Let’s Talk About Songwriting
I just woke up. This was (seriously) my first thought: When I was 40 I wrote a song about a boy fell in love with when I was 19. There were so many songs about him in-between.
I spoke this blog into my phone….corrected typos later.
I think about this stuff fresh from slumber — when my mind is raw and unencumbered. I dream about my craft. Sometimes I even dream a missing line. A missing word — one for which I was certain there was no rhyme and also reflected the truth.
When I was 40 I wrote a song about a boy fell in love with when I was 19. There were so many songs about him in-between.
See we can take one relationship — one situation — and write songs about it forever. When you’re 25, 45, 60, 80. Turn those feelings around and upside down and make sense of and peace with that unrequited love, that break-up with a friend.
Keep a journal cuz you’ll be able to look back and compare your feelings depending on where you are in your life. And whether you’re still angry. If you forgave. If you wonder why you ever gave a sh*t.
But you can never capture a feeling as clearly as you can in the moment you’re having it. So write it down ASAP. Or really SOON! Or dictate it. Whatever. Feelings and memories get clouded in the fog of time. And clouded by how we keep re-telling a story to ourselves. (But those are songs too.) (All of them.)
One day I woke up and I didn’t love you anymore. (That’s a song.)
I don’t even know if it was ever really love. (That’s another song.)
But whatever it was I don’t know where it went. (That’s a song.)
Something I learned from Suzan Koc — songs are small. Acute. Focused. You’re better off not trying to write about every detail of a situation-at-hand in ONE song. You’ve got time! Divide the real estate.
“I loved you more than you loved me back.” I borrowed that from what Ron Shelton said about how Crash Davis regarded baseball, in his book “The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham” — “He loved it more than it loved him back.” (I didn’t read the book. No real interest in sports. But I heard the interview on NPR and the line spoke to me. That’s another thing. Keep your antennae up!)
I once tried to explain to my young daughter the concept of “mixed emotions” when she was conflicted about a bestie. She loved her bestie but at the same time bestie made her angry. This was confusing to her. But I told her it was normal. It’s not natural to have one and only one pure emotional flavor toward somebody or something. And that’s what makes songs…and life…interesting. And complicated.
Keep the journal.
I loved you so much. (That’s a song.)
There’s something missing now that I don’t love you anymore. (That’s another song.)
I miss how I loved you. (And another)
Maybe I still wish I did.
All SLIGHTLY different songs.
Maybe you un-loved someone in order to make room for someone else. Or because they were bad for your health. (Soft rhyme 😀!!!!)
You were my “Something To Look Forward To.” Please don’t write that. I already did.
Ok. That’s it. My share for the day.
Where’s the coffee?
Have a good one!
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