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It's often difficult to describe to others what the process of songwriting entails, because it is largely due to moments (or maybe even milliseconds) of magic that strikes without notice. I could be in a cab in New York City, or waiting in the wings of a stage in Shanghai, China ... or on a bus in Los Angeles, or a funeral in Massachusetts, when suddenly IT strikes. Frantic to grab a pencil or pen, and any space to write it down, the idea can be gone with a simple "hello" from a passerby...or the voice of a postal clerk calling, "NEXT IN LINE"...which is why I need to be available when inspiration strikes out of the blue.
As Paul Williams so eloquently wrote, "I need to have stretches of time to push through the frustration when inspiration is elusive; to walk away from something, and then return again with a fresh set of ears." With that being said, paving the way to nurture those moments is crucial to the process of songwriting. It is important to disable the “craziness” in our daily lives, so that the energy of creation can find its way into the universe. When this occurs, as a songwriter, I am essentially a conduit to the manifestation of an ethereal influence. Without warning, a melody begins to simmer in my head and the process begins.
I often find sources of inspiration while watching a great interview with someone who has lived life hard, but rebounded with intense grace and dignity. Or even through no words at all; I can be inspired by the wafting seed of a once glorious dandelion or the crooked smile of someone less fortunate than myself. There are many pools to draw from, but when it arrives, I must struggle to keep it alive, especially when I can feel my heart racing because of a melody beginning to dance around my head.
Ironically, almost always, a lyric is never far behind. Taunting the melody with seductive prowess, the lyric unfolds and wraps itself around a cluster of notes forming the birth of a new song. Yes folks, this is the kind of madness we songwriters deal with! However, when those two energies are joined, the melody and the lyric, there is a euphoric experience that transcends the spiritual self and its impact often leaves me weeping.
The notion of a melody seducing a lyric may sound ridiculous to you, but when the results convey a passage that proclaims, "I can't give you things that I don't have, but what I have is love. It's the only thing I never knew, my heart had plenty of...until you showed me I was more than I could be...and now love is something new, because of someone new in me" … it makes you wonder?
I often wonder, "why me?" Surely EVERYONE must be able to do this, I mean, if they put their minds to it? But as I begin to accept these gifts as being “gifts”, then I begin to understand more and more that we are all “songwriters” in some way or another. Each of us is a lyric to someone else’s melody, or visa versa, and when we are combined it becomes a chorus...and that chorus can be harmonious as much as it can be dissonant; but the end result is the same...we are music, which is why MUSIC is the Universal language. Above and beyond any other art form, music has the ability to heal anyone with a fresh set of ears. With a willingness to listen, and an openness to accept the myriad styles and genres of a global wealth of melodies and lyrics, we are all songwriters of one massive song!
