First of all, my apologies for getting this one out almost a week late. I did finish the song on time, but Blogger was acting very strange for me, and I wasn't able to post anything. Turned out I needed to dump my cookies (A phrase that would have been rather humorously nonsensical only a few years ago...).
So, here's the song. And now, the timeline of its creation:
Thursday, July 21. 8 PM.
This week I deliberately waited until Thursday night to start writing. I wanted to really challenge myself to come up with a song in the clutch. I realized that I took too long writing the first week's song. The point of the exercise was to write quickly, not spend days trying to perfect every aspect of the song.
Tonight when I sat down to write, I decided, rather randomly, to do two things differently. First, I would write the song in 3/4. I don't write many songs out of the 4/4 time signature, so I thought this would be an interesting challenge. I may try to continue this idea - setting myself certain challenges as I set out to write each song. Second, I decided to write the chord structure on a keyboard, rather than the guitar. I'm not a very confident pianist - and I certainly do not have the skill level necessary to play the piano while singing (unless the progression is truly simplistic) - but I find that writing music on an instrument other than my main one can offer a different sort of spark to my creativity. I'll often end up with a chordal structure I wouldn't have come up with on the guitar.
9 PM
Alright, I've gotten the basic chord structure mapped out for the verse and chorus. I won't write a bridge until I have lyrics. I've chosen an ambient, tremolo organ sound, and recorded the basic pattern. My next step is to loop the chord pattern, and play it over and over while I contemplate melody and maybe start to form some lyrical ideas.
As I was listening, a phrase came to mind, "broke but not broken." I kind of liked the concept, but ended up refining it into "cracked but not broken from the fall." This would become the theme. The song is coming together. It's very, very mellow.
3 AM
I've finished the lyrics. As you can tell from the timeline, lyrics are still taking up the bulk of my time in the process. So here's the lyrics:
Oh when you waltz across Virginia and all of your welcomes have been worn
Oh when your hope floats away and all of your dresses have been torn
Bring me your heart in a box, bring me your soul in a photograph
Bring me your heartaches and your sorrow, you know I'm yours
Oh for the wandering lovers all
Cracked but not broken from the fall
Faded and worn I'm waiting outside the door for you
Won't you come out from the dark and into the blue
I've made you a bed by the river, I've made you a blanket from my heart
Come lay your head on my shoulder when the world falls apart
Oh if our lives spin out of control
Cracked but not broken from the fall
All of us stumble, all of us fall
We're cracked but not broken, now
Oh when you waltz across Virginia, oh when you've given me your heart
Come lay your head on my shoulder when the world falls apart
Oh for we creatures great and small
Cracked but not broken from the fall
Conclusion
OK, it's not Shakespeare, but I can live with it. Unlike last week, where I took the time to record several instruments, this week I focused mainly on the writing. The recording is very sparse, just vocal and keyboard. The end result? I'm fairly happy with it. Frankly, it's a better song than I thought it might be when I sat down at 8 PM to start writing it. When I'm ready to record my next album, I'll probably pick songs from this writing project and refine them, do some re-writing and editing, and give them a proper recording treatment.
So, here's the song. And now, the timeline of its creation:
Thursday, July 21. 8 PM.
This week I deliberately waited until Thursday night to start writing. I wanted to really challenge myself to come up with a song in the clutch. I realized that I took too long writing the first week's song. The point of the exercise was to write quickly, not spend days trying to perfect every aspect of the song.
Tonight when I sat down to write, I decided, rather randomly, to do two things differently. First, I would write the song in 3/4. I don't write many songs out of the 4/4 time signature, so I thought this would be an interesting challenge. I may try to continue this idea - setting myself certain challenges as I set out to write each song. Second, I decided to write the chord structure on a keyboard, rather than the guitar. I'm not a very confident pianist - and I certainly do not have the skill level necessary to play the piano while singing (unless the progression is truly simplistic) - but I find that writing music on an instrument other than my main one can offer a different sort of spark to my creativity. I'll often end up with a chordal structure I wouldn't have come up with on the guitar.
9 PM
Alright, I've gotten the basic chord structure mapped out for the verse and chorus. I won't write a bridge until I have lyrics. I've chosen an ambient, tremolo organ sound, and recorded the basic pattern. My next step is to loop the chord pattern, and play it over and over while I contemplate melody and maybe start to form some lyrical ideas.
As I was listening, a phrase came to mind, "broke but not broken." I kind of liked the concept, but ended up refining it into "cracked but not broken from the fall." This would become the theme. The song is coming together. It's very, very mellow.
3 AM
I've finished the lyrics. As you can tell from the timeline, lyrics are still taking up the bulk of my time in the process. So here's the lyrics:
Oh when you waltz across Virginia and all of your welcomes have been worn
Oh when your hope floats away and all of your dresses have been torn
Bring me your heart in a box, bring me your soul in a photograph
Bring me your heartaches and your sorrow, you know I'm yours
Oh for the wandering lovers all
Cracked but not broken from the fall
Faded and worn I'm waiting outside the door for you
Won't you come out from the dark and into the blue
I've made you a bed by the river, I've made you a blanket from my heart
Come lay your head on my shoulder when the world falls apart
Oh if our lives spin out of control
Cracked but not broken from the fall
All of us stumble, all of us fall
We're cracked but not broken, now
Oh when you waltz across Virginia, oh when you've given me your heart
Come lay your head on my shoulder when the world falls apart
Oh for we creatures great and small
Cracked but not broken from the fall
Conclusion
OK, it's not Shakespeare, but I can live with it. Unlike last week, where I took the time to record several instruments, this week I focused mainly on the writing. The recording is very sparse, just vocal and keyboard. The end result? I'm fairly happy with it. Frankly, it's a better song than I thought it might be when I sat down at 8 PM to start writing it. When I'm ready to record my next album, I'll probably pick songs from this writing project and refine them, do some re-writing and editing, and give them a proper recording treatment.
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