I had my first song-writing epiphany a few weeks ago,
and that feeling was real bizarre.
It was the first time i ever experienced such jolts of inspiration
without having to expend much effort at thinking of lyrics,
struggling to find a catchy tune...
nothing like that!
It was a moment of flow.
[the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi]
For 15mins of that time, i knew exactly what i wanted.
The words came out easily,
the tune was already in my head when i started writing,
and everything was just right.
Now this is totally new for an amateur song-writing like myself.
Just to share a little on how i usually work,
for the past few weeks i had been seeking the help of producer tat tong.
I would laze on the couch in his cozy studio,
first think of what kinda songs we want (e.g ballad, fast-tempo etc.),
then he would guide me with a chord structure while i hum whichever tune that comes to my mind.
I was a lone ranger in the lyrics department
and had to force myself to camp at a particular starbucks,
and bombard my head with 词解 (lyrics explanations),
new songs, interesting sentences...
Yes it was a struggle.
But this time it was different.
I was going about my usual stuff,
when i heard about the news of a friend's death.
He was my uni aquaintance,
a dude full of life, always enthusiastic,
and i had fond memories of him making pizza for me during my school days.
Then life took over, and we lost touch upon graduation.
He died while cycling when a sleeping truck driver knocked him down :(
This news came shortly after another secondary school friend's death.
He collapsed while playing soccer from a sudden epilepsy.
How can someone so young die?
The worst part about it is that their facebook walls quickly became death testimonial pages.
And yes i think this is bad,
because handling death cannot get any easier with a wall choke-full of heartbreaking testimonials,
speaking of love and condolences towards the deceased.
I was deeply saddened,
and went for a job around bishan park.
At the back of my head hung carpe diem thoughts about the fleeting nature of life
and when i reached home,
i immediately sat down in front of my laptop and started to write.
The funniest thing is,
it was a positive song.
Nothing about death nor seize the moment,
but more of being grateful for today and believing that
someday you'll be what you want to be.
and that feeling was real bizarre.
It was the first time i ever experienced such jolts of inspiration
without having to expend much effort at thinking of lyrics,
struggling to find a catchy tune...
nothing like that!
It was a moment of flow.
[the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi]
For 15mins of that time, i knew exactly what i wanted.
The words came out easily,
the tune was already in my head when i started writing,
and everything was just right.
Now this is totally new for an amateur song-writing like myself.
Just to share a little on how i usually work,
for the past few weeks i had been seeking the help of producer tat tong.
I would laze on the couch in his cozy studio,
first think of what kinda songs we want (e.g ballad, fast-tempo etc.),
then he would guide me with a chord structure while i hum whichever tune that comes to my mind.
I was a lone ranger in the lyrics department
and had to force myself to camp at a particular starbucks,
and bombard my head with 词解 (lyrics explanations),
new songs, interesting sentences...
Yes it was a struggle.
But this time it was different.
I was going about my usual stuff,
when i heard about the news of a friend's death.
He was my uni aquaintance,
a dude full of life, always enthusiastic,
and i had fond memories of him making pizza for me during my school days.
Then life took over, and we lost touch upon graduation.
He died while cycling when a sleeping truck driver knocked him down :(
This news came shortly after another secondary school friend's death.
He collapsed while playing soccer from a sudden epilepsy.
How can someone so young die?
The worst part about it is that their facebook walls quickly became death testimonial pages.
And yes i think this is bad,
because handling death cannot get any easier with a wall choke-full of heartbreaking testimonials,
speaking of love and condolences towards the deceased.
I was deeply saddened,
and went for a job around bishan park.
At the back of my head hung carpe diem thoughts about the fleeting nature of life
and when i reached home,
i immediately sat down in front of my laptop and started to write.
The funniest thing is,
it was a positive song.
Nothing about death nor seize the moment,
but more of being grateful for today and believing that
someday you'll be what you want to be.
Here's the soundclip i recorded with my iphone the moment i reached home.
yes, it's of bad quality & it's incomplete,
but hereby holds the essence of my songwriting epiphany,
and my first no less. (:
Verse 1
I wanna wake
up, to the smell of the fresh morning dew
I wanna
smile, let it resonate with my heartbeat tune
But I gotta
be patient, I gotta keep my head on my shoulders now
Today I’m
gonna count my blessings and set off unbound
Verse 2
I wanna run
wild, bare-footed on the concrete ground
I wanna feel
the earth move, feel the warmth of the sunrays fade
I’m ready
for a change, I’m ready for a brand new start
Today I’m
gonna give my all and make it count
Chorus:
Someday
you’ll be
What you
wanna be
Someday
you’ll be
Free
From the
battles raging, in your head
Someday
you’ll be
Someday you’ll be
Looking back
on this
Someday
you’ll be
Free
From the
troubles you’ve seen
Someday
you’ll be
Better than
you’ve ever believed
Verse 1
Don’t ever
give up, to being the best that you could be
Don't you
dare to lose the grip for hope and faith, Or you’ll lose yourself
You gotta stear
clear, from the caverns of negativity
Just stop,
and give yourself a chance to steady your feet
Chorus
Bridge
Even if
today throws your feet under your
Even if the
clouds shrouds in darkness over your head
You gotta
make a
Repeat Chorus (up key)
I can't wait to start with this song
and share the complete version with you (:
