Songwriting Through Random Flashes of Inspiration

I am not a prolific songwriter, much less a good one. The number of songs I’ve made that anyone has enjoyed, myself included, could be counted on one hand with fingers to spare. The few of them have poured out of me suddenly and in totality, from my brain to the computer to MP3 seamlessly. This was all solely “instrumental” music, however. I’ve never really taken a stab at writing music with lyrics.

For that reason and others I was shocked when a few weeks ago, around the holidays, I began softly singing to myself a song I had never heard before, and realized it was mine. I felt like a child had been left on my doorstep; I kept singing the song to myself until I was able to write it down, care for it. By then it had settled into a well-formed melody, and I could hear the vagaries of the instrumentation that would accompany it. I figured some odd inspiration had struck, and I assumed it a fluke and a creative blessing, as my labelmates on Adjective have long wanted me to produce some original music for the label.

I did not expect to have inspiration strike again. This past Friday, driving the long drive back to my apartment from Virginia, my vocal accompaniment to random songs off my iPod suddenly died in my throat until I paused the iPod. I proceeded to belt out an impassioned rendition of another song I had never heard before, stumbling over nary a verse. And again, I kept singing until I was home and able to write the song down.

More bits and pieces of these songs and others have started coming to me at random intervals almost daily. They are not complex lyrics, but nor are they bad; they are simple and direct, and will sound good when sung right and with the proper emotion. It’s clear that the songs are a kind of catharsis, a way for my head to connect with what my heart is tired of feeling and attempt to purge those overstayed emotions. That it’s all coming out in song form is just my luck, as the Adjective release party for 5dots’ first album will be a fine forum to debut the songs live, assuming I can compose music to accompany them.

Predictably, for those who know me or have read this blog for some time, the songs are about the relatively long relationship I was in that ended this past summer. The subject matter is typical heartbreak: not being able to sleep, living with memories, being scared of moving on. It’s nowhere near the best that’s been written on the subject, of course, but it’s personal and honest. Set within a musical space of experimental electronics the music made from these lyrics should be interesting and enjoyable, if I can produce something I’m satisfied with.

I know the person who I was in that relationship with reads this blog from time to time. Before these songs came to me, there was only one song (by me, at least) written about her: “Don’t Sell My Girlfriend Drugs,” a joking ska-punk endeavor I cowrote with 5dots/Craig for a band he was in. But now there are several songs about or inspired by her. That has to be odd.