I have auditioned at the Bluebird twice and am getting ready to go for my third time. I am struggling to remember what song I played the first time I auditioned. I remember I was undecided on what song to play. I had practiced both songs and felt that I could do either one. The two songs were Big Hit and Man in the Mirror.
Big hit is a fun song. It is a songwriter song. It is about how songwriters feel about the music that we write. If you're not a songwriter, I can let you know some of our frustrations. The song that you are currently working on is your best song yet. It might not be finished but you have super high hopes for it. After you are done with it and have had it evaluated by a professional song evaluator, you are back to reality. All of our songs are our babies. They are all precious and they probably have flaws that proud parents can't see.
Big Hit is a song about another song that I wrote. The song that I was thinking about when I wrote Big Hit was Shelter in the Storm. I like Big Hit better now than Shelter in the Storm. I love the chorus to Big Hit. Here is the chorus-
It's a big hit, it's my Mommas favorite song.
It's a big hit, everybody sing along.
It's a big hit, can my family be wrong?
At my family reunion, It's a big hit.
The other song I was thinking about playing was Man in the Mirror. Yes, I stole that title. Thank you Michael Jackson. It is perfectly legal to steal titles. It is illegal to steal lyrics and melodies. Man in the Mirror is about a guy who looks in the mirror at his life that needs changing.
I refolded her love letter stuffed it in a dresser drawer
neath a Bon Jovi t-shirt, I don't wear anymore.
She's a hard one to get over, lust and liquor didn't work.
I'm tired of feeling numb, I wanna feel the hurt.
Chorus- I see tears in the mirror,
Wanna see a little clearer,
everything you'd love to change,
in the life of the man in the mirror.
I remember talking to my son, Jeremy and he thought I should go with Big Hit. I had one line in the song that said, Nashville won't listen to it. I didn't know if they would see the humor in that line. I was on the fence and don't remember it I fell off of the left or the right side of the fence. I guess it doesn't matter. I still fell off the fence. There is a lot of disappointments when you are having folks listen to your songs. You need to have alligator hide and a short memory. I am doing really good on the short memory.
My second audition I played, "Paid" The lyrics for it are in chapter 5. It was a songwriter song that is fun to play. It was the only fun song that I heard out of the fifty songwriters that auditioned. Maybe, that should tell me something. Don't go funny but I love funny songs. Two strikes.
I have been practicing the song that I am going to play. It is called "Linwood Café". Linwood Café is a song that I wrote about my brother-in-law Robin Leach. Robin was a dairy farmer, a politician, and a character. He loved to stir the pot and he didn't cook. I loved to watch him as he had fun getting people going. He always talked about the Linwood Café. It was more than the food. It was about the people and the interaction with people. Here is the first verse and chorus.
I drive my Dodge downtown, before I do my chores.
White Stucco building, brass bell on the door.
A diner with a counter and mismatched silverware.
You can hear the bacon sizzle, smell the coffee in the air.
Chorus- It's old friends and politics, biscuits and grits.
farmers wearing flannel shirts and dusty baseball caps.
Home cooked food and home town ways, a good start to my day
I like my eggs over easy, at the Linwood café.
Robin passed away from heart problems a couple years ago. I miss Robin. I wanted to do a song about his favorite café. I hope I did it justice. My favorite verse is the second verse. I won't be playing it at the Bluebird because you only get to play one verse and a chorus. Here is the second verse-
I'm worried bout this season, our quarterback is hurt
they had another split, down at the Baptist church.
I bought a raffle ticket to help out the PTA
We're solving world problems at the Linwood Café.
Does that sound like a small town? If only world problems were that easy to fix. Maybe, I should play the second verse? No, first verse. It is tough not to second guess yourself. I would hate to be a football coach.
I have been working on my arrangement of the song. Originally it had a folky feel so I have tried to give it a more country feel. I am playing in Nashville not Arkansas. I hope all of the judges have been to an old fashioned small town café and can relate to the song, Linwood Café.