Posts Tagged ‘#recording’

Another oldie here. My lyrics and poetry often reference religions and their associated topics and phrases. Since my early adulthood, I began my rapid change in direction from an altar boy in the Catholic Church studying to become a priest or other station toward atheism. These are concepts most people around here recognize. My habit of stating the obvious does not reflect well on most religions as their flaws can be felt worldwide.

Even islanders from eons past knew there are other lands. Birds would cross continents in yearly marathons in the air. Most of us in the US know so little about anyone or anywhere not contained by its political borders. Beyond the ocean is of little consequence to many here. That leads me to consider what I would be like in a place with no rivers or lakes. How could I survive a frozen tundra or tropical swamp? If evil were the ruler would I want to live in torment? Would I be in a prison for the rest of my life? We judge from so far away on many levels and the laws of man are easily corrupted.

Another set of lyrics that started out more of a poem. Stating the obvious again, it appeared to me many people search for the perfect one overlook the very person they are seeking. Even in 1981 I knew how easy it was to underestimate the importance of relationships and great friends. We will all find out eventually that we were just a bit too late. The commercials of the day are responsible for the rest of the lyrics and I am not sure if they mean anything at all, but I like the idea of a glass of tears.

A combination of being tired of people close to me complaining all the time. Like they have to work so hard to do what everyone else clearly does (without complaining, I might add). The verses are about the mechanics of it: you have to get up. No one will do it for you. It does not come easy. I get teased about everything going in my favor or how lucky I am or how amazing it is that things go my way all the time. I prepare. I plan. I gather tools and energy IN CASE an opportunity opens up. When it does I will be ready and start planning for the next opportunity, not knowing what it is. I save. Maintain my tools and equipment. Label files and folders. Back up my drives. To them this is wasting time. OCD. Nerdy. Geek stuff. To all I say again, “the geek shall inherit the Earth”.

From a broken relationship and the ensuing emptiness reflections are not easy. You can’t forget and remembering is overwhelming. A realization that you don’t have to wait, but what you want will easily pass you by. And from that day on you will know your loss. I remember adding the line about the train because our bass player in the Merchants of Death said he really liked to watch trains. So there you go!

Wow, this is an old one! As a younger man I am beginning to imagine the life of a musician and entertainer. But my stage is in an empty arena. Family building with no money and less time takes its toll. Spread thin, sacrifices required, you know, the usual stuff kids deal with. Time to redirect and focus my life to move forward. Learn from mistakes and turn painful lessons to good use.

I am not really finished with this song. Many of my songs move on to the ‘finished’ shelf when there is a lot more to be done with the song and/or recording. Being the jack-of-all-trades singer-songwriter/engineer-producer and all the rest means I can generate decent versions of my original music without waiting for band mates, schedules, funding and studio availability.

I realized long ago I cannot make them commercial or ‘radio-play’ worthy on my own. But here you can see early versions of a song or two developing or maybe ones I pushed out into the lime light too soon. I’m OK with that because most of my songs are not ready for prime time. Still, I think I have a bunch of great tunes posted on this blog. Some of my tunes are progressive folk, some lean towards alternative, some are a bit on the soundtrack side. Maybe not your style of music, but there’s something for everyone.

I hope you enjoy an early glimpse of “When In Doubt“.

I really love the twist in these lyrics. They have a push-pull effect as you go through each verse. It reminds me of the excitement and fear sharing the same space as you find yourself in a new relationship….. each new step scary and thrilling. Afraid to share too much or hold too tightly.

These lyrics are a sister version of Deep Inside. Writing the song I think I had too much to say so I ended up writing two songs with similar themes and lyrics. Neither is what I had planned and I am not convinced it worked out for the best, but I like the lyrics for each. The meaning is too complicated to get into details. We all hold a lot deep inside. Life is a journey full of traps with no signs to tell you how to get out.