Sweetheart began its life as a jumbled mess of riffs, melodies and nonsensical phrases stitched together with musical scotch tape. There were four or five sections to this piece but little intention behind the original lyrics. It didn’t go anywhere. Originally recorded in December 2024, it was almost a year later when I salvaged one guitar riff and a melody which became the jumping off point for Sweetheart.
I went to a screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s film Howl’s Moving Castle in theaters in fall 2025. I had seen it a couple times before, but this time I was particularly captivated and the impact of the time travel elements and relationship between Howl and Sophie hit me stronger than ever before. I felt inspired to write a song about their relationship, and began writing from the perspective of Howl, beginning with the first words that Howl spoke to Sophie in the movie:
“There you are, sweetheart. Sorry I’m late. I was looking everywhere for you”
Directly after leaving the theater I began writing lines inspired directly from the dialogue and events of the movie. Somehow the demo I mentioned above came to my mind and I found that some of the lines seemed to land perfectly in time with the riff and fit one of the melodies of the demo – “way back in the past when I was just a boy I heard a voice that called my name.”
From there I began working out the song at home, writing about the movie in a fun and interesting process, quite different from any other song I’ve written. I was pulling up lots of quotes and watching scenes of the movie along the way, and I even watched the movie again at home about a week after seeing it in the theater. This time I wrote down any quotes that felt significant and any notes on the events, dialogue, themes and characters in the film.
I had so much to pull from, and I spent a couple weeks writing, and editing and writing and editing some more. Initially I wrote more exposition into the song, including more elements from the story, even referencing other characters. But in the end I wound up cutting much of what I had written, instead choosing to focus on what I felt was the most compelling part of the story – the relationship between Sophie and Howl, and the presence of magic, danger, time travel and so on in their connection. The lyrics guided the musical development and arrangement of the piece, taking a short riff and melodic motif and stretching them in many directions, bringing about whole new sections and themes that were not in the original demo. I’d say 80% or more from that original demo was scrapped or shelved, and the song turned into a much more intricate and interesting piece of music than where it began. I intend to re-record this song in a live band arrangement within the next couple months, stay tuned.
I’m quite happy with how the song turned out. It’s a tribute to a beautiful piece of art from one of my favorite creators and film studios. All thanks and credit goes to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
“Sweetheart”
There you are
Sweetheart
I’ve been
Looking for you
Everywhere
Since you called
To me
Way back in the
Past when I was just a boy
I heard a voice that called my name
You told me then
To look for you
I’m sorry that I took so long
To find you
My Sweetheart
Too long I’ve lived heartless
I fought and turned monstrous
So scared I can’t stand it
Hiding behind this magic
I was searching for so long
And now you’re here and you’re involved
There is danger we’ve been cursed and you have seen me at my worst
But you don’t flinch and you don’t scare
I’m filled with courage when you’re there beside me
My sweetheart
Sweetheart
Love of my life
Sweetheart
Love of my life
I’m done running away
I will come home to stay
At last I’ve found someone
Who I want to keep safe
My sweetheart
Love of my life
You take my heart and feel its warmth
You feel it flutter like a bird
You break the spell and lift the curse
And we are free to be together
Sweetheart
Love of my life
Sweetheart
Love of my life
Sweetheart
Love of my life
ericprincessdragon 