I am typing this as I am watching game six of the NBA finals. I am a fan of the Golden State Warriors. My favorite player is Seth Curry. He is a great shooter and a good role model. One aspect of his game that I love is that he can shoot free throws. I believe if you are in the NBA is that you should be able to make free throws consistently. 

     This has been a rough series for the Warriors. Kevin Durant out with a calf injury and did not play until game 5. Klay Thompson got hurt and was unable to play in game 4. Kevin Durant got hurt in game 5 and had to have an Achilles surgery.  In game six Klay Thompson hurt his knee and had to leave the game in the third quarter. It is now the fourth quarter and the Warriors could win it. They are down by three with about three and a half minutes left in the game. 

     The Warriors may or may not win but they have battled like true Warriors. I love their competitiveness. Playing without two of their star players and still in the game. I love it. 

      We are all going to have obstacles in life. Life is hard. Cars will break down, Paychecks will be short. The AC unit will quit during the hottest day of summer. Your heart will get broken. Wives will leave their husbands. Husbands will cheat on their spouse. Kids will get broken bones riding their bikes. Obstacles are everywhere. 

       The game is down to the wire. Eighteen seconds left and the Warriors are down by 1. Golden State has ten seconds left and are down by one. The Warriors barely lost but I love the way they fought. The lesson for us is we need to keep fighting. God is on our side.  

      Yesterday, I was watching the movie a star is born. It is about a guy who is an established superstar who is falling  in love with a girl. The girl happens to be a struggling singer songwriter who is about to give up on her dreams.  He decides to give her advice on songwriting. I thought it was good so here it is. 

     Bradley Cooper says, Talent comes everywhere. Everybody's talented. Everybody in the bar is talented at one thing or another but having something to say, and a way to say it, so people will listen to it. That is a whole 'nother bag.  Now listen, until you get out there and try to do it, you will never know. That's just the truth. If there's just one reason we are suppose to be here is so people can hear it.

     Sometimes we thing that all it takes to be successful is talent. Talent is over rated. There are better singers out there than alot of the singers that are superstars. I like to watch the Voice and American Idol. Sometimes the contestants are better singers than the superstar judges that are judging them. It takes more than talent. Songwriters got to have something to say. I listen to some songs, ( country and pop) and there is no substance to it. I remember making fun of the song, Walking on Broken glass. Walking on broken glass was repeated and repeated and repeated over and over.

      A good example of having something to say is a song by T. Graham Brown. The name of the song is Wine into Water. He had something to say. Here are the lyrics. 

You've heard a multitude of prayer's on my behalf

I pray one more is not too much to ask.

I've tried to fight this battle by myself

but it's a war that I can't win without Your help.

 

Chorus- Tonight, I'm as low as any man can go

I'm down and I can't fall much farther

and once upon a time, You turned the water into wine

and now, on my knees, I'm turning to you Father.

Could You help me turn the wine back into water.

 

       I really like that song. That is a songwriter who really has something to say. If you listen to the song, he has a great way to say it. and people like to listen to it. That is why that song was a hit. 

        Songwriter's need to get out there and play there music. That is the only way you can find out if your songs connect with other people. If there is not a connection, it is time to go back to the drawing board or maybe, you are playing your song to the wrong audience. If you are playing to the wrong audience then you need to be out there playing so you can find out who your audience is. 

        I hope that this has been encouraging as you chase your dream. Even if your dream isn't songwriting. We all need to be chasing  our dream. Remember the way you do your dream is not how somebody else does there dream. Dream chasing is not baking cookies and they are the same size and shape. We are all created different with our own way of how we see and do life. Keep on chasing your dream, your way. 

      

 

       

    I wrote a song with someone I met over the internet. The name of the song is Somewhere in Texas.

 

Somewhere in Texas

 

Playing guitar all day

Living on tip jar pay

Singing on Friday nights

 

Trying to get a break

Takes every penny I make

Want my name in the marquee lights

 

Chorus- Someday, I'll get there

I ain't there yet.

Out on the road

doing what I do best.

 

Chasing the blacktop

wherever it takes us.

You can find me

Somewhere in Texas.

 

Singing Jason Aldean 

Selling homemade cd's

singing my autograph.

 

Mixing memories

with opportunities.

It's one step up, one step back.

 

Chorus- Someday I'll get there

I ain't there yet.

Out on the road

doing what I do best.

 

Chasing the blacktop

wherever it takes us.

You can find me

Somewhere in Texas.

 

From Dallas to El Paso

From Lubbock to Laredo

I play every county fair.

 

It's dance halls and bars

but no stadiums, so far

Maybe, you'll see me there.

 

Chorus- Someday, I'll get there

I ain't there yet.

Out on the road

doing what I do best.

 

Chasing the blacktop

wherever it takes us

You can find me

Somewhere in Texas.

 

     I worked on adding melody and chords to this song. I spent time trying to get the words to sing correctly. I chose the words very carefully. Finally I liked it and recorded a rough demo of it. I quickly sent it to NSAI (Nashville Songwriting Association International). No sooner than I sent it in and I thought, Oops!. It is not commercial. .What do I mean by commercial?  Not everybody will  care about the singer out on the road. I believe it needs tweaked to make it better.  

     Another problem with the song.is---- There is no girl in the song. After thinking about the song some more. The second verse could be about why he plays guitar and travels around. He is looking for the perfect girl. And where will he find the perfect girl- you guessed it. Somewhere in Texas.

     What happens next.? This could be the bridge on the third verse. He falls in love with the perfect girl, gets married, buys a house and lives happily every after, Somewhere in Texas. This makes the song more appealing to a bigger audience. That is what commercial songwriting is about. and  I am trying  to get better at writing songs this way. 

 

      

 

 

    I am always looking for song ideas. It might be a title, some catchy words that sing well together or maybe I'll write a few lines. It might be the start of a song or just practice at writing lyrics. Every Thursday I get a Title from Songwriter Pro. I will write a verse and a chorus to the title and post it on the website. I do this because it is good practice and it is fun.

    I decided to write a lyric  about hopelessness. I don't know if I'll do anything else with it but I thought I would share it. 

Hopelessness is a town, everybody drives through

Some stop for a while and spend a day or two.

I stayed so long that I built a home

but nobody visits and I'm here alone.

 

How depressing is that? Do I really feel hopeless? No, but that day when I wrote that, yeah it felt like a bad day. Maybe a pity party day and I was the Grand Marshall of the parade that got rained out. I hope you have a day filled with hope. I hope God blesses you today. 

 

     Have you ever lived in a bad neighborhood? I have. Our family has lots of stories about our experiences that we love to share. I wrote a song with my friend Dave about living in central Topeka. The first verse is about when Heather's bike got stolen when she was about eleven year old. She was so sad. The good news is that we did get the bike back. The police found a grown man riding it down Topeka Boulevard at 2am with bolt cutters strapped onto the bike. 

     The second verse is about a drive by shooting that took place as Jeremy was getting his homework out of the  car. The shooters were letting the bullets fly at a house that was two doors down. This was when we realized it was a drug house. Sometimes we need hints. Fortunately, the neighbors moved out pretty soon after this incident. 

      Samantha's pillow cries

Her birthday gift's chained to the porch rail

The purple streamer shine in the light

She feels free when she's riding

one last glimpse through the hole in the blinds.

 

A broken chain is all that's left now

Shadow stole her heart of joy. 

She sighs, "Oh, no! It's gone!

only God hears her voice.

 

Chorus- There's no home sweet home in our neighborhood

Lives shatter like windows, banshee curtains blowing in the wind.

Somebody lock the doors, somebodies gonna cry

Nobodies sleeping sound tonight, as Samantha's pillow cries.

 

Daddy's cars parked by the curb

As an SUV rolls by

Pistols brandished out the window

Hear the bullets fly.

 

Chorus, There's no home sweet home in our neighborhood

Lives shatter like windows, banshee curtains blowing in the wind

Somebody lock the doors tonight, somebodies coulda died

Nobodies sleeping sound tonight as Samantha's pillow cries.

 

Time heals the scars, the scars nobody sees

Hopes the medicine, Samantha really needs.

 

Chorus- There's no home sweet home in our neighborhood

Lives shatter like windows, banshee curtains blowing in the wind

Somebody lock the door tonight, Nobodies gonna die

Nobodies sleeping sound tonight as Samantha's pillow cries.