I will not have an original Christmas song to share this year. Sorry to those who might be disappointed. This is not to say that my songwriting chops are not being exercised. When I compose verse it is always with a melody in mind. I'll put together a generic country melody and compose poetry that corresponds.
No way could I consider having even a portion of this material professionally recorded with a "real singer." Cost would get excessive for one thing. And what am I accomplishing? Well it's an avocation. Some people put up model trains. The people who do that rather fascinate me. As with anything else, you can explore YouTube for fantastic examples of elaborate model railroads.
The incentive for these people? I really don't think it's to see the trains going around in a circle. The incentive is to learn to construct something - all the processes and materials - and then to stand back and admire it. It's a model or example for learning any elaborate system. The hobbyists are guaranteed staying out of trouble while doing all this. As the spouse of one commented on YouTube: "I know he's not at the pub. He's in the basement."
So I write songs. You might say it's a close relative of straight writing or straight journalism. You're grappling with words trying to make them work for you. With songs you have a structure set forth in a "melody." This can obviously take various forms. Some classic pop songs have been written with the simplest of structures - take "Gentle on my Mind."
A song can be written with verse, chorus, bridge and even a "climb." The contrasts among all these are supposed to make a song more interesting. The song I wrote to honor the great baseball player Rocky Colavito has a "climb." The climb leads into the chorus. I was informed that my song about Rocky was played for a statue unveiling in the "Little Italy" portion of Cleveland OH. A great feeling of reward for a mere hobbyist.
My late father was a pro. He never encouraged me to dabble in the craft. Maybe that seems strange. Maybe he knew what a "rat race" it could be, like any professional endures, and so he didn't wish to pull me into it? Maybe he knew the ridiculously long odds for having any professional success?
The odds would appear worse today for the solitary songwriter who would simply like an established performer to sing one of his tunes. The Internet has opened the door for so many talented people to get their material "out there." And that is a totally wonderful thing. But it makes the landscape rather a jungle for someone who wants to break through. So I don't even try to do that.
It helps to see that some of my songs on YouTube have gotten substantial attention. My "greatest hit" to date is the song I wrote about the First Minnesota Regiment of the U.S. Civil War. I had a good grounding for writing those lyrics. I went through a phase in my life when I was quite into the Civil War. We're called "Civil War buffs." I acquired Civil War magazines. I got familiar with terms for weapons like "canister" and "grape."
Looks as though the Civil War reenactors of Minnesota became aware of my song and found it stimulating. I'm happy about that. Some of my other songs have done decent too.
I have been away from regular employment since 2006. That is a shame but it's the kind of hand that life has dealt me.
Miracles never cease?
I was astounded to discover eventually that you could actually put a song online. As with all such breakthroughs involving one's use of the Internet, the novelty wears off! It always does. I am no longer giddy about the sheer existence of music online. We are all so spoiled and it seems we fail to appreciate these gifts sometimes.
Gifts? Here's an example: the other night I watched the classic movie "In the Heat of the Night" from 1967. I watched it on YouTube for free. There is now no end to the truly classic movies you can watch on your Internet device. I cringe when I notice the old Western movies that present "Indians" in the old stereotyped fashion. They came across as truly "the other" with a menacing air.
You can watch the movie about Custer that starred Errol Flynn. "They Died With Their Boots On." Makes the U.S. cavalry look totally heroic, right down to the soundtrack: heroic-sounding music for "the troops," mysterious and disturbing music for when we see the Indians. If Custer had just waited for General Terry's detachment, there probably would have been no major battle for everyone to scrutinize endlessly.
Custer was vain and pugnacious - paid the price too. Evidence now suggests there was no real "last stand." Chaos took over. The soldiers tried to flee but Hollywood would not wish to portray that serious of events. Instead we got Errol Flynn, as Hollywood once again gravitated to the simplistic storyline of heroes and bad guys.
I often wonder if the day is coming where we'll see a push to sort of extricate the old politically incorrect movies from our consumption. Right now the defenders of Hollywood would say such old fare simply reflected our culture at the time. Therefore it is instructive? That view has some merit. And oh my God, all the old misogynistic stuff. "Dames!"
Women are shown in so many of the old movies as emotional, needing support of the more steady males. A hug to console.
I will repeat that I won't have a new Christmas song this year. Not that I don't have three or four in "the bottom drawer" as us songwriters call it. I could perhaps sing one of those myself on my podcast. Hey, maybe I'll do that. Of course this would be a very rough presentation. I do have a sense of pitch. Aside from that, no attributes.
I tried developing a new Christmas song about a month ago. I wrestled with it for a while. It did end up as a finished project. But I was conflicted. Conflicted between having just a standard sweet Christmas theme and working in some topical/political references. I wouldn't do that, would I?
The conflicted nature of the song began bothering me. Something that bothered me more: I have friends with absolutely no sense of humor when it comes to some light fun-poking at MAGA and Trump. Wouldn't ever accept this in a vein of levity. The "cult" members would be nothing but angry at me, seriously. So I felt I ought to avoid it. Safe to just not have a Christmas song this year, I guess.
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| Mark Lindsay |
"Indian Reservation" was a boffo success.
Songwriting is fascinating partly because there is no science for determining what is going to be successful. This in an age when science purports to have the answers for everything.
The name of my rejected song attempt was "It's Christmas Once Again." Such a typical-sounding holiday song title. Now I'm working on new lyrics that would not have the political references. Maybe good for next year. But I have other original songs to consider as well. Which accomplishes what for me, exactly? Hard to say. Intangible.
My father was polished at this. I still think his original UMM "fight song" would work if we re-wrote the second line of lyrics. My suggested second line would be "spike, spike, spike an ace or two," language from the sport of women's volleyball which did not exist when my father wrote his song. If directed by someone who had his heart in it, the song would go over terrific IMHO.
My father's "UMM Hymn" has no issues that I can think of. Not sure if it would be practical for a UMM ensemble to perform this today, as I get the impression that music is in sharp decline. But hey, let's just try to get enough $ to keep the institution going. Does anything else matter? Can Torrey Westrom help even though he's a "conservative Republican?" Well of course he will because it's "bringing home the bacon."
When the U finally gets a new long-term president, I hope that individual can take a very hard look at UMM. Don't just buy the usual "happy talk" about the place, please. What is long-term by the standards now?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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