3/04/12
The Youtube clip for my song “Aloha Baby” has just clicked over 2400 views & there’s been a lot of talk about it & the song of late. Plus I get asked a lot about songwriting, so I thought it would be good to explore the anatomy of a song & my songwriting process for this my 4th blog.
Any songwriter will tell you the question they get asked most is ; “what comes first, the words or the music?”. Most songwriters will answer that there is no simple rule – that songs come together in all sorts of ways. Sometimes is does work that the songwriter will come up with a lyric & then put it to music, sometimes vice-versa. Some songwriters write in pairs where one may be the music composer & the other, the lyricist. Elton John & Bernie Taupin famously never wrote in the same room – Bernie would write the lyric in the lounge room of Elton’s house & then bring the lyric into the parlour where Elton would bash out the tune on the piano, Once Bernie had left the room. Elton’s Mum, apparently would shuffle between the 2 rooms bringing cups of tea & messages. Four writer’s were credited with writing ‘Arthur’s theme (The best that you can do)’. Peter Allen came up with; “When you get caught between the Moon & New York City”, while stuck in a holding pattern in a plane above NYC when he glimpsed Moon through his window (lucky he got a window seat J). The other 3 writers (included Christopher Cross, who later recorded it & won a Grammy) fleshed the song out, but Allen took the Lion’s share of the royalties for his one line contribution – it is a killer line!’m not going to step into the royalty minefield, I only use these as 2 very different examples of how songs come about.
I’ve been writing songs for most of my life after being inspired by The first Singer songwriters I’d ever heard of - Lennon & McCartney. They & many other writers of that era explored new ways of getting the message across, both artistically & technically. We were always thrilled by whatever they would come up with next. We didn’t have genres in those days, just music & we learned that you could make songs about anything. This wasn’t new of course, traditional writers & ethnic songsters had been singing about everything & anything forever, but it was new to me & my generation. It was just a natural thing for us to learn guitar, learn songs & then try to make up our own, cos that’s what our heroes did.
I write most of my songs alone, but I have collaborated (never with more than one other) quite successfully from time to time - that’s probably another blog! I truly love the experience of songwriting & would spend a lot more time doing it rather than my bookkeeping & hunting up gigs (again, another BLOG). I liken it to the ultimate Crossword puzzle where you’re constantly hunting for the right word with the right poetry, the right rhythm, length, feel & meaning. There is an incredible moment when you solve the puzzle & you know the song is finished. It’s a real intangible & it doesn’t always happen with ideas you start, but when it does, it feels unreal. It can happen anytime, in any way. I was riding my bike one day messing an unfinished song around in my head & the one line I’d been looking for just fell into place. I dropped the bike on the ground & made a voice note in my phone ( a very important part of my process – Macartney says if he couldn’t remember a tune the next day, then it wasn’t good enough – yeah right, but he’s a genius). So, I sat on the grass for about 15 minutes feeling great, then continued on my ride. I should point out also that it’s important to turn off the computer & get out for a walk or a ride. More often than not this time out will bring a result of some kind & it’s good for you! Well, it works for me J
Jimmy Webb (he wrote “MacArthur Park” & “By the time I get to Pheonix” amongst others & the best book ever on songwriting, called “Tunesmith”) has a different way. He punches the clock daily & works at his piano like 9 to 5. His thinking is very ordered & methodical, he really is a ‘Tunesmith’ in the old-fashioned, ‘Tin pan alley’ sense of the word.
So, you see the rules are; There are no rules.
The story of “Aloha Baby” is about the inspiration phase & the euphoric ending part.
The inspiration phase is not necessarily the start of the song. I wrote a song based on the Tim Winton book: “Dirt Music” to submit for a movie that was being made about it. I already had the title & content courtesy of Tim & his fantastic book ( I read it 3 times, the 3rd to get ideas), but I couldn’t get the song started. One day I was in the shower & sang “They played that Dirt Music & danced in the dust, played like crazy demons incited by the lust” & the song flowed from there (It was accepted by the producer with a high probability of inclusion in the movie – I’d started writing my Oscar acceptance speech, when the star accidentally killed himself (that’d be Heath Ledger) & his co star went & got pregnant (that’d be Nicole Kidman) The movie has been “in development” for 3 years!!! BTW the line “danced in the dust” was the kick starter!
Anyway, the inspiration for “Aloha Baby” was the start of the song. I was sitting on the balcony of my hotel room in Honolulu overlooking Waikiki beach toward my beloved Diamond Head, having a Budweiser, some Macadamias & experimenting with my Ukulele – I was trying to work out barre chords up & down the neck. The Uke is very easy to play & I was just getting sounds without really knowing what the chords were called when the G6 to F6 to C intro just sort of fell out. The first words flowed out real easy, but it wasn’t until sometime later that the title/hook/chorus appeared (probably after the 2nd Bud). The Sun had gone down & I was actually just killing time before meeting my friends for dinner, so I recorded what I had into my phone ( I think I still have the ‘voice note’). Macca was right, this tune really stuck in my head & I wrote quite a bit of it the next day lying by the pool at the hotel – talk about your inspirational surroundings!
I’ll pause here to visit with the concept that a lot of writers talk about – this thing about ‘it just fell out of the sky’ or ‘I woke up singing the words’. I call this “ the miracle of inspiration” well I didn’t until just now, but it’s what it is except it isn’t really a miracle! I reckon what you’re actually doing is channelling some previous experience or pattern of words that have formed triggering a memory or a mental process. I believe, everybody does this all the time, what makes the songwriter different is an awareness, an ability & a desire to do it. In the same way as a comedian will note a funny concept to work up into a gag later (no, folks it’s not all ribald spontaneity – they work hard at it) or an architect will sketch an idea for a bridge on a napkin, even a lawyer will jot down an idea for a brilliant defence or a carpenter will find a clever new way to hammer two bits of wood together – it’s what we do & I reckon most of the time we’re just improving on things that we’ve experienced in the past or a past life J When we’re growing & learning we are like sponges learning a whole language, how to walk talk & eat properly learning the World & life, all in our 1st 5 years – there is a lot of stuff in there that we can call on anytime.
(btw these are open BLOGS & I welcome any comment or debate on this or any other of my subjects).
So, now we come to the spooky part of the story.
“Aloha Baby” was well on the way, but I felt it needed a 3rd verse. There was no middle 8 but I didn’t ‘feel’ it needed one. This made it necessary to make the 3rd verse somehow different. I should point out there is a lot of ‘feeling’ going on here – the songwriting process is very intuitive & most decisions are made according to unspoken rules & laws. Sure there are a lot of written ones like in some songs you rhyme every 2nd line or you do 2 verses then a chorus then a 3rd verse ( the old AABA formula – absolutely nothing to do with that group, well, except the formula bit) & so on, but a lot of it is just making it up as you go (perhaps herein lies the talent) & then making decisions as to what stays & what goes.
This Hawaiian visit was over & I was reluctantly heading to the airport at some ungodly hour of the morning. It’s about a half hour cab ride from Honolulu & I had lucked out with a quiet cabbie, so I was sitting in the back thinking; it’d be nice to do an Hawaiian language lyric for the 3rd verse. The Hawaiian people are, like many indigenous people, around the world, rediscovering their culture & their ancient languages which were all forbidden by the invasion of European missionaries & do-gooders ( well they did have God on their side???). The Hawaiian language has a beautiful lilt to it & lends itself to song without the restrictions of standard western rhyme. Having said that it’s not easy to learn & language isn’t my strong suite! I resolved to pursue the idea with the help of some new Hawaiian friends & the internet when I got home.
After checking in to my flight, I had the usual couple of hours to kill having breakfast, a Bloody Mary & browsing the shops. I was looking for something to read on the long flight home when I happened across 2 books – The story of “Aloha Oe” the quintessential Hawaiian song written by Queen Lili’uokalani in 1911 – yes, she was a real Queen - & “A little book of Aloha -Hawaiian proverbs & inspirational wisdom” written by Renata Provenzano from Adelaide Australia of all places. I love the haunting beauty of “Aloha Oe” & as a new devotee of the spirit of Aloha I bought them both. On thumbing through the Proverbs I thought it may help with some Hawaiian verse ideas as it had the proverb accompanied by the English translation with an explanation of the meaning. Well little did I know! I went to sit in the waiting room for my flight & was casting a quick glance through the little book when a proverb jumped off the page at me;
“He ‘Olina Leo Ka Ke Aloha” – Joy is in the voice of love
Then with my heart racing I read a few more & stumbled on
“Ua Ola Loko I Ke Aloha” – Love gives life within
Not only did the meaning fit perfectly, the meter or tempo of the lines was perfect & they both ended in the title word of the song!!! The only 2 proverbs in the entire book to do so. I was absolutely dumbstruck! I had my 3rd verse & my first very powerful experience of the power of Aloha spirit.
A quick check of my demo with my Hawaiian friends revealed that, apart from my Aussie ‘accent’, the words fit perfectly into the rhythm of the song. I was picked up by one of the judges at the Na Hoku festival songwriting competition (did I mention I won that) on my pronunciation of the first line. It seems by pausing at the wrong spot I was changing the ‘spirit of Aloha’ to something completely different – I have since remedied this with his coaching (thanks to Kenneth Makuakane – Hawaiian modern legend).
As a footnote to my story, the Hawaiian people are very sensitive to the exploitation of their culture, which was exacerbated by the explosion of what they call “Hollywood Hula” in the 1940’s & 50’s with white actresses being made up dark to look like natives for the movies. Elvis seems to be exempt & much loved by the Hawaiian people because of his respect for & understanding of their culture. I ran awry of the author of the Little Book when I contacted her to ask about permission for the use of the proverbs. I was very new to the true meaning of Aloha & the sacred Hula clumsily referring to aspects of them which were to become clearer as I learned more.
Writing the song was the beginning of an incredible journey that took me to winning the Songwriting comp at the above mentioned festival & then a 3rd place at the Kauai music festival later that year. The story is ongoing as my little youtube offering keeps gaining ‘views’ & I prepare to head back to this year’s Kauai Festival in July.
My body (& my kids) are in Australia, but my spirit & my heart now reside in Hawaii. I’ve written several songs with an Hawaiian ‘vibe’ & my growing understanding of the true culture & spirit is reflected in them. I look forward to being inspired to express this progression in more songs on more visits
Aloha Lopaka Valentine