Having banked a dozen or so songs, Steve and I buckled down to record four last month on a little four track digital recorder. We sent three off to a songwriting contest and, with this last one, Tell Me, we made our first video. The video was actually filmed and edited by my 14-year-old, En, who demonstrated impressive skill and patience in their first time with this process. We filmed in our little Music Room, outside on a warm December day, and New Year’s Eve at the Crosstown FUNK show at South House Garden and afterwards in a cold drizzle with sparklers once home.
The song sprang from a foul mood, having been thrown shade from a favorite musician for my requesting another “obscure” song be played at a jam. Driving home early, feeling deflated, The Smiths’ song Panic came to mind. “And the music that they constantly play, it says nothing to me about my life.” I rushed into my Nook, grabbed my songwriting notebook and colored pen, and got it down. I drafted most of the song in that one sitting, but for the final verse, that evolved in collaboration with Steve. What started as a frustrated vent turned into a spirited and fun experience.
I wrote most of the lyrics; Steve came up with the music. Initially, I wouldn’t have thought of Tell Me with a reggae rhythm. That’s part of what I love about the songwriting process — it’s so dynamic and synergetic, much different from my typical solitary writing pursuits. Of course, that also comes with some challenges, but so vibrant when it works.
Generally, I should add that the music community in MoCo is generous, gracious, and supportive. They’ve welcomed Steve and I trying out original songs on several occasions and wow! Isn’t that something when top notch players all back up a song we created, new to them, but consistently in line with the spirit of the songs, whether reggae, alt, or country, even if “obscure.”
Here are the lyrics.
Tell Me
Chorus:
Just tell me… something real
Somethin that you’ve never said before that I’ve never heard
Somethin that’ll make this time less devastating
nothing that you have to say in words
More than the same old G Key phrases
Just show me… that I’m wrong in
“The music that they constantly play
it says nothing to me about my life,”
Just tell me
Just tell me
Verse 1
Every minute scenes a story I can’t identify
Firing too fast I lose the how, when where and why
Reacting as a freak to catch up with humor I try
But I keep falling back
I keep fallin back
I keep fallin back
I keep fallin back
So stop…
Chorus
Verse 2:
You, I know you love me but I don’t know the me you see
Me, I know I want you but fear traps of losing me
With who I’m meant to be, when I’m feeling free
But nothing’s what it’s worth if we can’t be real,
so Baby, let’s embark on a grand New Deal
2023 I still call the new millennium
Just tryin’ a keep up
Just tryin’ a keep up
Chorus
Verse 3:
Talk to me with` your eyes, so unique
Brave with thoughts you dare to speak
Take me out dancin
cheek to cheek
Gotta keep lookin’ up
Gotta keep lookin’ up
Chorus