Hello, everyone!
Anyone who’s hung around with me the past year or so knows that I’ve been going through a creative dry spell brought on by a general life upheaval. Since about October of 2017, however, I have managed to squeeze out a few songs of which I am rather proud.
I am not a prolific songwriter by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not someone who can sit down and say “I’m going to write a song today.” and bring it to fruition. It’s frustrating at times, because I look at these full-time songwriters or gigging musicians who can play full shows of original tunes and wonder why I can’t do that. But I have to accept that every songwriter is different. For me, the muse has to strike.
The Muse is a fickle friend though. Sometimes the Muse drops a single line, a verse, or a chorus. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, both a verse AND a chorus. I roll those over in my brain, keep them on my tongue, and sometimes they get finished and sometimes they land in my lyrical graveyard. I have a few of those right now that I pull out and work on occasionally. Sometimes that results in progress. Sometimes they go back in the drawer. If I could finish all the songs that I have started, I’d have at least two albums worth of music.
Sometimes the Muse brings me music and no words. Sometimes the Muse brings me words and no music.
On very rare occasions, the Muse brings me both, in full.
One of those rare occasions happened on Sunday evening, a little over a week ago. February 10th, 2019, to be exact. I don’t ignore the Muse when she shows up in full force. There’s a reason I went to work on Monday morning with only four hours of sleep. I was writing a song. I was ecstatic to be writing a song, and there was no way I was going to bed until I was satisfied that the Muse had said all she needed to say.
The Muse strikes for different reasons. Sometimes it’s emotional. I’m sad. Angry. Happy. Hopeful. Smitten. Sometimes a riff or lyric in another song sparks a tangent in my brain. Sometimes Mother Nature has her hand in it. Sometimes a book or character I’m writing has a song to help tell part of their story. There’s no “magic formula” for me, but it also means that each song usually has a strong association to whatever inspired it.
I’ve shared this song with my Patrons already, but now I’d like to share a bit of it with everyone! I played it in my music stream–Saturday Morning Tunes–this past weekend and have included a clip from the stream down below.
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This is “Smilin'”
Smilin’
My cheeks ache whenever I talk to you
‘Cause I’m smilin’ the whole time through
And I can’t help thinkin’ it’s a clue
That, you and me babe, are onto something good.
You pervade my thoughts. Invade my dreams.
And I’m still smilin’ ’cause ya treat me like a queen.
Is it too soon to think that in the grand scheme
You and me, babe, are gonna win this thing?
I can’t help falling so far so fast.
It’s not the first time, but baby it could be the last.
The stars aligns and caused this spark to ignite.
It won’t be easy, but baby, I’m ready to fight.
You made me smile when you said “Hello”
And I’m still smilin’. That was months ago.
And I’m so glad I went with the flow,
‘Cause my-oh-my look how these feelings have grown!
I can’t help falling so far so fast.
It’s not the first time, but baby it could be the last.
The stars aligns and caused this spark to ignite.
It won’t be easy, but baby, I’m ready to fight.
Here is a link to a brief clip of the song from my Twitch stream Saturday Morning Tunes.
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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this insight on my Muse. What causes your Muse to strike? Do you drop everything and follow your Muse or try to hold onto the inspiration ’til later? Let me know in the comments!
For now,
Rosie J.