“Burn, Red Phoenix”
Wednesday, 05/30/2018. 07:05 A.M.
I decided to post on each of the songs from “Zenith” here! These posts will all be tagged #GTZenith and contain lyrics as well as their meanings, inspiration, etc. The very first song on my very first EP, “Burn, Red Phoenix,” is a song about letting go of what no longer serves you and starting over with confidence. It can be a private, unceremonious victory, or a raging flame that will consume the old and make way for the new.
I have loved to sing and write lyrics and melodies for years, but I had trouble translating these into finished works complete with accompanying backing tracks. Eventually I finished an instrumental, and that became “Burn, Red Phoenix.” I excitedly recorded the chorus and most of the backing vocals, but became frustrated when I was repeatedly dissatisfied with the main vocal takes. The project was put on hiatus for many months before I bought a better microphone and tried again. After several more takes I was still not happy. The words sounded “clunky” against the music. At that point I decided to do a take just pulling the lyrics from memory, though not necessarily verbatim or even in the same order as written. I did a lot of improvisation on the final take. “Good enough,” I thought.
It may sound like I settled, and I probably did, but I likely would have put the project on hiatus again or continued retaking forever if I had not decided to stop fussing and simply move forward. After this song, most of the others from the EP rushed forth. It was a great experience to listen to my music on my phone, on loud speakers, in my car on the way to work or the gym while I was studying the levels, and know that I was listening to something I had made. My hands, my voice, my imagination had made it!
It’s still one of my favorite of my own songs, maybe because of sentiment. I think my very favorite details of it are the main bass line and the operatic chorus. My very favorite verse is “My body molten, my feathers molting. . .” which was improvised at the time of recording! I thought it was clever, and it came to me as I was singing. A pretty lucky take! Much of music is skill, but a lot is luck, too, in my own opinion. Many people are lucky to be on a naturally high skill level. Some have to work very hard to have any skill at all. Regardless, anyone can feel the sudden spark of inspiration, and that is most definitely lucky.
https://soundcloud.com/gaiusterran/burn-red-phoenix
“Burn, Red Phoenix”
No one needs to know
Secret sealed my lips
(×2)
Fly away, my self doubt
Burn, my red phoenix
Burn, bird! Burn, bird!
(×2)
No one needs to know
Secret sealed my lips
Fly away self doubt
Burn, my red phoenix
My feathers molting
My body molten
My feathers molting
Body, body, body molten
My feathers molting
My body molten
My feathers molten
Body body, body molten
(Bridge)
You wouldn't know me now
From who I was then
I have lit my funeral pyre
And burned to death
in that ruby fire
From my blackened ashes
I rise now again
The old version of me is gone
Gone and dead
(×2)
No one needs to know
Secret sealed my lips
Fly away self doubt
Burn, my red phoenix
