we’ve been along this road before
we’ve been along this road before
in our shaky old caravan
sleeping on the floor
scaring children for fun and profit
theirs and ours
we’ll share that floor again, love
in good time
in good time
“Wobbly Boat” (Demo #1)
Here’s a song I wrote.
It’s called Wobbly Boat [mp3].
Coming up next on the brooke show: A Sunday Bedroom Concert (#1)
Miscellaneous Secret #1
I feel them staring, scrutinizing my quiet, earnest attempts to reach some new place that they insist does not exist, but I know does. i reach and reach with a child’s hand. don’t know the words but i understand.
in the still of solitude i am me.
i cut those voices up and cast them out.
this is what i wish, to throw away what is getting old.
release yourself. we are not our brains. return. be discrete. be still. weep as you become untangled. retrace your steps. everyone can.
What Did Rhymes Ever Do?
Is it just me or has it become ‘cool’ these days for songwriters to go out of their way not to rhyme? I’ve never been terribly pro-rhyme, necessarily, but obviously there are both good and bad examples of very rhymy songs and very non-rhymy songs. I’m for a certain looseness and naturalness when it comes to these things.
But for those in the “It’s Way Cool Not To Rhyme”‘ camp, or anyone considering joining, just hold on a second. Just cool out! I bet you never thought of it this way before:
[the Tim said this in a recent email and I totally agree!]
“…That’s one of the things I took away from Kimya [Dawson]: periodic rhymes help push stories forward, create spaces and provide navigational anchors on the part of the listener who is being exposed to this massive stream of words.”
Three very important things mentioned in that one sentence that rhymes do. Think about it. If you’re averse to rhyming in your songs, maybe you’ve just been doing it badly?… Songwriting is a subtle art, after all. Don’t give up and don’t blame the rhymes.
Okay, I think we all know some Bruce Lee is in order:
” When one has reached maturity in the art, one will have a formless form. It is like ice dissolving in water. When one has no form, one can be all forms; when one has no style, he can fit in with any style.”
“In primary freedom, one utilizes all ways and is bound by none.”
Mood: Optimistic
Behind the door a brilliant pulsing light
I knew what it was, what it meant
I knew at my core
what lie behind the door
A power unbearably strong
I became deathly afraid
but irresistably drawn
I wanted to bask in it forever
I wanted to paint it, sing it, speak it, to be it
But I would keep on protecting myself
cleverly, I thought
from ever confronting or claiming
the full creative blast of that Force
Surrender to it
Let it in, let it out
(a loving voice said)
Get out of your own way
It’s okay to be afraid.
I took the loving voice aside
And told it all the reasons
How it couldn’t be that simple
And Life couldn’t be that kind
The doorway dimmed
And the light began to recede
I knew what this meant, what I’d done
And I became truly, deathly afraid
I pleaded for the light to return
I fell to my knees, humble, a child
Surrender to it
Let it in, let it out
(the loving voice said)
Get out of your own way
It’s alright if you’re afraid.
And the floods came
And the sorrow was great
But the relief was greater that followed
As the cracks began to brighten
And the fear returned, but lessened
My body lost its tension
The pulse grew stronger
The brilliance grew fuller
The darkness crawled to the edges
Of wherever I’d been hiding
And I fell silent
Surrender to it
Let it in, let it out
(my loving voice said)
Get out of your own way
You don’t need to be afraid.
I nodded my head
The door burst open
The light almost visibly smiling
All it ever wanted, I guess
Was for me to say yes
I was still afraid
But I didn’t go blind
I didn’t get burned
And the fear lessened,
With a simple intention
Whispered in a loving voice
I was being warmed from the inside
Only my suffering would die.