"Speed Limit" Original Song by Boyce Avenue

  Since I can't seem to find a picture with all three of them looking 

at the camera, I chose one with none of them looking at the camera.

Hey, JUKEBOXERS!! It's Jewel with another original song. This week, I've got a Boyce Avenue original.

As you know, the Original Song Series is a series of reviews on original songs by the cover artists I've previously reviewed. So you can click here to check out my first review on Boyce Avenue's cover collab with Diamond White of "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.

The three brothers are indeed talented, but something about this song just did not meet my expectations. For my readers, I'll let you in on a little secret: I (usually) write my reviews on songs and covers that I've just listened to for the very first time. Most of my reviews are actually written as I'm listening for the first time, so my posts are generally my first reactions. Of course, I listen to the songs on repeat as I write my posts, which could be a good or a bad thing for a song because sometimes repeating a song makes me like it and sometimes it just makes me wonder why I liked it the first time around. Anyway, the first time I listened to the song, I felt that it's tempo was just, for lack of a better word, "laggy". I was expecting a song that made me want to go 100 miles per hour on the freeway because of the title. As I listened to it again, I realized the tempo is actually alright, but it still doesn't sit well with me.

As for the lyrics, there's also something that doesn't sit well with me, but when I listened more carefully (meaning, when I looked them up), I found something much deeper. But, I'll do "bad news first". In my opinion, they just don't seem to flow the way a song's lyrics should flow (yes, that's the only reason they don't sit well with me). Once again, this is a song about love. However, it is also about going out there, opening yourself up to the possibility of being hurt, but also to the possibility of finding love and happiness, and lastly, taking a chance on love. I applaud the lines, "Behind your walls I fell for the girl in pain, oh/So all along your struggles were not in vain, oh". These lines just make this song seem hopeful and show the listener that there is someone out there who is worth the struggle. These lines convey the sad truth about love - it hurts. They speak on how everyone's been hurt, but they also ask for a chance because the struggle of finding a lasting love is definitely something worth the wait. Since this song has managed to meet my "bonus" expectations (read my expectations here), I'll give the lyrics a 4.

The vocals were great!! I could hear his natural voice, just like in their acoustic sessions. Speaking of their acoustic sessions, I'll put their acoustic recording of "Speed Limit" below. For those of you who've been reading my reviews, you know I'm a sucker for the natural, raw sounds, and that I don't really appreciate "over-production". So you can already probably guess how I feel about the acoustic version. Back to the original... I adore how this song was just voice, drums, and guitars. And the fact that they didn't cover their beautiful voices with too many effects is just the cherry on top.

My first impression of this song was pretty bad, but as I continued listening, I grew to love this song. But since it didn't win me over the first time, I can't give it a rating of anything higher than a 3. I'd give the acoustic a 5, though.

Here is Boyce Avenue's official music video of "Speed Limit":

And here is their acoustic recording:

Can't forget the lyrics!!

All your life you’ve tried to fill a void, oh
Fake a smile but couldn’t find the joy, no
They slow you down just to make sure you fit in, oh
But they were wrong cause I wouldn’t change a thing, no

If you want somebody to love you
You know I will
If you want somebody to need you
You know I will

So baby, get up
Come on, get in the fast lane
You are the one
That’s got a hold on me
I say we got to live our lives
Yeah with no speed limit

Get up, come on
You make my heart race
You are the one
That keeps the pace I need
I say we got to live our lives
Yeah with no speed limit
With no speed limit

Behind your walls I fell for the girl in pain, oh
So all along your struggles were not in vain, oh

If you want somebody to love you
You know I will
If you want somebody to need you
I always will

So baby, get up
Come on, get in the fast lane
You are the one
That’s got a hold on me
I say we got to live our lives
Yeah with no speed limit

Get up, come on
You make my heart race
You are the one
That keeps the pace I need
I say we got to live our lives
Yeah with no speed limit
(If you want somebody and need somebody to love)
There’s no limit, oh
There’s no limit
(If you want somebody and need somebody to love)
There’s no limit, oh
There’s no speed limit

There’s no speed limit… yeah

Get up
Come on, get in the fast lane
You are the one
That’s got a hold on me
I say we got to live our lives
Yeah with no speed limit

Get up, come on
You make my heart race
You are the one
That keeps the pace I need
I say we got to live our lives
Yeah with no speed limit
With no speed limit
No speed limit

Rating: 3 RECORDS

Photo: BoyceAvenue.com