Songwriting

[pegkerr]

I've been thinking about songwriting lately. Uncharacteristically, I went to a panel on songwriting at Minicon. markiv1111 was on the panel; I certainly consider him the most talented songwriter than I know personally. I guess I've been toying with the idea because of how fun it was to do that one wizard rock filk and because of what soulcollaging has cracked open for me--I can be creative; why not consider poetry? Why not consider songwriting?

It was extremely interesting. The one comment that stood out for me--I think markiv1111 made it--was that the best songs are extremely simple, but the words just feel right. As I've been listening to the Holy Tree playlist I've put together, both from my own music, and from the .mp3s people have sent me, one song stands out as illustrating exactly what the panel was talking about: this is a song that's extremely simple but perfect, and I've fallen in love with it.

Here it is: Richard Shindell's "Wisteria." This is a live performance, not as polished of course, as the studio performance I have on .mp3. (The studio version has the added loveliness of using a poignant violin on the bridge.) But as a piece of songwriting (in my admittedly amateur opinion), I think it really couldn't be improved upon.

Here are the lyrics:

Let’s not drive away just yet
Give me a moment more
To walk through those rooms again
To walk through that door

If we turn off the radio
I’ve only to close my eyes
And the wind in the sycamores
Will carry me home

The vine of my memory
Is blooming around those eaves
But it’s true it’s a chore to tame wisteria

I’m tempted to ring the bell
Maybe they’d ask me in
Or maybe it’s just as well
To let it all be

Remember the price we paid?
It seemed like a lot back then
Remember the love we made
The day we moved in?

(chorus)

It did need some pruning back
And I know that it's not my place
But how could they just cut it down
And leave not a trace?

But let's not drive away just yet
Give me a moment more
To walk through those dreams again
To walk through that door

(chorus)

Comments

Songwriting

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

You do me honor. I wasn't even aware that you had an opinion about my songwriting one way or another. But I think there are a lot of people out there whose idea of songwriting is "simple but perfect," and it is a thing that works. (Note that there are at least two songs -- just going from what I can remember off the top of my head -- where, between "finishing" it and performing it in public, I deleted a verse.) Even so, though, there is room for a lot of variation, songs that would remind one of Paradise Lost, songs that might remind one of a Shakespearean sonnet, and a song here or there more reminiscent of a haiku. There are few that are bonafidely bad, and there is such a range -- and should be such a range.

As for your turning to poetry or song lyrics, I would support that quite wholeheartedly. In a poetry class I once took, the recommendation was made to write a little bit of poetry every day. This is an excellent idea, though I haven't done this in years. I am available to discuss this if you want to go from prose to poetry. And it is all "wordsmithing" one way or another. Try it and see what happens.

Nate

Re: Songwriting

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I bought a book on how to write poetry that I took along with me to the retreat. I didn't crack it since I got caught up in the soulcollaging instead. But I am interested, and I hope to read the book in the next couple months. I'd love to talk with you about it sometime.

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

Let me know if you don't have a copy of any of Shindell's work. I've got it all- and I think that there are a couple of others you would love.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I think I should buy any more music I get from him; support the artist and all that. Which CD should I start with, do you think?

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

http://www.richardshindell.com/ has all of them.

I would start with Courier. It's a great CD, and gives most of the highlights of his earlier work. Faves you might like, include "the next best western", "a summer wind, a cotton dress", and actually, much of Blue Divide is great. So is South of Delia & Vuelta.

There are songs that you can play on his website to check them out.


CryCryCry, the CD he did with Dar Williams & Lucy Kaplinsky is also great. Five of the songs from that CD are in my forever favorites list- Ballad of Mary Magdalene, Shades of Grey, Cold Missouri Waters, Northern Cross, and I Know What Kind of Love This IS

I've seen him live a number of times, and he is always fabulous. Plus, he's the kind of show that I can afford to go to- rarely over $20 a ticket.

[bluewaterlilies.livejournal.com]

I adore Richard Shindell, as well as many of his cohort. Are you familiar with Dar Williams? I think some of her music might resonate with you.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I don't know her music, really, and I don't have any of her albums, but I know I've heard a song of hers a time or two and liked them.

[carbonel]

Hmm. I know I've heard that song (probably on Spinner.com before it was borged by AOL), but I don't think Shindell was the artist who performed the version I heard.

I wonder who it was.

[laurel]

I'm so glad you like the song and thanks for the link to the video. Shindell is one of my absolute favorite songwriters (and I love his voice too and he's really wonderful in concert and certainly seemed like a smart and kind man the one time I got to talk to him for a bit after a show). I've been plugging him to everyone I can think of since his very first album came out.

I've all of his official releases and some other recordings (somewhere). He does come through here occasionally on tour, but he tours the east coast a lot more (plus he doesn't live in the U.S. and as a result doesn't tour here as often as some other artists).

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for including this song with the ones you gave me.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Do you listen to James Keelaghan? Somehow I think you'd like him a lot.

Some of the songs whose writings I love are the deadpan ones with a hook you somehow don't expect, like Robert Earl Keen's "Feelin' Good Again" and more recently the pop song "Hey There, Delilah" (no idea who did that one). And the ones with add and tricky tunes married perfectly to the words, like Stan Rogers' "Lockkeeper".

A few days ago I started hanging out on the Absolute Write poetry crit forum. It's been interesting; there don't seem to be too many things posted that are painfully bad and it's been fascinating to watch the ones with potential but with some clunkers improve as people get critiqued and rewrite them, and to be a part of that process. So far my only complain is that I haven't gotten much feedback on anything of my own I've posted. My current theory is that they're not particularly good or particularly bad technically, it's just that they're not engaging people's interest. That's a problem I don't know how to solve. However, that's one problem you don't have!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I love James Keelaghan, although I don't actually have any of his albums; I keep meaning to buy one, but money's been tight. I actually started writing a short story about one of his songs ("Cold Missouri Waters") but I never finished it.

I'll check out the forum, thanks.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Do you know the story of that one? If I recal right, it's based on a short story by the guy who wrote A River Runs Through It (Norman MacLean?) but I think it was originally a true story.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is a true story; I read several books about the incident when I was doing research.

Pity after all that research I couldn't write the story. But there was SO MUCH to learn about the technical aspects of firefighting that I just got bogged down. And damn it, I lost what I'd written when my computer crashed and I upgraded computers. That's one story I would have liked to have gone back and tried again--I'd put so much work into it--but what's written was lost. I feel really badly about that one.

Then I gave the idea to scott_lynch and invited him to write it. He liked the idea, but he's sort of buried in writing his own books. So the idea has gone fallow for now. If I ever picked it up again, I'd have to start from scratch, on the research, too.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Oh, how awful to lose what you'd done. It would have been interesting to read your perspective on the story.

[maribou]

Thanks for posting this video and lyrics, Peg - they're really touching.