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Life often creates songs for us in everyday conversations, this is that type of song. The tone, meaning, and words of the song just sprang to life from a conversation. Admittedly I was not in the conversation but passing by when I over heard the discussion. The poet, a young guy, talking to the subject, this girl who was in a car. They both appeared flustered with how the conversation was going. I heard him say things like "have a little faith in me." I took it from there adding chorus and flavor to the versus. This song really uses suspended chords, 7ths, and majors in an 80s rock band kind of way and the lyrics create an anthem style song. I don't know if the couple stayed together but that moment is captured in a few verses.
Hero's Grace is a song that has meant a lot to me over the years. The song is about seeing an idealized person become a normal person who also has flaws. The first and second verses describe the virtues of the hero. The chorus shows the hero being human by failing to live up to the Hero title. The bridge changes from the minor chords to a major chord progression to bring a tone of reconciliation. The lyrics of the bridge explain even though the hero is mortal it does not replace the good they did. The song was inspired by both personal experience and the bible verse 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
This song was written about a relationship I had found myself wanting out. The message of song is how confusing relationship can be, wanting to be around the person and at the same time being miserable. Not wanting to hurt the person, but also needing to get away. What is unique about the song is its structure. The song opens I'm going outta my head, I remember the things you said then the second verse not much gets to me then the last line of the last verse This is not how it should be. Put those lines in order and you have built the chorus. The bridge is fun because the change in rhythm and added an accidental E changing the pace.
This World Was Ours
This World Was Ours
This World Was Ours is one of the more fun songs I play. It is also the only true co-written song I have done. I wrote it one night with a friend. I had the guitar part written but the words were not flowing. I played the music for my buddy, he sat thoughtfully, then produced the line "fireflies on the backstop". I was hooked with that opening. It captures nostalgia of old high school baseball fields and summer nights. The song is about 2 people on a baseball field who were close, drifted apart, then came back together. They are reflecting on how they got to where they are in life.
Tough Enough World
Tough Enough World
Tough Enough is a song that was originally supposed to be a positive message for my two little girls as they grow up. I remember writing "Love the sum of your parts, don't hate what's different / Show the world your heart, not indifference" after scrolling through social media. The girls were happily playing, completely carefree, while I saw image after image of perfectionism through filters. I put the phone down thinking I don't want them to grow up under so much pressure to meet an existential standard. I know a song doesn't change the situation, but putting my opinion in words lets them know where I stand. The first and second verses are meritocracy in action. The idea that to be a decent person you must but in the spot light. Then the pre-chorus captures the moment reality catches up and anomie sets in. The people in the song were conditioned into thinking that doing everything right will yield the desired outcome. The song shows that it doesn't always. The listener can hear the symptoms of depression with the chorus. Then the bridge provides a bit of a self-help intervention. You have to be able to live with yourself. Some folks are alive and others barely survive.
Tough Enough is a song that was originally supposed to be a positive message for my two little girls as they grow up. I remember writing "Love the sum of your parts, don't hate what's different / Show the world your heart, not indifference" after scrolling through social media. The girls were happily playing, completely carefree, while I saw image after image of perfectionism through filters. I put the phone down thinking I don't want them to grow up under so much pressure to meet an existential standard. I know a song doesn't change the situation, but putting my opinion in words lets them know where I stand. The first and second verses are meritocracy in action. The idea that to be a decent person you must but in the spot light. Then the pre-chorus captures the moment reality catches up and anomie sets in. The people in the song were conditioned into thinking that doing everything right will yield the desired outcome. The song shows that it doesn't always. The listener can hear the symptoms of depression with the chorus. Then the bridge provides a bit of a self-help intervention. You have to be able to live with yourself. Some folks are alive and others barely survive.
Wild Ride was written during a time when my granny passed away. I had been no stranger to losing people, but her passing found me at a different point in my life. The song is a self-reflection on misguided decisions in my younger days and the causal way they can be dismissed. The song tries to directly capture the Wild Ride of youth with ups and downs but keeps a little tongue in cheek using cliches. In retrospect, situations can be seen as good or bad based on the perception of the person's memory, psychology, and dispositions. I have found that people can assign all kinds of meaning to all kinds of situations. The song concludes "I will never die" because youth cannot grasp that finality.
I'm Just Blind
I'm Just Blind
I'm Just Blind is a song about domestic violence using the guitar to create a requiem. The first verse describes grooming for an abusive relationship via a toxic dating relationship. The first time through the chorus sets the red flag statements as "throwaway" comments made about the relationship. In the second verse, the domestic violence becomes real "with the door closed". The second verses the person in the song is starting to have PTSD symptoms "watching herself with thoughts racing". The bridge tries to capture the cycles the subject is in. Many of these words came from domestic violence victims descriptions I have heard. Ultimately, the listener never knows how the relationship ends. I feel it is important to note, if someone is in a domestic violence situation they should seek help. Many things play into the situation like finances and isolation from support systems. Leaving an abusive relationship is a dangerous time that requires planning.
Road To Home
Road To Home
Road To Home has strong biblical themes through out the entirety of the song. The premise is based on 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. I wrote this song after I had stayed up all night and was laying in bed looking out the window watching the sun come up. The room was softly lit by the rising sun and everything was peaceful. Complete silence. I was laying in bed taking in the sleep-deprived experience of this sunrise the bible verse 2 Peter 3:10 popped into my head. I took the bible verse and tried to make a play on words with my experience. I landed on "don't fall asleep, keep your eyes on the prize, the son rise". This line served as a preamble to the rest of the song, its the subject of the essay. The versus and chorus are the answers. What I found in the song is that what I needed was already in front of me: love, acceptance, opportunity to serve others by living in the moment rather than the memory of those lost.
Road To Home has strong biblical themes through out the entirety of the song. The premise is based on 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. I wrote this song after I had stayed up all night and was laying in bed looking out the window watching the sun come up. The room was softly lit by the rising sun and everything was peaceful. Complete silence. I was laying in bed taking in the sleep-deprived experience of this sunrise the bible verse 2 Peter 3:10 popped into my head. I took the bible verse and tried to make a play on words with my experience. I landed on "don't fall asleep, keep your eyes on the prize, the son rise". This line served as a preamble to the rest of the song, its the subject of the essay. The versus and chorus are the answers. What I found in the song is that what I needed was already in front of me: love, acceptance, opportunity to serve others by living in the moment rather than the memory of those lost.
Dream Come True
Dream Come True
Dream Come True is one of the most straightforward songs I've written. Simply, I wrote this song for my wife. I like to write songs and use them to state my opinions publicly. I can do that because preforming and writing seems like another character is doing it, not me. When 1 on 1 discussions need to happen I get awkward. You can image how easy it is to talk to me about personal things, particularly my affections. Any reader can see that I am clearly a romantic based on my ideals in my songs. So imagine the grand romantic ideal I had created in my mind with almost unachievable expectations for relationships. Fortunately for me my awkward and romantic ideals were met when I married the person that grew up 4 doors down from me. This song is a reflection on the development of our relationship. The first verse contains pieces of a dream I had that captures the unrealistic romantic notions in my mind. The chorus focuses on both the work one has to put into a relationship and the self-doubt of the feelings being reciprocated. However, if they can be reciprocated then it will mean everything. In the second verse we are dancing around how we feel but we both know the truth. All this builds to my favorite part of the song where we are getting married, "And then someday became today, whatever will, will find a way". That is my favorite line in any song I've ever written.
Day In Your Life
Day In Your Life
Day In Your Life was written as a response to someone who heard me playing a show. She said, "your songs are slow and sad, can you write anything upbeat?" Not only did this hit me in my pride but a challenge ensued. I wrote A Day In Your Life intentionally with all major chords (positive right?) and with a pop feel (positive right?). The song is both a repartee to my critic, but also a song to help others feel connected by not feeling alone in their thoughts. If you ever read the lyrics they will read like a therapy session full of cognitive challenges and questioning of the self. For example, the first line asks "would you trade a day in your life?" The chorus says "live and know that what you do makes who you are, but after all, it is just a day in your life". In an interesting twist, I like playing this song. Its my version of a Socratic argument.
Day In Your Life was written as a response to someone who heard me playing a show. She said, "your songs are slow and sad, can you write anything upbeat?" Not only did this hit me in my pride but a challenge ensued. I wrote A Day In Your Life intentionally with all major chords (positive right?) and with a pop feel (positive right?). The song is both a repartee to my critic, but also a song to help others feel connected by not feeling alone in their thoughts. If you ever read the lyrics they will read like a therapy session full of cognitive challenges and questioning of the self. For example, the first line asks "would you trade a day in your life?" The chorus says "live and know that what you do makes who you are, but after all, it is just a day in your life". In an interesting twist, I like playing this song. Its my version of a Socratic argument.
Letting Go
Letting Go
Letting Go is a song about transitioning a belief in predestination to a world of free will. The opening verse describes someone trying to break free of a future that is holding the person back from where they want to be. They are fighting against a predetermined life. The metaphor "If I could run fast enough I know that I could fly" was inspired by my childhood. I was told once that if I ran fast enough I could fly. I never ran fast enough to fly but I was also rarely IT when playing tag. The chorus is the straight froward argument "I believed that everything was meant to be, but now I see that its all up to me". The second verse deals with the closed-mindedness I experience toward the topic of free will and my frustrations that people would not change. By the end of the song the singer has moved into a new state of mind.
Keep coming back to check out the page. I will add more songs and more details about the songs.
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