01 · The beginning
It started when I was ten.
At ten, something happened that I still cannot fully explain. Years later, it found its way into the music.
Singer. Songwriter. Aston River.
Love, distance, and starting over.
I’ve lived it. These are the songs I wrote along the way.
The archive · 88 songs
Tap a cover to listen. The lyrics and story are one tap away.
No songs match this search.
Words you might recognize
Some things are easier to put in a song.
Here’s what I was trying to say.
The person in the songs

That’s me at ten, from a real photograph. The grown-up is an AI version of me in the future. Between that photograph and today came love, distance, poetry and songs that stayed with me. That story became Aston River.
Read my story ↗Personal charts
Aston River's own ranking, with personal selections from his daughter, his best friend and the curator.
Beyond the music
Take your time here.
The music can wait a moment.
From the original pages
I’ve kept the pages these songs began on. Some became music years later. Others are still waiting for me to finish them.
How it all began ↗
For film, TV and artists
Producers, directors, music supervisors and streaming teams are invited to explore the catalog for film, television, series, trailers and campaigns. Artists who want to record an Aston River song can get in touch as well. If a song fits your project, ask about licensing, recording permission, stems and availability.
This Legal Center explains how the Aston River website, song previews, future downloads, licensing inquiries and related services work. It is written for a United States first launch. The final document contains additional information for visitors in the European Union and United Kingdom.
The website presents music, lyrics, stories and previews. The Aston River Club supports accounts, favorites, playlists and full-song streaming through an invitation or membership. A Stripe test checkout is active and cannot create a real charge. Newsletters, advertising technology and nonessential cookies are not active.
Aston River is an independent artist project and stage name. Aston River operates this website and presents the music, lyrics, artwork, stories and artist information made available here.
Aston River
music@astonriver.com
There is no public office, retail location or customer-facing studio. Contact is handled electronically. No social media account should be treated as an official contact channel unless it is later linked directly from this website.
The Aston River Club currently uses Stripe's test checkout to verify a $7.99 monthly streaming membership. Test checkout cannot create a real charge. Before live billing begins, checkout will identify the recurring price, renewal frequency, payment obligation and cancellation method before an order is submitted.
Questions about this website, song credits, rights, licensing or legal notices may be sent to the email address above. Nothing on this page identifies Aston River as a corporation, record label, publisher, collecting society, law firm or licensed professional service.
These Terms of Use govern access to astonriver.com and any page, player, preview, text, image, download or service made available through it. By using the website, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the website.
The website is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. You must be at least 13 to use interactive features and at least 18, or the age of legal majority where you live, to make a purchase or enter a license agreement. A parent or legal guardian must complete a transaction for a minor.
Aston River grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive and nontransferable permission to access the website for personal, lawful use. This permission does not transfer ownership of any song, recording, composition, lyric, artwork, story, brand asset, data or software.
Song order, previews, artwork, credits, release status and site features may change. Aston River may correct errors, remove material, limit access or discontinue a feature without guaranteeing continuous availability. Purchased rights already granted in a completed order remain subject to the terms accepted with that order.
Future distribution, payment, streaming or social links may lead to independent services. Their terms and privacy practices apply to their systems. A link does not make Aston River responsible for an outside service, and an outside listing does not alter the rights stated in the Aston River song credits.
The website is provided on an "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Aston River disclaims implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and noninfringement. This does not exclude a warranty or consumer right that applicable law does not allow to be waived.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Aston River will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, lost profits, lost data or business interruption arising from use of the website. For a paid consumer transaction, aggregate liability relating to that transaction will not exceed the amount paid for the affected product, except where law requires a different remedy or limit.
Before filing a claim, contact music@astonriver.com and allow 30 days for an informal response. No mandatory arbitration clause or class action waiver is created by these terms. Unless a checkout or signed license states a valid governing law and forum, applicable law and a court with lawful jurisdiction control. Mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected.
Updated terms apply prospectively from the effective date shown in this Legal Center. Material changes to an active paid relationship will be communicated through a reasonable channel where required. Continued browsing does not replace affirmative consent when law requires it.
This Privacy Policy explains personal information handled through the Aston River website and direct email contact. Aston River aims to collect only what is needed to operate the site, answer messages, complete transactions when enabled and protect the catalog.
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Contact information | Email address, display name and message content you send | Respond to inquiries, licensing requests, support and rights notices |
| Club account information | Email address, favorites, playlists and invitation or membership access | Maintain the Club account and provide the requested music library |
| Transaction information | Membership, price, currency, order identifier, tax status and access status | Complete and document membership purchases |
| Payment information | Payment token, card type and limited billing details supplied by a processor | Process payment, refunds, disputes and fraud checks. Aston River does not intend to store full card numbers |
| Technical information | IP address, browser, device, requested page, timestamp, referrer and security logs | Deliver the site, maintain security, diagnose errors and prevent abuse |
| Preference information | Cookie choices or account preferences if those functions are later enabled | Remember choices and provide requested features |
Information may come directly from you, automatically from the hosting and security infrastructure when you request a page, or from a payment, distribution or delivery provider you choose to use. The Aston River Club collects an email address when a listener creates an account. Stripe receives payment and billing information when a listener opens or manages a membership checkout. The current checkout is in test mode and cannot create a real charge. The site has no newsletter signup.
The website is hosted through GoDaddy web hosting infrastructure, with North America selected as the primary data center region. GoDaddy and service providers supporting its infrastructure may process IP addresses, request details, device and browser information, timestamps and security logs as needed to deliver and protect the website. Their processing is also governed by the applicable GoDaddy privacy terms.
Information may be disclosed to hosting, security, email, payment, tax, accounting, digital delivery, distribution and professional advisers only as reasonably needed for their role. Information may also be disclosed to comply with law, protect rights, investigate fraud, respond to an emergency or support a business transfer. Providers may process information under their own policies when they act independently.
Aston River does not currently sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. The website does not currently use behavioral advertising technology. If that changes, this policy and any required opt-out control will be updated before the practice begins.
Club account information is retained while the account remains active or until deletion is requested, subject to security and legal needs. Contact messages are retained while the conversation or rights issue remains active and for a reasonable record period afterward. Transaction and tax records may be retained for the period required by law. Security logs are kept only as long as reasonably needed for operation, investigation and defense. Information is deleted or deidentified when it is no longer needed, unless a legal obligation, dispute or rights record requires retention.
Reasonable administrative and technical safeguards are used in proportion to the information handled. No online system can promise absolute security. Do not send passwords, government identifiers, full payment card numbers, medical records or other sensitive information by ordinary email.
The site is not directed to children under 13, and Aston River does not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13. If you believe a child supplied information, contact Aston River so it can be reviewed and deleted where appropriate.
You may request access, correction or deletion of personal information, or object to certain use, by emailing music@astonriver.com with the subject "Privacy Request." Aston River may verify the request using information already available and may retain information where legally permitted or required. Authorized agents may act where law permits, subject to proof of authority.
The website may be accessed internationally. Information may be processed where Aston River or a service provider operates. The EU and UK Addendum below describes additional terms for those regions.
This notice supplements the Privacy Policy for residents of U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws. A law may apply only after legal thresholds are met. Aston River will honor rights required by applicable law and may voluntarily honor a reasonable request even when a threshold is not met.
The categories described in the Privacy Policy may include identifiers, commercial information, internet or electronic activity and inferences limited to preferences expressed through site use or direct contact. These categories are collected from you, your browser, service providers or transaction partners for operation, security, support, delivery, accounting and rights management.
Aston River does not currently sell these categories, share them for cross-context behavioral advertising, use them for targeted advertising or use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics. Personal information may be disclosed for business purposes to the service-provider categories named in the Privacy Policy.
Email music@astonriver.com with the subject "U.S. Privacy Request" and describe the right you wish to exercise. Aston River may request information reasonably necessary to match the request to an existing record. Do not send identity documents unless a secure method is specifically provided. An authorized agent may be required to show signed authorization, and direct confirmation may be requested from the consumer.
If a request is denied, reply with the subject "Privacy Appeal" within 60 days. The decision will be reviewed and a written explanation will be provided, including information about contacting a state regulator where applicable.
Where legally required, a recognized Global Privacy Control signal will be treated as an opt-out request for the browser or device sending it. Because Aston River does not currently sell or share personal information for targeted advertising, the signal does not change the current experience. Other "Do Not Track" signals do not have a uniform legal standard and may not be acted on.
California residents may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information collected, sources, purposes, categories of recipients, correction, deletion and portability, subject to exceptions. Aston River does not offer a financial incentive for personal information and does not knowingly sell or share personal information of consumers under 16.
The Aston River Club uses one strictly necessary sign-in cookie after a listener signs in. The website does not intentionally set advertising, analytics or other nonessential cookies. Song playback, search, sliders and legal navigation do not create a marketing profile.
The Club sign-in cookie can remain on the device for up to one year so the listener stays signed in. It is limited to the Club, unavailable to browser scripts and used only to find the server-side account session. Hosting and security providers may use technical identifiers required to deliver a request, prevent abuse and preserve a secure session. Stripe may also use technical identifiers needed to secure checkout, prevent fraud, preserve a payment session or manage billing.
If analytics, embedded media, personalization or advertising technology is introduced, this notice will identify the provider, purpose and duration. A consent control will be added before nonessential technologies are activated where consent is required. Rejecting a nonessential category will not block basic access to the catalog.
You may block or delete cookies through your browser. Blocking strictly necessary technology may prevent secure checkout, account access or another requested function from working. The absence of a cookie banner currently means that Aston River has not intentionally activated optional cookie categories, not that every hosting request is free of all technical logs.
These Terms of Sale govern Aston River Club memberships and any later purchase function for digital music, bundles, albums, licenses or related products.
Before payment, checkout will identify the product, included files or access, license scope, price, currency, tax or fees, delivery method and any material compatibility limits. Review the final order screen. Submitting an order through a button clearly associated with payment constitutes an offer to purchase and acceptance of the terms linked at checkout.
When live billing is enabled, the Aston River Club costs $7.99 per month in U.S. dollars. It provides full-song streaming, favorites and personal playlists while the membership remains active. Downloads are not included. The membership renews monthly until canceled. Cancellation is available through the account's Stripe billing portal and takes effect at the end of the paid period. Access continues through that period.
An automated receipt confirms that the order was received, not necessarily that it was accepted. Acceptance occurs when payment is approved and a delivery confirmation or license confirmation is issued. Aston River may reject or cancel an order for pricing error, rights conflict, fraud concern, territorial restriction, technical impossibility or legal requirement. An amount collected for a rejected order will be returned.
Prices are shown in the currency stated at checkout, expected to be U.S. dollars for the United States launch. Applicable sales, use, value-added or similar tax may be added or collected by the payment or marketplace provider. Your bank may charge conversion or processing fees that are not controlled by Aston River.
Membership payments are processed by Stripe. You authorize Stripe to charge the displayed amount and confirm that you are permitted to use the selected payment method. Aston River does not receive or store complete payment card credentials.
Digital delivery may occur through an on-screen link, email, account library or third-party platform. You are responsible for supplying a valid email address, keeping the confirmation and downloading within any clearly disclosed availability period. Contact Aston River if a paid file is not delivered.
The Aston River Club is a monthly subscription. Checkout will clearly identify the amount, billing interval, automatic renewal and cancellation method before the subscription is submitted. A later one-time music purchase will not create a subscription unless checkout clearly states otherwise.
A standard retail download carries only the personal-use license stated in the Music Rights and Licensing notice. A synchronization, master-use, commercial, advertising, film, game, broadcast, venue, remix, sample, stem or other professional license requires a separate written agreement.
Aston River may correct a genuine price, description or availability error before acceptance. If the error is discovered after acceptance and materially affects the order, you may choose the corrected transaction or receive a refund for the affected item. Catalog availability can change because rights, distribution or territorial terms change.
You may not purchase or use products where prohibited by U.S. sanctions, export controls or other applicable trade restrictions. You represent that you are not using the transaction to evade a legal restriction.
Music files and digital bundles are delivered electronically and can ordinarily be copied once access is provided. Except where law requires otherwise, a completed digital order is final after the download, access link or stream has been supplied.
Cancellation stops future renewals and does not ordinarily create a refund for a partial billing period. Access continues through the paid period. This does not limit any refund or cancellation right required by applicable law, or correction of a duplicate, unauthorized or erroneous charge.
Contact music@astonriver.com within 14 days of purchase if you were charged twice, received the wrong item, cannot access the item because of an Aston River delivery failure, or received a corrupted file that cannot be replaced. Include the order identifier and a concise description. Do not email full card details.
If the issue is confirmed, Aston River may replace the file, restore access, correct the order or refund the affected amount. A change of mind, dislike of the music, failure to review a preview, incompatible equipment not contrary to disclosed requirements or use outside the license is not ordinarily a refund basis under the U.S. policy.
Please contact Aston River before initiating a payment dispute so a delivery or duplicate-charge problem can be investigated. This request does not remove any right to dispute an unauthorized or invalid charge under applicable law.
File format, approximate size and material compatibility information will be shown before purchase where relevant. You are responsible for maintaining a compatible device, software and backup after successful delivery. Aston River may place reasonable limits on repeated link generation to prevent unauthorized distribution.
Mandatory withdrawal and conformity rights described in the EU and UK Addendum override this policy where they apply. Immediate digital delivery to an EU or UK consumer will not begin until any legally required express consent and acknowledgment concerning the withdrawal right are obtained.
A song may involve separate rights in the underlying musical composition, lyrics, sound recording, artwork and audiovisual material. The credits and written agreements applicable to a particular song control ownership. Nothing in this notice changes a co-writer's, producer's, performer's or other rightsholder's valid rights.
Aston River retains all rights he holds in his original human-authored lyrics, written stories, narrative expression, poetry, artwork, creative direction and melodies composed or supplied by him. Those contributions came from Aston River and are not transferred to a listener, purchaser, platform visitor or license requester merely because Suno was used to produce the recording.
Where a melody, lyric, instrumental or other contribution was created with or supplied by another person, the named contributor's rights remain intact and the song-specific credits and agreements control. Where a musical element was generated by Suno rather than composed by Aston River, Aston River claims only the ownership, contractual rights and legally protectable human contribution that actually apply.
Unless a song's credits state otherwise, the website text, original lyrics, human-authored melodies and other musical contributions, song stories, selection, editing, arrangement of site materials, artwork and brand presentation are owned or controlled by Aston River or used with permission, to the extent protected by applicable law. Sound recording and composition rights are not interchangeable.
The site player grants a temporary personal permission to listen through the provided interface. It does not authorize downloading, capturing, rebroadcasting, public performance, synchronization, remixing, sampling, distribution, resale, model training or creation of a competing catalog.
Unless checkout says otherwise, a purchased music download gives the purchaser a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable license for personal, noncommercial listening. You may make reasonable personal backup copies. You may not upload the file to a public or shared service, sell it, sublicense it, register it in a content identification system, claim authorship or use it in a video, podcast, game, advertisement, public event or commercial project.
Email music@astonriver.com with the song title, intended use, media, territory, term, audience, release date, budget and whether you need composition rights, master rights or both. A request, conversation, file delivery or price discussion is not permission. A license exists only when the required rightsholders approve it in a written agreement.
Where a song includes a co-writer, preexisting instrumental, sample, interpolation or other third-party contribution, additional clearance may be required. Aston River will not knowingly grant rights it does not control. The requester remains responsible for obtaining every permission necessary for the proposed use.
A purchaser or nonexclusive licensee may not register an Aston River song or recording with YouTube Content ID, Meta Rights Manager, TikTok rights tools or a similar fingerprinting system unless a written license expressly authorizes that registration and defines conflict handling.
All Aston River songs currently presented on this website were produced through Suno. The lyrics, stories behind the songs, creative direction and Aston River's original melodic contributions come from Aston River unless the individual song credits identify another writer or source. Suno was used as the production environment that turned those contributions and directions into the recordings presented here.
Copyright treatment of AI-assisted material depends on the law, the work and the nature of the human contribution. Aston River does not claim that every generated sound or element is independently copyrightable in every country. Copyright notices apply to protected human-authored contributions and other rights owned or controlled by Aston River or the credited rightsholders.
A question about statutory copyright scope does not turn the website or delivered files into unrestricted material. Access, purchase and licensing remain governed by contract, platform terms, trademark law, publicity rights, unfair competition rules and any valid third-party rights in addition to copyright law.
Unless a credit expressly identifies a performer, a generated or synthetic vocal should not be represented as the performance, endorsement or identity of a real singer. Do not use Aston River material to create a misleading impersonation, voice clone or false attribution.
Song-specific credits are intended to identify known writers, co-writers, source material, production participation and tools where relevant. If you believe a credit is incomplete or incorrect, contact music@astonriver.com with supporting information.
All recordings in the current Aston River catalog were produced through Suno. Suno, Inc. provides the generation and production service. Aston River is an independent artist project and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Suno.
Aston River retains the rights he holds in original material supplied to Suno, including his human-written lyrics, stories, poetry, original melodies, uploaded audio and other creative submissions, subject to the rights of credited co-creators and the license granted to Suno under Suno's Terms of Service. Use of Suno does not make a website visitor, listener or purchaser an owner of those submissions.
Under Suno's terms and help guidance reviewed on August 30, 2026, a user subscribed to a Pro or Premier paid plan is assigned Suno's right, title and interest in qualifying output generated from that user's submissions during the paid subscription, subject to compliance with Suno's terms. Suno also describes those tracks as carrying commercial-use rights that continue after the paid subscription ends.
Output made on Suno's free Basic tier is limited by Suno to personal, noncommercial use and attribution requirements. Starting a paid subscription later does not normally grant retroactive commercial rights to an earlier Basic-tier song. For that reason, Aston River will sell, monetize, distribute or license a Suno-produced recording only where the plan status, creation history, song rights and applicable Suno terms support that use.
Suno's assignment or commercial-use permission is not a guarantee that every generated element qualifies for copyright protection. Copyright eligibility depends on the governing law and the human authorship present in the work. Aston River separately claims his protectable human-authored lyrics, melodies, stories, selection, edits and other contributions to the extent supported by the facts and applicable law.
Suno's current Terms of Service state that users grant Suno a broad, worldwide license relating to submitted and generated content for operating, monetizing, promoting and improving its products and services. That platform license is between the Suno user and Suno. It does not give a listener, customer, distributor or other third party permission to copy, sample, remix, resell, train on or commercially exploit Aston River material.
Only material that Aston River owns or is authorized to use may be supplied to Suno. A co-written lyric, preexisting instrumental, sample, uploaded recording, voice or other third-party contribution may require separate permission. Suno commercial-use rights do not clear rights belonging to another person. Song-specific credits and written clearances remain decisive.
Rights can differ when a track extends or remixes another user's work, begins from Basic-tier output or uses a platform remix feature. Public sharing settings may also permit platform users to access content within the scope of Suno's terms. Aston River does not offer a commercial release or third-party license for a track unless the complete creation chain has been reviewed.
Aston River should retain creation dates, subscription invoices, source lyrics, uploaded melodies or demos, version history, exports and song credits as evidence of the creative and contractual record. Suno may change its terms. The Suno terms applicable to the account, plan, feature and creation date control the relationship with Suno, not this summary.
Official references: Suno Terms of Service, Suno ownership guidance, paid subscription rights and retroactive rights guidance.
Aston River respects the rights of songwriters, composers, performers, producers, visual artists and other creators. If you believe material on the website infringes a right you own or are authorized to enforce, send a written notice to music@astonriver.com with the subject "Copyright Notice."
Incomplete notices may delay review. Aston River may remove or restrict material while a claim is investigated and may forward the notice to the person or provider associated with the material.
If material you supplied was removed by mistake or misidentification, send a response identifying the material, its former location, your contact details, the basis for your position and any statements or consent to jurisdiction required by applicable law. Obtain legal advice before submitting a sworn notice.
The current site does not offer public uploads or user-hosted content. The email address above is a general copyright contact and is not represented as a Designated Agent registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. If Aston River later operates a service that relies on the safe harbors of 17 U.S.C. Section 512, the required public agent details and Copyright Office registration will be completed and identified separately.
Knowingly making a material misrepresentation in an infringement notice or counter-notice may create liability. Do not submit a complaint merely because you dislike a work, disagree with its message or want to suppress lawful criticism or fair use.
Emailing Aston River authorizes a reply concerning your message. A reply to a contact, order, licensing or rights inquiry is transactional and does not enroll you in marketing.
Aston River does not currently operate a promotional mailing list through this website. Commercial email campaigns will not begin until a lawful subscription process, accurate sender identification, a valid postal address, clear advertising identification where required and a working opt-out method are configured.
If a newsletter is later offered, signup will be voluntary and the purpose will be stated near the field. You may unsubscribe through the message control or by emailing music@astonriver.com. A request will be honored within the legally required time. Transactional messages necessary to deliver an order, respond to a request or provide a legal notice may still be sent.
Do not send payment card numbers, passwords, government identifiers or confidential unreleased media unless Aston River provides a suitable transfer method. Email can be delayed, misdirected or intercepted.
Aston River wants the catalog, stories and legal information to be usable by people with disabilities. The site is being developed toward the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, with WCAG 2.2 Level AA used as a practical reference where appropriate. This is a continuing effort, not a claim of certified conformance.
If you encounter a barrier, email music@astonriver.com with the page, song or control involved, the assistive technology and browser used if you wish to share them, and the format or information you need. Aston River will make a reasonable effort to provide the content another way and improve the underlying experience.
Future streaming, payment or social platforms may have separate accessibility features and limitations outside Aston River's control. Feedback is still welcome so an alternative path can be considered.
Aston River uses proportionate security measures and asks researchers to report a suspected vulnerability responsibly. Send a concise report to music@astonriver.com with the subject "Security Report."
Include the affected URL or function, reproduction steps, observed impact and a safe way to contact you. Do not include unrelated personal information or publish exploit details before Aston River has had a reasonable opportunity to investigate.
This notice does not authorize conduct that violates law, provider terms or the Terms of Use, and it does not promise a reward. Aston River will nevertheless consider good-faith, minimally invasive reporting when deciding how to respond.
This addendum applies only where European Union, European Economic Area or United Kingdom law governs the handling of personal data or a consumer transaction. It supplements the preceding notices and overrides them only where mandatory regional law requires a different result.
Aston River is the contact for data handled through this artist website and can be reached at music@astonriver.com. Paid sales targeted to EU or UK consumers will not be activated until all legally required trader identity, geographic address, tax, withdrawal and supervisory information has been completed. The artist name and email alone may not satisfy those requirements.
Subject to applicable conditions, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability or objection; withdraw consent; and complain to the data protection authority where you live, work or believe an infringement occurred. You may also object to direct marketing at any time. Submit a request to the email above. Aston River may verify identity and will respond within the period required by law.
Providers may process information outside your country. Where a restricted transfer occurs, Aston River will use an available legal mechanism appropriate to the provider and transfer, such as an adequacy decision, approved contractual clauses or another lawful safeguard. Details may be requested through the privacy contact.
Nonessential cookies or similar storage will not be activated for EU or UK visitors before the required information and consent are provided. Marketing email will require the consent or other lawful basis applicable to the relationship and region, and every promotional message will include an effective opt-out.
Before a paid digital download begins immediately, checkout will provide the required information about functionality, compatibility, price, trader identity and the right of withdrawal. Where law permits loss of the 14-day withdrawal right after performance begins, immediate delivery will start only after the consumer expressly consents and acknowledges that consequence. Statutory remedies for faulty or nonconforming digital content remain available.
Nothing in the Terms of Use, Terms of Sale, refund language, governing-law language, warranty disclaimer or liability limitation removes a nonwaivable consumer right. The law of a consumer's habitual residence and its competent courts may apply despite a different contractual clause.
If Aston River becomes subject to a legal duty to appoint an EU or UK representative, that representative's details will be added before the relevant processing begins. No representative or data protection officer is currently claimed in this notice.
At ten, something happened that I still cannot fully explain. Years later, it found its way into the music.
Some people become part of us before we understand what that means. Even when life separates the path, the feeling keeps moving.
Poetry became a place for everything ordinary conversation could not hold. Those early lines became the foundation of the songs.
Family, work and life changed the rhythm. The songs did not disappear. They waited until I could hear them clearly again.
I returned with decades of memories, unfinished melodies and a need to make them sound the way they had always felt.
Aston River is where lived experience, people close to me and everything I have observed become music. The songs leave room for your story too.
Song archive · AR / 018
Written as a letter to one unknown person, Reason to Stay offers no grand solution. It offers one borrowed reason to reach tomorrow.
Reason to Stay began after I spent time reading Reasons to Stay, the global suicide prevention project created by Ben West and designed in memory of Sam West, who died by suicide in 2018. The site delivers anonymous letters written by real people to strangers who may need warmth, connection or a reason to remain. I read letters that were short, direct and deeply personal. Their strength came from refusing to pretend that one sentence could make pain disappear. I did not want to turn that idea into a general mental health anthem or a list of reasons why life is beautiful. I wanted the song to feel like one letter arriving on one screen for one person. The opening stays inside that exact moment. A thumb pauses above the screen. The page is almost closed. The writer does not know what brought the reader there, but cares that they have continued for four more lines. The central phrase, Borrow my reason to stay, removes the pressure to solve an entire life at once. The reader does not have to produce hope, certainty or a permanent answer. Until their own reason becomes visible again, they may borrow the writer's care for them and use it to reach tomorrow. The second verse recognizes the invisible cost of appearing functional. A person can answer messages, leave the house and laugh in a moving car while still falling apart behind a closed door. The song refuses to call their survival small simply because nobody saw what it required. The bridge avoids advice and promises. It does not claim that everything will improve. It thanks the reader for reaching the bottom of the page and for remaining long enough to read it. That gratitude carries the second source of the song. People who have stayed through unbearable moments deserve to be seen and thanked. No language was taken from the anonymous letters. The project inspired the form and the human intention. Reason to Stay is an independent Aston River song written as a quiet message from one stranger to another. If your own reason is out of reach today, you can borrow mine for now.
[Verse 1] Your thumb stopped above the screen You nearly closed the page I cannot know what brought you here Or what it took to keep on reading No answer fits inside a line No sentence makes it smaller I will not dress it up for you Or call it something softer [Pre Chorus] Let every later question wait Outside the edge of this page Leave them there for four more lines And read what I came to say [Chorus] Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again We have never met before Still, I care that you reach tomorrow These words can only travel so far But they arrived where you are Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again [Verse 2] You answered messages with care You left the house when asked You laughed inside a moving car Then came apart behind a door Nobody counted what it cost Because you made it look routine But you are reading this right now And I refuse to call that small [Pre Chorus] Let every later question wait Outside the edge of this page Leave them there for four more lines And read what I came to say [Chorus] Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again We have never met before Still, I care that you reach tomorrow These words can only travel so far But they arrived where you are Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again [Bridge] No grand advice in this part No promise posing as a fact I only came to tell you this As plainly as I can You reached the bottom of this page And I am grateful that you did Thank you for remaining here Long enough to read this through [Final Chorus] Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again We have never met before Still, I care that you reach tomorrow These words can only travel so far But they arrived where you are Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again [Outro] Borrow my reason to stay Until you find yours again
Written and created by Aston River. Produced with Suno. Song concept inspired by the anonymous letter format and suicide prevention mission of Reasons to Stay, created by Ben West in memory of Sam West. Independent work, not affiliated with the project.
Borrow my reason to stay until you find yours again.