songwriters dilemna

greetings blogworld!



davis here, i thought i'd share a few thoughts about songwriting. songwriting is an interesting hobby to have. ok forget that, its not a hobby...its actually a passion. a passion that spontaneously occurs at the most inconvenient times. my first song was written in the shower and in the end it really wasn't worth the effort. a wise person i know once told me this: when writing a song you do one of two things, you either tell a story or paint a picture. i find that i write the most in the fall and winter. this is a time when people are preparing for rest from the summer. we are farther from the sun and more exposed to the element. the sky seems farther and the earth harsher. God seems closer (come to think of it He was born in winter). these times are the most inspirational. i believe that life on earth is really a preparation for death, and ultimately eternal life with our Creator. fall and winter are seasons of natural death and dying. they are the last, golden months of a dying year.




one question i'm commonly asked is whether the music comes first or the lyrics. when i write a song they go together. they are one, intermingled with eachother, feeding off eachother. the music will be the first thing to come but the lyrics always follow immediately. and when i look back at the song i realize that the music never really was until the lyrics came along.
songwriting can be frustrating because nothing is guaranteeing that it will be there tomorrow. i can go months without writing a song. it is the way i express myself and how i feel. it is how i share my deepest thoughts and ideas with the rest of the world. without a creative flow of compostion, i feel trapped.
this almost always happens in the summer when i'm busy and the year is still. if you think about it one year is a like a person. it changes, it moves, it spins with the world and flows with the ocean. it rides on the winds and moves like the trees. in summer it moves the least. summer, in some ways is static. it doesn't move. it doesnt inspire me.
recently i have been recording my songs, which is an amazing experience! watching something that has come out of you through your pen and your guitar come to life on an mp3 file, ready to copy and share with the world. the hours in the studio have convinced me to learn how to do it. to pass on the gift.
thats about all i have to say at this point. i hope you enjoyed this post, whether you write songs or dont. this is my attempt to give you a glimpse into the mind of a songwriter.
peace
davis