wedding through the photographs you post online
i will watch you raise your kids in the new england countryside
the rolling hills, the summertime
i will mourn the world where this was almost mine
you're the right person, its just the wrong life

i cant trade this all for you
and you won't ask me to
it still aches, i wish you'd beg, but nobody knows me like you do
so you will watch me go, because you know it's good and right and true
you'll move on and i'll be gone
But you’re in the words I choose

-------------------------

If you enjoyed this song, consider supporting the artist directly on platforms like Bandcamp, Patreon, and Twitch whenever possible. Streaming services are great for discovery, but they rarely provide fair compensation for musicians. Every purchase makes a difference! And if you enjoyed this article, feel free to support Indie Music Center with a donation.