#song write

Patti Smith 1978

could start well off

or it could be one where we blame everyone else

But we both know, don't we baby?

Just who brought us here?

We take ourselves somewhere in the dark

Cloaking our self-deceit through the beams of a bar light

at an unsuspecting heart

we only plan to find eachothers image in

oh maybe we really do

somewhere dark inside of us

maybe we share this bitter truth

harsher then most

and somehow find a new home

maybe one we carry our broken

beautiful gravity in

likely some home we dreamed of

where we'll stare out of the windows

where we imagine;

reminisce

over the love we gave

but be sure the most we will never let down

will be the love we starved each other

one I know will grow like an aching wound;

deep into the marrow of our bones

— deeper somewhere into our soul

held by a fragile feeling

like walls of glass,

we gamble the love we can give

only to see another send it into a thousand pieces

so excuse me if you can

time can only take so much from us

when we feel our home in the dark

is the only way we can save our souls

Somewhere in our lives

Prevailing time surrenders

A hush would come quick to a wish

that there was never a history of us

Out of the bitter truth

would be all that it would take

And if given a wish

or if the world were to be at an end

we both know what we would do

oh how you know this feeling

somewhere deep inside

as we hide in the dark of our hearts

maybe we really do share this bitter truth

oh maybe we really do

Food For Song #2: How do I know when my song is finished?

This is a question I hear from songwriters all the time. And, the answer is: When the song is finished! Okay, sounds vague and unclear, but a song is finished when you, the songwriter, say it is. And, there are no time limits on the completion date. I recently read an article about Bob Dylan, who went back to an abandoned work that he left half finished in 1973. He completed it decades later and the work led to the success of “Wagon Wheel”. So, you know a song is finished simply when the feeling inside of you says, it is.

That said, I know songwriters who never think their songs are finished. They just keep on writing them. Tinkering…it could be one word, or one melodic idea that doesn’t seem to flow, and continues to gnaw away at them to fix. They ponder the spot in the song that doesn’t feel right until they think they have landed it, and then they re-access this decision and begin to rework the spot again. Overworking a song isn’t always a wise idea. The core feeling that was the impulse of the song can easily disappear. Another, more traumatic thought, is that the song can’t be completed. Sometimes songs have to be left unfinished. Sad but true!

I have come up with a bench mark for indicating when a song is complete. This is easy! It is when your song is recorded, broadcast and you are hearing it. Up until that point, you, as the writer have the ability to re-write to your heart’s content. Okay, maybe I’m being silly, but just imagine if James Taylor decided that deep down inside, he didn’t like the melody to the hook of ‘I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain’. Not sure if at this late date he could get away with changing it. The melody is burned into our consciousness ...CNN news report: James Taylor changes melody to ‘Fire and Rain’!!!

So, when is a song complete? It is when you feel that you are satisfied with your song, and it is the best you can do as a songwriter. It is when you feel it is time to move on to the next song you are going to write. And, it is also when your song is a hit and everyone on the planet is singing it.

More thoughts? Questions? Comments! Please feel free to chime in

Coming soon: You Can Write A Song, Randy Klein's new book on songwriting.