I have always been a writer. I have written for notable people as a ghost writer, written copy for advertising, written emotional appeal letters for non-profits, and I have written songs years ago that just seem to have flowed right out of my pen … as if I couldn’t get the words down fast enough. Then there are songs and ideas for songs that just lay there hanging, dormant like incomplete, dusty thoughts waiting to be either finished or swept away. I am much better at shaping and sharing my thoughts as a writer than speaking either one-to-one or in a group. But it doesn’t come easy for me because I am also kind of a reticent perfectionist … I need to say “just the right thing.” Translating that to songwriting presents its own significant challenges, to say the least! But I am getting my head around this.
I think it has to something to do with being bold enough to just “get it out there” so I can have something to work with. This happened very recently. There really is a lot I want to say. A lot I think I must say. A lot I need to say. So, one day I connected with a deep emotion relating to a personal situation and was able to get down a few verses that I felt pretty good about, but it just felt incomplete. I hit a roadblock. So, then I thought, “well, there’s Rogers and Hammerstein, Lennon and McCartney — so many writing TEAMS.
I then decided to partner with another writer who brought his own flavor and take on what I was trying to say, and we ended up with something that I felt could work. I then brought in a very close friend, Aaron Howard, who is a MONSTER songwriter and producer and we took a look at it. Well, it went through the “songwriter shredder.” It was two intense days of hammering out the lyrics and coming up with a form and melody that was consistent with the emotions and thoughts I was trying to express. We ended up with a song titled “Take It Or Leave It,” which I am really, really excited about. It will soon be released as a single. The hardest part for me was letting go of my “baby” and allowing others to take a whack at it. But in the end, it is a much stronger song — cohesive, clear and honest. But it took some hard work. The takeaway? Don’t be afraid to collaborate!
