MidiMike

Performing with other musicians requires a deeper channel of communication than normal language. When creating in this environment, every nuance has a meaning.  Every motif can create musical ripples.  Sometimes, two thoughts are better than one.  Co-writing can take a piece further than you would have thought possible on your own.  Try it.  You might like what comes out of it.  Over the years I have worked with a group of songwriters.  Each writer diving in to show off the latest and greatest.  While in one of those small traveling bands from hotel to hotel, I was playing in Corpus Christie TX.  We played a lot of different music for three people, and one of us did not play any instruments.  We wanted to come up with something with a bit more country flavor, and the lead guitarist was working on some soft ballad type chords during practice.  I told him I had written some lyrics that might fit.  I had finally given myself the title of songwriter as you know, so a while back I challenged myself to write a country song.  I had something specific in mind.

I write a lot of songs.  I write a lot of lyrics that never become songs (not yet anyway).  I write a lot of poems that may never become lyrics.  I write a number of songs and I might not even have a recording of it, even though I love to archive and preserve original performances.  Some songs I write for others and do not have a real interest in recording myself.  Maybe because I already have a good idea of what the song is supposed to sound like when a real performer/band records it.  I am not putting myself down here.  I simply do not have the talent or resources of famous stars.  You might laugh, but when I was writing the lyrics below, I wrote them as a duet for some famous country music stars at the time;  Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton!

I have only one recording of this song and I will share it with you, Kenny and Dolly you too if you’re listening!  I am singing the male part on this recording.  Not sure if this was ready before we moved on from Corpus Christie to another hotel, but it fell together quickly with the ballad chords at practice, so we performed it live to the more country leaning southern audience.  We were surprised that it went over so well and people in the hotel/audience that were regulars, were singing the words after a few nights in town.  So, I will probably never record this song.  It has always been a distant dream to one day hear others recording this as their own.    I have already heard in my mind what it sounds like with them performing, but this live two-track recording is not too bad for a working representation.