My second year doing this challenge! Last year was a great experience and I learned a lot, so it’s great to do this again. Last time, I found the recording a bit of a learning curve. This time, the recording is a challenge again, but more, this time, due to timing. We’re in the middle of a household project of upheaval proportions, and I don’t have a suitable space set up for recording. Then I discovered that when my computer recently went in for servicing and they were forced to wipe my memory, the updated OS they put on it did not seem to include GarageBand. (I can actually download it though, I’ve learned)
But guess what? I have GarageBand on my iPhone, and I’ve been meaning to play with it, anyway, so see how it works and if it is something useful to me. Looks like it could be super handy songwriting tool when I’m on the go. I really didn’t expect it to be half as good as it is, especially the vocals. I am pleasantly surprised! Time constraints means recording #1 didn’t get the time and care I intended, but I think it gets the gist of the song across well enough.
I immediately knew when I saw our choices for the challenge that the 2 chord option was for me. The very simple chorus kind of popped out of thin air as soon as I started playing the chords, and I knew it was a keeper. The verses I have visited and revisited over the course of the week.
I definitely knew I wanted to begin with a strong sense of place and imagery. I find that when I have strong mental images from which to draw when I’m writing a song, it gives me a place to revisit in my mind when I get stuck. I can go back to that place again, and explore my senses to see what else might emerge. A vivid imagination is a valuable tool.
I’ve struggled a bit with the melody, which is not where I usually struggle. I guess this is the challenge of a 2 chord song…it would be too easy to fall into a repetitive melody throughout, and I am consciously striving to avoid that. To me, that means a great learning opportunity.
I consider this song to be, still, a work in progress, and look forward to the feedback on what I have so far. Maybe I will have time to work on a better recording before the challenge is over. Here are the lyrics:
Talk to Me
On the edge of night, the light through the trees outside
Reveals just a piece of the sky, but I want more
I want clarity, the truth about everything
The blatant reality of open doors
So talk to me, I wish you would talk to me
I wish you would talk to me, ’cause I let you down
I’m all tied up in strings, obsessing on everything
I hang on the walls in the wings, but you just walk on
But just stop and turn, say it all even if it hurts
The darkness is worth the brand new dawn
So talk to me, I wish you would talk to me
I wish you would talk to me, ’cause I let you down
The sun is on the edge, the sun is on the edge
The sun is on the edge, I’m waiting on the edge
To break through, to break through
So talk to me, I wish you would talk to me
I wish you would talk to me, ’cause I let you down
Shauna 