OpenMic Songwriter's Challenge Week 7 entry - Right Place, Right Time
I gotta be honest, there was some struggle this week.
I couldn't decide which direction to go with this week's topic, "Right Place, Right Time." For the first three days, I did nothing but stress about it. Yesterday I finally buckled down and got it done, but I was sure that it was missing something.
Carrie Saves the Day
I knew that this little number needed some basic harmonies, so I asked my lovely wife, @carrieallen, to help me out. I spent a few hours practicing alone, solidifying my melody. Adding Carrie in was pretty simple, with a couple more hours of practice. Doesn't she sound great? Anyway, the two vocal lines was definitely the missing piece that I needed. I'm pretty proud of the result; I'm seeing leaps and bounds of improvement in my own songwriting skills and everyone else's. One more week to go. Let's finish strong!
Lyrics
Looking ‘round,
All the time,
Crooked sound,
Fallen rhyme,
Played the game,
Made the same
Mistakes as you.
Hope to find,
What I need,
Grope and grind,
Pick and plead,
Lord, I’m stuck,
Pour down luck,
Take me there.
To that place where I can have it all with plenty left to spare,
Friends I don’t see often as I’d like will all be there,
I’ll do the things that I forgot to do that needed done,
Loving that I’m living just for fun…
In the right place,
It’s a good place,
And once upon a time, When I was in my prime, I was there,
Though I might place, In the big race,
All I hope to find, to ease my troubled mind,
Is a corner of the floor in the right place.
Time to waste,
Never late,
Crimes of haste,
Heaven waits…
Time goes by,
Time to try,
Once again.
Moment’s gone,
Just as soon,
Show went on,
Trust the moon,
Waste away,
Another day,
Here I go…
If timing is the only thing that matters let me in,
Let me be the one that gets there first,
To miss the boat, the wagon or the train would be a sin,
To be the last to know is just the worst…
But in the right time,
It’s the good time,
Happiness today, Can quickly fade away, So live it up,
It’s the right time, You can’t fight time,
Right now you are blessed, So get it off your chest
And do your best And may the rest
Of yours be always the right time.
This is an entry in the #OpenMic Songwriter's Challenge. You can find this week's contest post HERE. We're writing a song every week for eight weeks, after which @meno will award the grand prize of a brand new guitar to one lucky and skilled songwriter.
I am proud to have accomplished every week of this challenge so far. I'm sure the last week will be no picnic... Bring it on!
Wow! Beautifully written and performed you guys! The harmonies are so perfect. I especially love the buildup of dramatic tension, both from the quieter sections to the more driven ones, and from the solo vocal parts to the harmonies.
Great lyrics, too... it's like a beseeching prayer and a blessing at the same time.
("...may the rest/Of yours be always the right time.") Wishing you the same :)
Resteemed
Thank you @bennettitalia!
I feel @chrisroberts is getting better every time he writes a new ... ANYTHING! 😍
...and he's already pretty freakin' awesome!
Thanks, Bennett! Great feedback, again :)
I was especially proud of the structure of the song (all that buildup stuff). It started out as those short lines, the three syllable ones. I've been reading a lot of other poets' work, and I realized I'm behind on abstraction. I'm impressed with others' ability to write poems with less-than-complete sentences. I know sometimes a line is stronger the shorter it is. This was a good stretch from my comfort zone, which I used anyway in other parts of the song ;)
I'm psyched about the topic for the final week. It comes out today, and I've pretty much got today and tomorrow to get it done.
aaaahhhh I need to go see what it is!!! Thanks for the reminder Chris!
Yeh I always appreciate the realization that there's an area I need to work on in my creative expression, it gives me an opportunity to streeeeeettttch.
Your finished product sounds effortless tho. Only been on here a short while and already I can see how interesting it's going to be to watch other artists' development, along with my own :)
Til We Meet Again... It's going to be a cascade of sappy sad goodbye songs... I've already written mine; it's a damn shame how few jokes are in it.
LMAO that's awesome :D
I feel like I've already written several of those... gonna have to think of a really different take on the theme ;)
You would kill it in the Minnesota folk scene.
If you ever go on a tour, you should hit Minneapolis!
Cool, thanks! I'll check out some stuff. As far as tours, we rarely venture outside the mountain walls that surround us. ;)
I don't believe I've watched your entry this week yet... I'll pop over.
You're right this week was a struggle! But you did great! I like how you alternate in your lyrics between those short lines and the longer more explanatory lines. Interesting and very creative. Now off to the last week!
Thanks, Geena! I've been trying to figure out how to say more with less words in my poetry. Those short line verses were an exercise in this; I really like the way they came out. You probably noticed, but I'm normally pretty wordy. ;)
For a few days I thought I wouldn't get anything in this week, which would've been a serious disappointment. I slept great last night after getting this posted.
Let's bring it home! :)
Nice, went full country road on this lol. Harmonies really added Carrie, your voiced work well together.
Enjoyed that call and response device. Worked really well for this.
I think you picked the right direction ;)
Maybe I did, maybe I did... ;)
I just wish I had two or three more people to beef up those harmonies even more. :)
Thanks for watching, Jay!
I am very interested in your post
Thanks! Then you may be interested in the video that I shared in my post. :)
I share posts like this all the time. Seriously, all the time.
LOL! #true
great song guys :) such a nostalgic feeling classic sound. It makes me think of watching great movies
Thanks, Basil! It was really fun, and I actually enjoy listening to it as well. Any specific movies you had in mind? I need those movies in my life. Movies suck now.
well the first one was 'oh brother where art thou' haha, but the feeling was one of being cozy with family back when I was a kid, with a fire going and an old analogue tv and just feeling safe in that classic vibe or something.....I can't specifically put my finger on any other titles....but it seems to span a whole genre in my mind....
Woo Hoo! This was fun!
It certainly was for me! Thanks for watching; hope you still have some time to relax with #openmic popping like this ;)
This is fun, both rockin those harmonies, and one little guitar! Makes me think of a roadtrip. xo