What does a millionaire do after he earns his first million? Well, I wouldn't know but my best guess is that he wants to earn his second million. What does a songwriter do after he wins his first contest? Of course, I enter the song contest again. I entered it in 2015. I had high hopes. Maybe, I got this figured out. Ha! Ha! If songwriting was easy everybody would be doing it. This is part of the struggle. We chase the dream and make a step closer and then we pick ourselves back off the ground.
I decided that I would enter four songs in the Walnut Valley festival song contest. The first song I sent in was Puddles of Pain. This is a song about heartbreak. We have all been through it, have a family member who has gone through it or we are going to go through the pain of a broken relationship. I was thinking about a friend of mine who was going through this struggle.
Puddles of Pain
Water pours like a waterfall on a rainy Kansas day
I stomp down on the gas, in my beat up Chevrolet.
My hands grip the steering wheel, court docket in my pocket
Life is like a sad song of love and how I lost it.
Chorus- Rain falls, down, Pain is all around.
Puddles everywhere I go
I'm driving through puddles,
Puddles of pain.
This morning stopped by a pawn shop, saw her ring on display
clerk behind the counter said, "He bought it yesterday."
I asked, "If I could hold it?" That diamond it still shined.
Flipped out my Visa, it's mine a second time.
Chorus- The rain falls down, pain is all around
Puddles everywhere I go.
I'm driving through puddles,
Puddles of pain.
The weather man on the radio said, "The forecast is bright.
Storms will pass through and stars will shine tonight."
Chorus- The rain falls down, pain is all around
Pain everywhere I go.
I'm driving through puddles
Puddles of pain.
Here are the judges comments- Cool country tune. I would have liked to see some sort of connection between the first verse and second. The theme is going through life's pains but it'd be cool for there to be a kind of narrative throughout. Great production as well. The second judge wrote- A really fine performance and production. I like the way you told the story through the pawning of the ring. There is a lot of mystery left to the listener though. A very fine portrayal of universal heartbreak.
The judges commented on the performance and the production of this song. This was a song that I really liked so I spent some money to get it recorded at Pitch Perfect Studio in Nashville, TN. Steve is the owner and plays all of the instruments. Steve suggested Stewart Halcomb to sing on the recording. Steve and Stewart both did a great job, but this song did not win the contest. I had won the previous year with me singing and playing my guitar in my home studio.
Songwriters hear this statement all of the time. It is not about the production. It is all about the song. Yes, and I roll my eyes and disagree. You can wax and polish and old car and it will shine like a diamond. It is still an old car. On the other hand, you can have a brand new car and it can be dirty and muddy. It is still a new car. Great songs are new cars.
The second song I entered was Linwood Café. It is the song that I am going to play for my next Bluebird tryout. It did not win but I still believe in the song. I went for a mentoring session at Nashville Songwriting Association International. My mentoring session was with Mason Douglas. He is a songwriter in Nashville. I played him some of my songs and asked him, "Which one he thought would have the best chance of winning at the Bluebird Café?" He suggested, Linwood Café.
He had a couple great suggestions. I had written the song as a folk song. It had the alternating bass notes in it. What are alternating bass notes? The best example I can think of is Johnny Cash's- I'll walk the line. Mason felt that dated the song. He played a more straight forward approach and it sounded more modern and better. He also suggested changing a line. He said, " It would be cool to mention "eggs over easy" in the song." So I adopted his idea.
It is hard to know what songs to play. Remember they are all my babies. Freckles and all. It is great to get advice from someone who is a pro in this area. I appreciate all of the help that I have received from NSAI over the years. I can't reach my goals by myself. I need help to do what I love to do. You will also need help to reach your goals. We don't have to do it all by ourselves. Maybe the person that is helping you is exactly what you need. Maybe you are Paul McCartney and your helper is John Lennon. Wow! They wrote so many great songs. Wouldn't it be sad if you missed the opportunity because you wanted to do it all by yourself?