I have been writing a song this week called Coffee. The title of the song changed today. The title for the last week was Pour it out. This is part of my editing process. I have been working consistently on this song since my day off on Wednesday. Today is Saturday. 

     I will sit in my studio and play the song over and over and over. Singing it in differently, changing lyrics, changing them back to the original, and changing them again. It is a time consuming process. I do things a little different now than I used to. 

    I used to try to find the rhyme. In the past I would try to match the last word of my lyric with the next rhyming word. Maybe I am rhyming Bruce and Goose. (For Thanksgiving dinner my wife made goose, The only person who was unhappy was her brother Bruce.) The problem with this is who cares if Bruce is unhappy, that is not what the story is about. And also my wife's brother's name is Bobby. 

    Now I would try to convey the message of the song instead of rhyming it. (For Thanksgiving dinner my wife made goose, that morning I remember I forgot to buy cool whip for the pumpkin pie at the store.) I rhymed goose and to. Not a perfect rhyme but I think it works fine in a verse. 

     I like the editing process. The only problem is that it is time consuming. The best part is when you get it right. You know when you have mastered the puzzle. It rhymes or near rhymes and it conveys the message of the song. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. 

     I will post this song after I get it recorded and demoed. Have a great day and a great Thanksgiving with Bruce eating goose. 

    Do you remember the song that Mac Davis wrote called, I Believe in Music? I really liked that song back in the day. I thought I would try to write a song that was in that lane. The name of my song is called- Three minute Song. Yeah, that is not a very original title. You could say that I might not be too deep of a thinker. lol Here are the lyrics.

Three Minute Song 

Theres a guitar in a case in my bedroom 

the e string like my life, keeps going out of tune 

I play it when I'm down, cause it lifts me up 

sometimes it works, sometimes it's enough to 

Chorus Soothe a stormy heart 

as I strum those strings  

black clouds turn lighter 

 every chorus I sing  

The sun starts to shine 

the raindrops are gone 

I believe in the magic  

of a three minute song. 

I'm a singer on a stage a local night club 

as they dance to the music everybody loves 

I sing momma rock me like a wagon wheel 

I see they're joy, know how it feels 

After a hard days work as your driving home 

turn on the radio, and listen real close , let it 

Chorus Soothe a stormy heart 

as I strum those strings  

black clouds turn lighter 

with every chorus you sing  

The sun starts to shine 

the raindrops are gone 

You believe in the magic  

of a three minute song. 

You believe in the magic 

of a three minute song

     Trying to write a song about how powerful music can be in our lives. Music can't fix everything, that is where God comes in, but it can sometimes make us feel better or help us to forget some of our troubles. Have a great day. 

     There is more to songwriting than writing a song. Let me give you some examples of other stuff I have done in the last week. I finished writing a song called Three Minute Song. After finishing it I had to change hats and become a recording engineer. I had to record three or four versions of the song and pick the best one. This is easy to do. The best one is usually one where you are able to, (at least) sing the correct words. Even though I am looking at the lyrics as I sing. ( Hint- it helps to know how to read) lol

       The next step is to master it. This is when I tweak the EQ's, make sure the vocals are loud enough but not too loud, and get it sounding good enough so my buddy Bryton can hear and feel what I am looking for in the song. 

       Now I need to get the lyrics ready to send to my demo maker. I make two copies. One copy has just the words and the second copy has words and chords. Also I send him a copy of my rough demo.

        The best part of songwriting is getting a finished demo back. Songwriter Heaven is what I call this. Christmas in October. It is especially sweet when the song turns out better than you could imagine. Maybe that is why it is like heaven.

      Next it is time to get it evaluated. I am not a good judge of my songs. Neither was my Mom. I then share my song at NSAI meetings and with and NSAI evaluator for feedback and suggestions to improve the song. Of course, all of these processes take time. It is just part of being a songwriter. It's time to write another song. 

    I remember the first time I heard that phrase. Jeremy and I were at Highland Body shop and he was picking out a color to paint his Mustang. The color he chose was Corvette Blue.

It was a 94 mustang, that needed fresh paint 

gonna get it done, with money I saved 

mowing baseball fields, and chalking base lines 

cause I wanted it done before school starts 

Took it to the body shop, got an estimate 

on what it'd cost, got the time and date 

when to drop it off, when to pick it up 

had a color in my mind that I liked 

Corvette blue, oh, oh, Corvette blue 

Corvette  blue, oh, oh, Corvette  blue. 

Well theres so many colors, that I didn't know 

you got primary colors don't forget the rainbow 

metalic paints with ceramic crystals 

change in the light and different angles 

Corvette blue, oh oh Corvette Blue

Corvette blue, oh oh Corvette Blue

 I love an ocean view and my baby's eyes 

then and there I realized 

I knew the color, I was gonna choose 

I wanted something cool, like 

Corvette blue, oh oh Corvette blue 

Corvette blue, oh,oh Corvette blue 

Someday gonna get me a different ride 

get me a chevy with a 327 

a convertible, make it a 69 

Can you guess the color? 

Corvette blue, oh, oh Corvette blue 

Corvette blue, oh, oh Corvette blue

    Writing songs is about practice. No, this song isn't going to be a hit but it means something to me. (Maybe Jeremy) This is one of those songs that will live in a notebook or in a computer file. So today it gets a chance to be seen and tell it's story, Jeremy's story,  or my story. Corvette Blue.

    I played a twenty minute set at The Stage 11 at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival. Stage 11 is a small tent (stage) in the Elm Grove camping section. I signed up for a twenty minute slot to play some of my songs. I played my songs to the best of my ability. I played five songs and the crowd clapped after each one. (That is a good thing.) lol 

    After playing I was headed back to my camp and I felt defeated. I felt like I had just lost a fight. I didn't even know I was in a fight. I asked myself, " Where is this feeling coming from? "  I decided it was how I was feeling after my performance. I wanted to know "Why am I feeling this way?" It took me awhile to come up with the answer.

    The songs that I played were personal songs. What do I mean when I say personal songs? I can give you two examples of songs that I played. The first song I played was called Polaroid Memories. It is a song about my Grandma. Every holiday and family event, she was there with her Kodak camera taking pictures and telling us to smile for the camera, and everybody say cheese. 

     The bridge of Polaroid Memories takes a different turn. Here is the bridge-

Grandma's gone but the clock never stops, except in the photos that Grandma shot.

To me that is a powerful description of a photograph. When I look back at photos and see a young Jim. I will never be as young as that picture because the clock is still ticking. The next photo I have taken I am going to be older. ( and grayer)

      Another song that I played in my set was Best Friend. It is a song about my Mom and her best friend. I am proud to be able to say that my Mom's best friend was Jesus. After my Dad died she lived alone in her apartment. That is a terrible feeling to be alone and lonely. She was not alone. She talked to Jesus. She told him alll her concerns, her problems, and all of her children and grandkids problems also. What a great thing to know that you have someone who is praying for you. 

      These two songs are part of my life that I am sharing with strangers. I am exposing myself, here I am, here is my life and that is a tough thing to do. I was making myself vulnerable. Some people say that being vulnerable is a sign of courage. I don't know if that's true but being vulnerable gives meaning to your songs. (Unlike most pop songs) 

       I am going to keep writing songs and being vulnerable. I may not like the feeling but I hope that others can relate to my songs. Be vulnerable.