when it hurts (you'll be there) | Dominic Donner

When I finished school, I didn’t really know what to do with my life. Most people around me didn’t think I could make it in music, so I felt like I had to study something or get a “proper” education. I started university, but dropped out after a year when depression and anxiety hit me again. I was overwhelmed. Working part-time, making music, and trying to study at the same time became too much. I kept my job at the supermarket and rented a small studio room in my city, inside my favourite building: the Rechenzentrum. I walked into that room knowing almost nothing about music production. It was just an empty space with the cheapest gear you could imagine. But it quickly became my safe place. I showed up every day. I got better. I earned money. Eventually, I quit my job and turned music into my full-time career. For almost 10 years, that room has been the place where I’ve created. Out of the hundreds of songs I started there, more than 250 have been released. Ten years is a long time. I grew up during those years. I lost people I loved. I met people who became some of my closest friends, including my co-writer Adam. The amount of breakdowns, doubts, and difficult moments that room has witnessed is honestly unbelievable. So why am I telling you all this? Because it’s the reason we wrote this song. I wanted to say goodbye properly. And even if it sounds silly to some people, because we’re talking about a room (a building)... I see it as a friend. A friend that helped me through some of the hardest years of my life without ever asking for anything in return. So I went back one last time to shoot this video. Some of the artworks you see on the wall include covers from my earliest releases. I know many of you will think about someone you've lost when you hear this song, and that was exactly our intention. Attach your own memories to it. Listen when you need a good cry. Listen when you want to revisit beautiful moments with someone, or somewhere.. that meant everything to you. Thank you for giving me the chance to live my dream. It truly means more than I can put into words. One last thing. The Rechenzentrum Potsdam is a beautiful place where artists and creatives can rent space for their work at an affordable price. The city plans to tear it down as part of rebuilding a church on the site. If you want to learn more, please look it up. All I can say is this: if the Rechenzentrum hadn’t been there when I needed it, I would never have come this far. And back then, I definitely couldn’t have afforded a more expensive studio. Creatives need places like this. If you'd like to help, please consider signing the petition to save the Rechenzentrum. https://rz-potsdam.de/fuer_rzerhalt/ co-written by my good friend Adam Wendler Lyrics: Tell me it’s time to move on Cause the grass is always greener You’ve seen me like no one has before When I was falling deeper You used to be my everything Every piece, you put back together I know it’s time To say goodbye Cause we’ll break the walls down It can’t stay like this forever Remember you’ll always live inside me For worse or for better Oh I will never forget The life we had The good and bad You’ll live on inside me and you’ll be there When it hurts I thought I was ready before I was Cause the grass ain’t always greener Even when nobody thought I could You were my biggest believer You used to be my everything Every piece, you put back together I know it’s time To say goodbye Cause we’ll break the walls down It can’t stay like this forever Remember you’ll always live inside me For worse or for better Oh I will never forget The life we had The good and bad You’ll live on inside me and you’ll be there When it hurts