wow

Subject:

Comments:
: : You have my undying respect, Amanda. I still think this is a monster of a task..I don't know if I could do it--to put that emotion to sound. So hard. All my blessings and may the universe support you. : J : : Hello Julian :) : : No - you have not misunderstood me at all - I AM writing a song about my daughter going to live with her dad - & not just to visit. But you are very much mistaken if you think that this is not a subject for a song....in fact, I rarely write anything self-expressive UNLESS it is about an issue of this kind magnitude. I don't write 'cheesy sonnets', I write about very in-your-face real issues - and leave the rest to someone else. : : When I write a lyric, I am exposing my soul. I don't settle for just any old word that fits - it has to be EXACTLY the thought or feeling that I'm trying to convey. But it goes even further than that. In this particular song, I am talking about the separation of a mother from her child - but it is worded in such a way that anyone who has ever lost someone they love - whether you're talking about the end of a love affair, or a loved one dying, or whatever you're own story is - could relate, and the song would 'speak' to the listener in a very personal way. : : I never, ever think "I'll stick this chord with that lyric" when I'm writing the music either. I write music that conveys exactly the same emotional impact as the words - there MUST be a 'marriage' between the words and music. It's not about making 'noise' - a song can be the most powerful comment on the human condition there is. It's as much a part of what makes us human as laughing and crying - and as natural as breathing. : : I don't for a minute expect to deal with any issue (much less one of this importance) just by writing a song - that WOULDN'T be doing it justice. For me, the process of dealing with any heavy emotional issue is pretty much the same as anyone else. I withdraw, I cry, I sit in silence, I talk it out with those close to me - all the usual stuff - and then, to bring a sense of resolution, I write a song. In this way, my own painful experiences are transformed into something that has some meaning. Then, when I perform the song, it touches the people in the audience and speaks to them in a special way. I see it as a gift that I've been given to express myself that then transforms into a gift that I can give to others. : : Writing, for me at least, is an emotionally exhausting process....and i won't rest until I have done this subject justice. It's a biggie. : : smiles : : Amanda :) : : : : : I just read this through thoroughly...am I correct in understanding that your daughter went to live with her dad, as in went to *live* with her dad..not just visit for a time?? : : : What I wanted to say was that I don't think it is possible to write a song : : : about that. Sure, you could write a cheesy melody and some sincere lyrics but...c'mon, Amanda, what kind of song do you think it would take to adequately express something like this? I probably have misunderstood you so completely disregard everything I'm saying if i'm mistaken.. but this thing is huge.. you don't just write up some spiffy little sonnet about it. Geeesh! You're probably doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing...not that you'll listen to me.. you've probably got these raelly wonderful parts that will make for a truly expressive song...but you're blocking because you can't get past this traditional "well now I've got to write the lyrics, and now this is a chord and now..." and you don't see that this is your mind teaching you something to make a really new and wonderful creation. Of course I'm probably wrong and you'll come up with something brilliant and feel all better about it..but if it were me I'd probably not try to disgrace this kind of emotion with noise..I'd probably go with something like silence, a la The Death of Benjamin Britten or-something-or-other.... : : : Anyway I've probably misunderstood. : : : J : : : : : : : Evening all :) : : : : OK, so it's after 4am late Sunday night (so technically it's Monday morning, but that's not the point) - and I'm having a crisis. : : : : I'm trying to write a song and I can't get it out. That may not sound like that much of a big deal to you, but I'm a professional songwriter - so it's a very big f~*^!ing deal to me! I workshop high school kids to write songs as a part of my living for God's sake, and I can't even write one of my own..and this song is REALLY important to me. If it sounds like I'm freaking out, that's only because I AM! : : : : I've had the idea for this particular song floating around in the netherlands of my mind for weeks now - ever since my daughter went to live with her dad. I've done everything I know how to cope - but still I spend so many nights just crying. Anyway, a friend called me late a couple of nights ago and caught me upset. He said he was calling because he was worried about me, that he'd noticed how often this sort of night was happening - and when I was going to pull my finger out and write the song. He knows, as does anyone close to me, that I can't seem to really deal with something painful until I've expressed it in a song. And he's absolutely right, you know. It's what I've always done. Back in the days when I wasn't able to cry (I used to throw up instead..charming, eh?) I used to express myself through song. I would get to a point where I felt I would burst if I didn't express myself somehow - and music was something that occupied most of my waking hours - so it was a natural progression, really....I just sort of fell into it. : : : : I know I'm rambling here and I'm sorry, if you'll just bear with me while I try to get this out right. You see, the problem is that now I'm blocked. I spent last night and some time tonight finishing off the words - and it was really really emotionally exhausting. I can't stress this enough. I mean, I cried so much I gave myself a headache. Tonight, I finally got on to the piano (that was a real effort too, I had so much resistance) and then I started playing the saddest music - it just kind of flowed from my fingers. : : : : Now, I can't seem to get the two together, and I don't mean that they don't go together. I mean that I can't bring myself to try them together. They may not even go together. How do I explain this? ALWAYS, whenever I've been writing a song, I can either imagine the music behind the words, or I can imagine the words going with the music. Tonight, I'm somehow numb to it. I can read the words, and they evoke the emotion I'm trying to convey. I hear the music - and IT evokes the emotion I'm trying to convey....but I can't hear that music and think those words all at the same time.... : : : : This must sound so lame

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: