Song Writing

I write a lot of songs. Most of the time I don't like them.

A few years ago, when I actually wrote them out (like with a pencil and paper), I would throw them away; because after the thoughts had come to fruition in poetic form, they seemed stupid.

When I got to college, I started using Word documents to jot down thoughts and combinations of words that occurred to me throughout the day. This new song-writing process has continued since then, and I've thrown away fewer songs (though it may simply be because these documents are far less tangible...).

I've definitely started more songs than I've finished. I've even recorded snippets of some songs on Garage Band, and those recordings, along with the typed out lyrics, are sometimes better than journals when I'm looking back on earlier days.

I stumbled upon all my Garage Band stuff today (I recorded a lot more than I thought), and it was like time-traveling through the end parts of high school and up through my last four semesters at Long Beach State.

One of my New Years' Resolutions (at the urging of some friends) is actually to record a few tracks in a studio... Until then, I thought it would be neat to post the lyrics of a more recent song I've been working on, just for kicks (Vs. 4 & the chorus still need to be finished).

It's called "Chlorophyll," and it's kind of a letter to myself in response to the sudden loss of a friend last year. I found that one of the final stages of that initial, short-term grieving/coping process, actually started when I confronted myself about my own feelings and began writing this song.

Chlorophyll

And they cut all the grass on the burial ground that

swept your knees before they came to kill that chlorophyll

that filled you up with something more than death,

but Fall it brought rot to your lens,

look again- there's life in the summit.

And soon the pasty legs of winter will

show themselves from cut-off denim

and we'll face the radiation with our skin.

And in time we will forget the tears and

in time we'll learn to say

it's what he would have wanted anyway

Because life has so much more than we can see

O Death, where is your sting?

And you were bitter and you were enraged;

death had come to young to understand.

But rest in His hand and,

life will come back to your heart again.

Chorus

Vs. 4: Let go of the regret that made you weak

and on your knees you wept in the summer

in your bed

Chorus: Life has so much more than we can see,

O Death, where is your sting?