This is weird. I've been writing this song the past few days (that's not the weird part) and when I play it (or read the lyrics) it doesn't look/feel like I'm the one who wrote it.
This may take awhile to explain.
I started with a little chord progression on the guitar and started humming some stuff over it for a few days. Then came some passable, but not inspiring, lyrics. Then, last night, I had this "flash" of brilliance (I'll call it) and wrote a pretty good verse (or part of one). I wasn't able to run down what the song was about so I put off writing any chorus thoughts and went up to bed.
As I was laying there in the dark last night, I came up with a few chorus ideas. In the morning when I actually took time to really read what I'd written I was amazed/shocked. It was like it wasn't me. I actually wanted to NOT like it, but I knew it was good.
This is further support, by the way, for my theory that we do not "write" these songs. We "discover" them.
Tonight I kept running it down trying to focus the song in a bit. I even tried to change some things so it seemed more "me" (whatever that means). No dice. This song apparently just wants to piss me off. So now I've got a verse and a chorus for a song that no one who knows me will believe I wrote and I'm not sure I'll ever sing live or record.
Maybe there is a liberal inside me trying to get out.
I need to sleep on this one.
J
5 comments:
I know how great it is to have fantastic ideas at night or under the shower.
The problem is that not every time you go to sleep and not every time you take a shower fantastic ideas visit you.
How to make this something more systematic and less occasional?
Sleeping all day, only waking up to take a shower?
Any suggestions?
Hi Klaus,
Thanks for the comment. I guess the only thing to do is always have a pencil and paper nearby. I've been kicking around the idea of getting one of those portable hand held digital voice recorders. There are countless times I could use that little devise.
I find that I get lots of creative impulses upon lying down for the night. This is one place the little digital recorder could come in handy. No more turning the light on and blearily writing my idea down, unable to decipher it the next morning. I could just speak the idea into the little recorder and take it off in the morning.
Also, the fact that I wrote that part of the song while I was trying to fall asleep had nothing to do with the fact that I was shocked when I read it. It was just the lyrics. I don't want to post them just yet, but they are definitely lyrics that took some creative courage on my part. For someone else, maybe not so much. But for me.... a lot of creative courage.
Thanks again!
John
You realize, of course, I cannot wait to hear this song.
:)
I've got my love song in the cooker too...it's percolatin' as we speak. It may take a few days work itself out.
I had a similar moment with this song...it didn't seem like I could do what I was doing, but I just had to keep doing it...if that makes any sense.
Well, that's cool Steve, but that was not my intent. I figured my post might inadvertently bait a few hooks. Anyhoo...
I actually played this one (what I have done) for my daughter and her friend tonight. They really like it, so things are looking up. My creative courage is expanding as I write.
I'll try to get it finished by the end of the month. This one is taking its sweet time though.
Glad to hear the "love song" is coming along. Can't wait to hear some sap flowing from the west.
J
I really like the song. The feel and lyrics make sense together.
Also, I think that we really do discover songs from somewhere besides our frontal lobe if we can be still enough to let them come. That is going to be my challenge with this experiment.
Good one.
Eric
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