Help Me Be Good

Here's a new one... don't have a recording of it yet, but I'll put up a link as soon as I am able. Looks like the last tune I wrote was Nothin' All Day back in January, so this is a welcome addition. I'm truly amazed and impressed with you all and the songs you've been writing! Keep up the great passion!

Short commentary/introduction:

We're all affected by bad decisions and/or mistakes. The person who makes the mistake suffers, but also the folks in their circle of influence sometimes pay a price. This song thinks a bit about those on both sides...

Thanks for taking the time,
John
p.s. Thanks for all you do with the site, bro...

Help Me Be Good
words and music by John Natiw

He woke up on Sunday and made one last mark on the wall
The last time he lived as a free man he couldn't recall
Since then it's been nothin' but dodgin' these big iron doors
Tryin' to stay out of trouble and settlin' scores

They gave him his old clothes and said 'don't you ever come back'
The rest of his life and a Bible tucked into a sack
Twenty one years to forget all the things that he'd done
He walked through the front gate, his face turned up into the sun

And he said...

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin' is help me be good

The day that they took him away she was too young to know
Why a man that she wanted to stay said he still had to go
In the years that have past pain and anger have come home to live
In the place of a man who just didn't have nothin' to give

She thought to herself more than once 'he can go straight to hell'
Then a voice from the front room said 'momma, can I get the bell'
Twenty one long years of thinkin' 'bout what might have been
She turned to her son and said 'go let your grandaddy in'

And she said...

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin' is help me be good

[instrumental verse]

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin'... is...

Help me to be just a little less angry and misunderstood
I don't want to waste my whole life sayin' 'you know that I would if I could'
Give me the strength, Lord, to do all the things that I should
I guess what I'm sayin'
All that I'm sayin'
Please hear me sayin'...
Help me be good

Nothin' All Day

Been a bit since I wrote a song. Since starting Arlington Station a few months ago, I've been concentrating on the shows we have scheduled. In terms of writing, I've not been in a hurry. It's been a wonderful process of learning what our abilities as musicians are as well as exploring the sonic pallette that we all create together. I was hoping that my next song would take advantage of our strengths as a band, but this one is more of a singer/songwriter/folk tune. Lisa and Dave got involved with the lyric end of the writing process. First time we've written together. Hopefully we'll continue to do that!

Here's the latest. It's called Nothin' All Day.
John

Nothin' All Day - mp3

Nothin' All Day
lyrics by John Natiw, Lisa Chambers & Dave Chambers (Arlington Station)
music by John Natiw

5am and the rain won't stop
I'm gonna think about nothin' today
I need to sleep, but on second thought
I'm gonna think about nothin' today

Newspaper said that the war's still on
I'm gonna think about nothin' today
I'll just leave it to the Pentagon
I'm gonna think about nothin' all day

CHORUS
I'M GONNA THINK ABOUT NOTHIN' ALL DAY
AND WHILE AWAY SOME TIME
IT DON'T MATTER WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
I KNOW THE SUN WILL SHINE
TOMORROW I'LL SEE IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY
BUT FOR NOW I'M THINKIN' 'BOUT NOTHIN' TODAY

Bank man said that the money's all gone
I'm gonna think about nothin' today
Preacher man told me I'm doing wrong
I'm gonna think about nothin' today

Postman brought unhappy news
I'm gonna think about nothin' today
It ain't nothin' but bills and blues
I'm gonna think about nothin' today

[CHORUS]

My friends all tell me that I've lost my mind
cause I'm gonna think about nothin' today
24 hours and I'll be fine
But, I'm gonna think about nothin' all day

Now don't go thinkin' that I don't care
I'm just gonna think about nothin' today
Some folks say that life ain't fair
I'm gonna think about nothin' all day

[CHORUS]

Some Effects of Playing Music I Never Counted On

Last week the bass player in my new group asked me to play in a situation I had never before. His church was hosting a group of homeless men each night this week. Feeding them, offering hair care, entertainment, etc. He asked if we might have our weekly practice at the church building to entertain the visitors. I quickly said I'd love to, not at all aware of what sort of effect it might have on me or the visitors.

Last night on the way to the building, I found myself feeling anxious, but excited. I wondered how the music would be received. Mostly, I just reminded myself to be open to anything.

After practicing for an hour or so, the vans began to arrive. And for the next hour and a half we were able to play our music for a group of homeless men. They applauded. They joked. They sat, rapt at the music they heard. Privately, they discussed some of their feelings with Dave while Lisa and I did a few songs ourselves.

Today I receive an e-mail from Dave with some of the content of those discussions. He mentioned that a few of the men indicated that they appreciated the songs. They were easy to understand and had a relevant meaning. The following is a quote from the same e-mail:

"Many of these guys that I have had conversation with each night this week indicated, they were "just like me" (hope that was meant as a good thing) when they were younger but had just taken their eyes of of God and started to direct their own steps and bang! This is where they are. Interesting find in all of this, not one man has asked for anything more than what we have provided and not one man has blamed God for their misfortune. Quite the contrary, they blame only themselves."

And here I thought WE were the ones providing the service and giving out the lessons...

John

CHOPS. Out.

Some Things Live On

We had a great Thanksgiving here. Jen, Rachel and a couple other friends and I did the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot run in the morning. It was very windy and snowing during the race, but fun was had by all. Did a little prep around the house and then welcomed 20 or so family members for dinner. Dishes brought by all made for quite a feast. A morning spent running makes the bird and trimmings taste even better.

A personal highlight of the day, for me, was to have Grandma Renda in our home again. She is over 90 and was in the hospital most of the summer/fall. I didn't see any way she would be with us for the holidays, but, thankfully, I was very wrong. She walked into the house assisted only by an offered hand to steady her up the stairs and visited with the family all day. Quite a woman.

In recent weeks, I had been looking into purchasing a Mandolin. Jen mentioned that Grandma had a couple of Grandpa's old Mandolins lying around. Well, word got to her about this and two mandolins are now sitting in the Man-Cave™. I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, but she was very gracious about it all and said that Grandpa would've liked that someone is playing them again. As I said, quite a woman. Kent (relative) had brought his bass along, so the two of us retired to the Man-Cave™ to while away a couple of hours in song. Family members wandered in and out to listen and bring us cookies.



Today, I got some new strings for the instrument and began to read up on the process. Sometimes particular instruments have little quirks that must be respected. After a bit of study, I decided to remove all the old strings and use some elbow grease to polish her up. About halfway through, I was struck with a nostalgia that made me pause and look a bit on the instrument. This was Grandpa's mandolin. He had been the one to play it and change out her strings for years. Now, it was my responsibility. Now, it was my pleasure. I thought a bit more and, for some reason, grabbed my camera to capture the process a bit.


The bridge on a mandolin is not fixed. Rather, it can be moved to bring about the best possible sound. Not being comfortable with the whole process, I replaced the bridge in the same spot.


Not exactly re-stringing a guitar. One by one, the new strings began to bring the old mandolin to life.


Done. Polished body... Treated fretboard... New strings...

And music.

Some things live on.
J

Trying to See the Sound

Now that I have a few songs in my suitcase, I've really started to think about recording these things for real. While being away for awhile hunting I took the opportunity to begin to think about my "sound palette". You know, the "colors" that will make up my sonic painting. When I write, the palette usually consists of an acoustic guitar, main vocals and maybe some harmony vocals. Occasionally I'll add something to the mix, but that's pretty standard.

Over the past few years my sonic palette hasn't really been important or obvious to me. Recently, I've begun to see my desired sound more clearly. LeAnn Rimes said in a recent interview in American Songwriter Magazine that she made a mix CD for her producer to give him an idea of what she was looking for in her sound. I thought this was a great idea, so I began to look through my music collection for the "sounds" that I've been inspired by. After getting down to a short list of songs (not necessarily artists), I sat down and listened. Over and over again. Why do I love these songs, sonically? What instruments are playing? Where are they positioned in the sound field? What types of instrumentation and mixing fits the type of songs I write?

Here's a little bit of what I've learned the past few days. I'm a sucker for a few specific instruments when combined properly. Also, I have some very specific and different ideas about drums and percussion and how they should relate to the song (well, MY songs, at least). I actually took it so far as to make a list of instruments I would love to have on my CD someday. Here's that list with a few observations about each choice:

1. Acoustic Guitar - This will be the bread and butter of the sound. Sometimes it may be the focus of the song, other times in the background as a scratch track. Also, combinations of Acoustic Guitars (posssibly capoed) could be great.
   
2. Piano - Sometimes there's nothing like a few well timed chords from a piano to anchor an idea in a song.
   
3. Slide Guitar - High soaring sounds. Adds atmosphere.
   
4. Bass - Upright if possible.
   
5. Cello - Adds low end acoustic flavor.
   
6. Mandolin - Adds high end acoustic flavor plus a little country.
   
7. Violin/Fiddle - A lead instrument.
   
8. Drums - Sparse, but with a purpose when used. Not overly busy. Pocket.
   
9. Percussion - Usual shaker and tambourine, but other non-conventional sounds as well when effective.

So, there it is. The beginnings of my sound palette. Now all I need to do is find some folks who can actually PLAY all these instruments!

Write on,
John

It's the Rest of Your Life

photo courtesy of the city of Pittsburgh,
the sun and my daughters - 2007

This one started to form on October 14th. A couple verses, which did not make the cut, came out very quickly. The chorus idea came shortly after... It's the Rest of Your Life. There have been a lot of things happening in and around my life of late that probably helped bring this song out. I've tried to keep it as "open" as possible. Hoping that many people can relate to the simple idea of "beginning anew". The music is deliberately simple in this one. I struggle a bit with lyric writing and melody (not a good thing for a songwriter), so I decided to use only two chords and try to vary the melodies and focus intensely on the lyrics. I can't remember ever putting more work into lyrics than I have these. Hopefully it'll pay off.

This recording was done after making numerous work tapes as the song progressed. Just felt like this one needed a little better treatment than just a work tape. And, yes, that's my cell phone going off silently at the end. *doh*

Thanks for listening,
John
10/23/07

UPDATE 10/26/07 - Had the chance to rehearse this one with a couple of my ex-band-mates from Seven Bridges the other night. Not often these days that I get to play music with other folks. Dave did a great job of lending some "bottom" to this one with his bass. Lisa added some nice dynamics with backing vocals as well. Even in places where I had not originally heard them. Looks like the three of us will be debuting this one on November 10th at the Baseline Folk Society open mic. I can't wait.
John

It's the Rest of Your Life.mp3

It's the Rest of Your Life
words and music by John Natiw

Well it's time to go
I see it in your eyes
It's a winding road
It's a big surprise

It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life

And it starts now
You're born again
No goin' back
To where you've been

Maybe find some hope
Or even something more
It's the time to dream
It's an open door

It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life

Maybe see the world
Through different eyes
It's the chance to change
It's a new sunrise

It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life

Oooh, yeah
Oooh, yeah

Well it's time to go
I see it in your eyes
It's a winding road
It's a big surprise

Eggs & Sausage...

Just watch this.

An Idea... That's Getting Closer

About a week ago, I posted An Idea Whose Time... Has Not Yet Come. Since then, I've been plunking around with it trying to find out what it wants to be when it grows up. A few days ago an additional part reared its head. I'm just posting the thing here to track the evolution of this song. Whatever it becomes. NOTE: this is a work tape recording, not a "studio take".

07_0925_idea.WMA (2:07)

Carry on.
J

SoundClick.com

Hey all,
Just a heads up about a pretty cool/useful/entertaining site I came across the other day.

SoundClick.com

If you're looking for a place (other than Songwriting Apples, of course) to host your mp3's, videos and maybe even keep a blog, then this site may be right in your wheelhouse. I plan on trying this site out for myself. I'll keep you posted.
Late,
J

Advice from One of the Best

Tunesmith. net is a site I've mentioned in previous posts here. I've been doing quite a bit of reading over there of late and I'd like to share a few nuggets of wisdom that I've found with you. The first is a wonderful interview transcript with Chris Wallin, a successful Nashville songwriter who posts occasionally over on that forum. It's been a real treasure find to be able to read stuff posted in a songwriting forum by one of the best. Keep in mind that this information is from the "Nashville" perspective of songwriting. But, as far as I can tell, this is just solid information for any aspiring songwriter.

Transcript of NSAI's Pro Online Chat with Chris Wallin on June 7th, 2006

If time is tight, here are a few quotes from the interview:

Q: Do great ideas for you happen and "finish themselves" quick or not? How long does it take?
Chris: My writing never comes quick. I always have to build lines. When they do come faster then normal I always beat them to death to make sure I wasn't hasty.

Q: What is your single most important piece of advice?
Chris: In general, find out what it is that you do well and do that till you drop...no matter what it is. Whether it is editing, the idea person, melody, and so on and never write for the radio because radio is two years behind. If you can sing, save your $$ and do your own demos. But PLEASE be honest with yourself. If you can't do the song justice, get someone who can. It’s only your song that suffers if you don’t.

Q: Is it all about networking?
Chris: The networking helps but the best way to have good networking is to have great songs. The reason people will help you is because they like your songs. A plugger friend of mine has helped me out a lot. I thanked him one day for helping me. He said "Chris if you didn't write what I thought were great songs I couldn't afford to help you."

Ok. Now a few other quotes from Chris that I dug up in different threads on Tunesmith.

This one is his reaction to hearing When I Get Where I'm Going for the first time. I include this because I've had this exact same reaction to a couple of Chris' tunes.

This is one of those songs I heard and cried like a baby and then I called up Rivers Rutherford and said "YOU B*STERD!!!!" I have lost alot of family members in the last two years . This song hit me where I live. It also reminded me how powerful a song can be and inspired me to keep writing the songs that heal me.

This one is a small snippet from a longer post of his. This line really stood out to me and seemed to represent what we are about here at Songwriting Apples.

People look at Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman and others and wonder "what do they do I don't do? I'll tell you.... they write 100-120 songs a year. They work their tails off all the time. They moved to Nashville years ago and sacrificed EVERYTHING to put themselves in the "right place at the right time".

I thought this "p.s." for one of his posts was very interesting...

p.s. There are songwriters here that will have deals one day . Probably not who you think. I wish all of you the best. Please don't stop learning. I learn something new everyday. If your dreams are flowers then hard work and knowledge are the sun and rain.

Concerning the process...

Sometimes I have Hook Sessions with people I write alot with. Just think of hooks and Ideas for songs all day and write them down. There will be alot of food at your next songwriting buffet.<---- ok so that was a little wierd. Anyway sometimes a song breaks out and you start writing. What a Concept.

And, finally, I don't think this is his, but he used it and it's relevant...

Just because you eat(listen to songs) doesnt mean you can cook(write).

Hope these quotes and the interview are useful and inspirational.

Write on,
J

An Idea Whose Time... Has Not Yet Come.

Don't normally do this, but here is an idea I've been working on for a few days. I doubt it'll turn itself into a song by the end of the month, so I'm basically just trying to save face by posting this. This is an instrumental idea (not really a song) at the moment. Some of my tunes start just like this. A single idea. If I play it and listen to it enough I'll come up with some other stuff to go with it. Maybe I'll keep coming back to this post and update any progress that is made with this. Talk about "transparency in the writing process"!

Anyway, give it a listen. It's just the same thing done three times. When I can't come up with a change, melody or lyrics I'll usually make it into a CD and listen to it over and over in my truck until something comes to me. Then it's back into the studio. By the way, I thought enough of this idea to actually record it in the studio. It's just a single mic recording, but a vast improvement over the work tape recordings I usually do. The Martin sounds so good when it's recorded like this. I can't wait to hear what it sounds like in a real studio!

07_0919_idea.mp3

But WAIT... there's MORE! I was sitting around after posting this tonight listening to the work tapes for this song and pondering the "creative process". I really enjoy listening to/reading about people's creative process. Steve's video where he documented the making of a song is a great example of this. In that spirit, I present the work tapes for this idea. Probably not many people will have the patience (it's pretty brutal listening if you're not totally into this sort of thing) to check them all out. But consider them posted here for posterity's sake. These recordings ARE made on my little portable Olympus Digital Recorder. And, as near as I can recall, were made last week over a two or three day period.

Work Tape 1 (3:42) - You can hear the basic idea here as well as a whole lot of hacking away on the Martin which, in the interest of my creative reputation, we'll call "running down the idea". It's funny listening to this now because I can hear bits and pieces that actually made it into the mp3 recording. And, yes, that's my furnace kicking on at about 1:09. Hey, it was cold here in Michigan that day!

Work Tape 2 (1:20) - Mercifully shorter. The C/B/Am transition is becoming more apparent. Also working on the Am ending (which wouldn't feel right until the studio take). Also the hammer on the last Am chord would be kept in the studio take as well.

Work Tape 3 (2:01) - Starts out almost identical to the studio take. Still didn't have the last Am chord worked out (as is painfully obvious from about :57 - 1:30.. ouch!). And, like the last take (and eventually the studio take), I hammer the Am at the end. Only on the studio take would I hammer three strings instead of one.

So there it is. My soul laid bare. Do with it what you will.

And, for the record, if I don't come up with anything by the end of the month, this "idea" will suddenly become a "song".
Out.
J

A Series of Fortunate Events... And a Bit of Deception... Leads to a Good Songwriting Lesson

Ok, stay with me on this. Here's how it went down.

Yesterday - I hear a Kenny Chesney song on the radio, Don't Blink (see video above). Now, I'm not a big Chesney fan, but right away I dig this tune. Especially the lyrics. They just fall right to me or something. I've always heard of how we as songwriters should endeavor to say something simple in different ways. Don't Blink is a genius example of this (IMO). Think about it. You could say Time Flies, Time Goes On, Don't Let Time Pass You By or any number of things. But Don't Blink. Freaking genius. Many of my tunes revolve around time, life and experience {cough}Tiny Footprints, {cough}for example{cough}, so when I heard that chorus, I literally said "Daggum... That is so good". Dug this tune so much so that today I go looking for the writer.

Today - I do a Google search for the writer of Don't Blink. I come across a songwriter forum called Tunesmith.net. There's a thread there that has this song as it's subject (although he doesn't call the song Don't Blink in the subject line). The post was made back in March of this year, before the release of the song (later in the thread, "Lester" tells us it was actually the day that Chesney cut the song in the studio). But anyway, in the beginning of the thread "Lester" comes off as a new songwriter looking for some feedback. In actuality, it's Chris Wallin, the very successful Nashville songwriter (and co-writer of Don't Blink) posting as a newbie. Anyway, I was pretty amazed about the whole thing.

The Thread

You really need to read the whole thread to get the gist of it. This thread incited a variety of very intense reactions from various folks. As I understand it, one of the lessons of his post was that we should not be too quick to take random critiques of our songs to heart. People will apparently even rip multi-million selling songs if they don't know what it is. The thing is, to be true to the vision (while employing general guidelines of sound songwriting). Another lesson that seemed to be given is that if you don't know how to write great songs, don't be quite so quick to criticise another's work. One particularly vocal poster basically wrote that everyone there didn't know squat and that this thread simply illustrated the fact. There are some posts in that thread that I definitely don't agree with, but I'd be interested to hear what you all have to say about it. At first, it made me somewhat angry, but, with some further thought, there were some good lessons to be learned from the whole thing.

Take care... and Don't Blink.
J

p.s. And Chris, if you're reading this (what? I'm sure he has nothing better to do!), that was a dirty rotten underhanded trick. But a great lesson. Thanks, man.

One Cut Too Deep (2005)

A few years back the older girls had a couple friends who practiced a form of self-harm called cutting. I had the chance to talk to these girls and was, of course, equal parts amazed and horrified at the concept. It was some time later that the idea for this song came about.

I was sitting in Church one night and had a pad of paper with me. As I listened to the class I started writing lyrics. The phrase One Cut Too Deep came out and almost immediately I began to see a very clear mental image of a room. In the room was a fictional girl who was actively cutting. The detail of the mental image was astounding to me. All of the imagery in this song comes from the mental image I had that night. I wrote down everything I saw as fast as I could. The original piece of paper is still in my file somewhere. Quite a mess! There are quite a few images I wrote down that night that didn't make it into the song. One was a poster of Kurt Cobain on one of the walls.

As I "looked" around the room I realized something was going wrong. This fictional character did not have the intention of killing herself (those who practice "cutting" rarely do), but something went horribly wrong. The image made me terribly sad. I kept writing.

Upon finishing the song, I made a recording of it. As I could not play the finger-picked guitar part and sing it at the same time, I overdubbed the vocals. I was pretty happy with the result, but never was able to play the song live in front of people. Eventually, I had the opportunity to play the recorded song for a couple of the girls that had, by then, stopped cutting. One particular girl, scars still visible on her forearms, sat at my computer and began to sob openly as the song played. When the song was done, I asked her if I had gotten it right. She answered "yes" and then hugged me. The song seemed pretty unimportant all of a sudden.

So now, two years later, here is a somewhat different version of this song. It's recorded on my little digital recorder in one take. The original finger-picked part is heard as an introduction in this version. This take is not so much about playing a "finished song" as it is about exploring melodic possibilities in the lyrics/singing. That's why you'll not hear me singing the verses the same way most times. I had previously sung them all exactly the same when I originally wrote it. Seemed to me now that the song needed some melodic improvement. Perhaps I'll play this one out sometime soon and eventually settle on a melody that suits the song. I've been waiting two years to experience an audience's reaction to this one.

Maybe soon.
J

One Cut Too Deep.WMA [2007 scratch recording]

One Cut Too Deep (2005)
words and music by John Natiw

VERSE
Fist closed tightly
She braces for the pain
The edge of frustration
Opens virgin skin

Cold steel warms quickly
As blue turns to red
Blade falls gently
Light flickers overhead

She only wanted to hurt
Didn't mean to go this far
Just to feel something worse
Or leave another scar

Moments of emptiness
Grave consequence to keep
Precious soul flies away
Body goes to sleep

CHORUS
Can't undo what's been done
And now she's gone...
One cut too deep

VERSE
Voices of children
Crawl underneath the door
Blood falls like teardrops
Through cracks in the floor

Nothing left to feed on
Her demons finally die
Angel at the window
Hangs her head to cry

CHORUS
Dreams fall to the ground
And now she's gone...
One cut too deep

VERSE
Suddenly peaceful
She doesn't feel a thing
No disappointments
Or things that might have been

No explanations
Or farewell notes to find
Reasons are lost now
Forever in her mind

CHORUS
Soon comes the dawn
And now she's gone...
One cut too deep

Can't undo what's been done
And now she's gone...

A Response to Steve's Summer Goals

The other day I was reading Steve's Summer Goals and went to leave a comment. I wrote this huge rambling thing, but the site booted it before I could post it. Started to leave a comment again tonight and thought maybe I'd do it this way instead. Too much to say. Anyhoo... You/I/we should do this Steve! I know I've been talking about getting an EP/CD done for months.

As far as how to choose what to record, a friend suggested that I record one song at a time in the studio. Just pick one and go do it. Spend a half or whole day getting it done. First, it's easier to do it that way, and, second, it's more fiscally responsible. Eventually you end up with a bunch of recorded product that you can then decide what to do with.

With me, I sometimes think I "don't know how to play" these songs well enough to record in a studio yet. The only way I know to get through this is to play these suckers out. A lot. There are a few benefits to this approach. First, you get really good (proficient) at the tunes and, therefore, save money in the studio. Second, I think there is process of "finishing" that takes place. Listen to your first recording of a song and compare it to a recording of it after you've played it out for a year. It's different. The singing. The guitar/piano. It's closer to being "finished". Third, you get a sense of which songs folks really like (see previous paragraph). And, lastly, you're automatically building up a fan base who will, theoretically at least, buy the CD's you're about to make!

Anyhoo.... I've been thinking that I have enough songs to record. I've played out a few over the past year and have a couple new ones I'll debut in the next month or so. Maybe by the first of the year I'll have accomplished all the stuff I talked about above and be ready to start knocking these things out one by one. Wouldn't it be cool to have a nice CD to sell at gigs by spring-time? Sure it would!

Just went through my song binder and counted 25 songs that I know of that I've written since about November of 2004. Don't think I would have EVER had that many if it weren't for this blog. Thanks for the motivation everyone!

For the record (haha), here are the songs I'm thinking of recording (in approximate order I'd want to record them):

1. This Time (2006)
2. Jesus and John Lennon (2007)
3. Tiny Footprints (2007)
4. An untitled instrumental (2006?)
5. It's About Time (2007 & not coincidentally the working title of my future CD)
6. An Irish Love Song (2004)
7. That Water Came (2007)
8. Rivers (2007)
9. Stop the Rain (2006)
   
10. All We Need is Some Love (2007 and this one is gonna need some serious work... i.e. layers of sound).
11. One Cut Too Deep (2005, a song that has huge potential if I'll only go back and work on it and play it out a few times... great lyrics)
    

So there it is. Looks like I've got the makings of a CD after all! How about you Steve? Liza? Eric? Whatcha got?
J

The Story So Far...

We have a ways to go yet, but it looks like this Blog is going to live through its first year. December 21, 2006 is when this place came to life. We've all had a chance to contribute, sit back and read and even stay away from time to time. A few months in, after seeing we weren't going to get rid of him anytime soon, I talked to Steve and he agreed to act as "co-editor" of the thing. He's turned out to be the lifeblood of this Blog in some ways.

One thing that's been on my mind is how much or how little we each contribute to this good work. I know that in my personal situation, I can go a few weeks without posting. Seems to me there is quite a bit of benefit that comes with being a "co-author/contributor" here. Motivation, education, free publicity, entertainment, fun, friendship and fellowship are just a few. It also seems to me that we should all do our best to "pull our weight" when it comes to this work. Don't get me wrong. Steve and I are still willing to do all the heavy lifting (editing posts, trying to figure out how to host the mp3's, creating and maintaining a page for each one of us).

What we'd like is for folks to just breathe some life into the place from time to time. Doesn't take much (just look at some of MY posts). With this goal in mind, I've added a paragraph to the infamous "first post" (which is a sort of "constitution/instruction book" for this blog):

About the only thing we ask is that you contribute. We understand that certain times of the year may be hectic (the holidays, summertime). With that in mind, we only ask that you go no more than 90 days without a post. Doesn't have to be a new song. Could be a useful website you've found, a photo or video that inspired you or even a rant about how uninspired you are! If you're not writing... cool. Just stop in and tell us. Let us know what's up. Let us encourage you!

If we don't hear from you for 90 days or so, we'll just assume you've gotten too busy to contribute or maybe your priorities have changed. That's cool. It happens. In the meantime, let's all do our best to make this a thriving/exciting place for songwriters. If you have any ideas on how we can improve this work, drop us a line. We certainly don't have all the answers.

So come on in, write a bit, sit back and listen... whatever feels right.

Thanks,
John

Constructive Editing

Couple things about the song I posted last night, Tiny Footprints...

After playing it a few times today I realized it was too long. Even for a solo artist/performer such as myself I felt like the audience would drift off with each ensuing verse. When I was writing last night, I though it would be cool to repeat the third line of each verse and then slightly change the line with each succeeding verse. Today it just looked and sounded like I was saying almost the same thing twice in each verse. So...

SNIP!

I reduced the lyrics by almost half. A very drastic, hard and rare thing for me to do, but when I played the song again... viola. Seemed to hold my attention much better as the subject matter moved along nicely now (not to mention that it comes in at around 3:45 now... ideal if you ask me). Also, there are small instrumental breaks in between some of the verses. This one just didn't seem like it needed a chorus or bridge, but we'll see.

Finally, I don't think the working title "Grandfather Song" will be the final title. I usually try to lift the title right out of the chorus. It's hard, with an A-A-A-A-A song to find a suitable title, however. A couple possible title ideas:

Tiny Footprints
Footprints on the Floor
I Wish That Time Would Just Slow Down

Here are the edited lyrics, btw:

Tiny Footprints (working title)
words and music by John Natiw

07_0821_Tiny_Footprints.WMA [scratch recording]

There are tiny footprints on my floor
I don't remember seeing them before
Ooh, I wish that time would just slow down
There are tiny footprints on my floor

There are just too many things to do
A lunch to make and then it's off to school
Ooh, I wish that girl would just grow up
There are just too many things to do

[break]

There's a strange car out there in the drive
I knew someday this moment would arrive
Ooh, I wish that boy would just go home
There's a strange car out there in the drive

Now the girl is all dressed up in white
Next to her is standing "Mr. Right"
Ooh, I wish the girl would just come home
Now the girl is all dressed up in white

[break]

She smiles at me and says that she'll be fine
The doctor says these things just take some time
Ooh, I wish the time would just fly by
She smiles at me and says that she'll be fine

There's the sound of crying down the hall
Emotions that I vaguely can recall
Ooh, I wish that time would just slow down
There's the sound of crying down the hall

[break]

(reprise)

There are tiny footprints on the floor
I don't remember seeing them before
Ooh, I wish that time would just slow down
There are tiny footprints on the floor
______________________________

UPDATE - Monday, August 20: Slept on this one again last night after playing it a few dozen more times yesterday with the lyrics edited. Much better. However, I'm still entertaining the idea of writing a bridge for this one, making it either a fairly common "A-A-B-A" song (e.g. Saving All My Love for You, The Way We Were, Yesterday, Somewhere Over the Rainbow) or maybe even a rarer "A-A-B-A-B-A" song (e.g. I'll Follow the Sun, Hey Jude, Long and Winding Road). Also, I'm not entirely sure that there doesn't need to be some re-writing done in the lyrics. I'll keep singing it and, hopefully, play it out live next month and get some feedback. Be back soon...
J
______________________________

UPDATE - Monday, August 20: Edit to add "Mr. Right" stanza.
J
______________________________

UPDATE - Tuesday, August 21: To add link to WMA file. Have a listen!
J

It's About Time!

Been awhile. This one came out of nowhere. Came out almost as is in about two hours. One unintended bonus is the fact that the lyrics seem to fit well with my intended CD title "It's About Time". Maybe someday it'll get recorded!

I'll try to get an mp3 up soon.

The Grandfather Song (working title)
words and music by John Natiw

There are tiny footprints on my floor
I don't remember seeing them before
ooh, I wish that time would just slow down
There are tiny footprints on my floor

There are water colors on the wall
A purple baby doll and yellow ball
ooh, I wish that time would just slow down
There are water colors on the wall


There are just too many things to do
A lunch to make and then it's off to school
ooh, I wish that girl would just grow up
There are just too many things to do

There are fourteen candles on a cake
the one that took all afternoon to make
ooh, I wish that girl would just grow up
There are fourteen candles on a cake


There's a strange car out there in the drive
I knew someday this moment would arrive
Ooh, I wish that boy would just go home
There's a strange car out there in the drive

Now there's someone knocking at the door
I don't remember seeing him before
ooh, I wish that boy would just go home
Now there's someone knocking at the door


There's five hundred miles left to go
I never thought a car could go so slow
ooh, I wish the time would just fly by
There's five hundred miles left to go

She smiles at me and says that she'll be fine
The doctor says these things just take some time
Ooh, I wish the time would just fly by
She smiles at me and says that she'll be fine


There's the sound of crying down the hall
emotions that I vaguely can recall
Ooh, [pause] I wish that time would just slow down
There's the sound of crying down the hall

There are tiny footprints on the floor
I don't remember seeing them before
ooh, I wish that time would just slow down
There are tiny footprints on the floor

For my dad... For a variety of reasons.
J

Welcome Summer!

Hey all... Just wanted to drop a line to try and keep up with Steve! Couple things, then I'm off to work.

1. I'm still not able to access the server to upload songs at this moment. Steve has a new one that I hope to have posted soon. Please check back soon!
   


2. Steve and I miss seeing some of you post here. Hope you're still doing well and, of course, that you're playing and writing and you'll be back posting here soon!


3. Summer is on our doorstep here in the midwest. All the usual "summer activities" are starting to bust out all over. Hope you're getting out and enjoying the weather!
   


4. On a personal note, the lyrics are starting to come again. Currently, I have three songs in varying stages of completeness. Feels like all are keepers. One is sort of about trying to find our way in this mysterious, wonderful life. The most recent one was inspired by a trip past my childhood home while I was biking a couple weeks ago. I'll leave you for today with a few short lines from this one...

this old house has nothing left for me
just sticks and stones as far as I can see

in my mind a movie plays of better days
and how it used to be

Late,
John

Summer Creativity

April is past and May is quickly moving along. The robin's eggs outside my bedroom window tell me that warm summer temperatures are just around the corner. Before you know it the leaves will be turning... wait, let's not get too far ahead of things here.

The past month or two have been slow around the Songwriting Apples Blog. We've had a few wonderful songs posted though! Be sure to give them a listen.

Personally, I've found that I have been spending a little less time with the six string and with the lyric notebook lately. Spring has sprung and I've been outside as much as possible. Family duties and outings are taking priority. This is all as it should be. Having said all that, I still plan on trying to write a song a month or so over the summer. Some worthy musical ideas are coming out of that new Martin and I look forward to finishing one of the new tunes soon.

Hope that you are enjoying the spring season wherever you are! Keep checking in and keep writing!
John