Songwriting · Canciones Y Recuerdos
Canciones Y Recuerdos: Running On Empty
By Veronique Medrano · 3 min read
In 2019, I was living in San Antonio, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Stone Oak. An area that is meant to be a sign of growth for the north side of San Antonio was, for me, the cause of my ire. I was going on year 3 of being single as a Pringle on the Fourth of July, and after another glorious rejection by a guy that didn’t even live in the same city, I was at my wit’s end. Love life: a fail. Work life: a fail. Writers’ block was in full effect. Things were not looking good.
“Remember that back-to-back traffic I was in? Let’s add to the bad decision making: my gas tank was teetering on empty, on a steep hill.”
The engine was thumping rhythmically and the sound was breaking the numbness in my brain. I started singing a melody line as I stared at the Low Fuel light in the car, the gauge edging closer and closer to Empty. I wrote the whole song in the time I was slowly moving forward, and by the time I finished — I cared. I got to the gas station at the top of the hill. After that, the songs started coming again. The stories were flowing out of me.
From the Vault to MexiAmericana
Even when Accordion 2 Me was scrapped in 2020 for the shortened EP La Novela, I kept the song semi-arranged in the vault for future use. It would be 3 years before this song would get some added instrumentals and be released. I credit this song for jumpstarting my confidence in my songwriting as I moved toward the MexiAmericana record.
I was lucky enough to have the photo from the Accordion 2 Me recording session outside the studio where I was completing the final lyrical additions to Running on Empty back in 2020.
Written By
Veronique Medrano
Singer-songwriter, writer, and archivist out of Brownsville, Texas.