Lyrics in Progress

Instead of "we will party ... we will party all night long" it now reads "we'll be dancing ... we'll be dancing all night long". I knew that "we will party" was definitely not the language of the 19th century, but I found it funny nonetheless. I've re-considered and now decided that I'd rather stick with the appropriate language: cowboys danced, they didn't "party".

After giving Karsten's song number 044 time to rest in my mind so I maybe would come up with some ideas I've decided that I just leave it. I still haven't the faintest idea about a possible subject nor have I come up with suitable lines. Karsten's provisional title "shattered dreams" doesn't fit the tune at all, the many triplets seem to make it next to impossible to find any normal sentences that might fit.

My last trial on the chorus goes:

hold on to my precious dream
I'm not cryin' 'bout things that have been
hold on to my precious dream
Baby, I never will cry, never will cry

But that's crap! When I start filling in "baby", "yeah", "oh la la" et cetera in a chorus I just know that I won't get much further. It's my hobby, I'm not being paid thousands of bucks, so why bother... I'll have a look at Karsten's composition no. 046, it has an AC/DC touch to it.

I was in rhyming mode today. And after finding that I've got stuck with writing for Karsten - the many triplets giving me the creeps, what the fuck can you sing to match triplets except "la la la", well, anyway, I decided to give Martin's cowboy suite another go. And - voilá - here are all four parts. I used RhymeZone (http://www.rhymezone.com), dict.cc (http://www.dict.cc), and Google as little helpers - and my "Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary" (Cornelsen). Martin will yet have to check the lyrics against his musical ideas, of course.

part I

we've heard the songs, we know their words
'bout unbound freedom, songs of romance
the lonesome cowboy, grazing herds
and in the evenings go for a dance
the skilled horseman, standing tall
but we are twelve and always busy
- not so romantic after all

we'd hear bout villains and heavy drinking
gunslingers threatening our peace
we'd be reacting without thinking
and always being at our ease
we would be righteous and shoot them all
I only shot amountain cougar
- not so romantic after all


part II

on a northbound drive from Texas
moving slowly with the herd
one with nature, one with your horse
hardly ever give the spur
watching out for hints of lightning
could be meaning a stampede
attentive for signs of commotion
and always ready to turn the lead

doin' your job by way of feeling
can't be done straight by the book
endure the dull food at the evenings
better not offend the cook
livin' through weeks of heat and dust
appreciating heavy rains
drivin' the cattle toward the railhead
through canyons and 'cross endless plains


part III

you are my comfort, you are my sunshine
when the night is falling and I feel blue
when I've got through this I'll save the money
and I'll rush home to be with you

and I'll rush home to be with you again


part IV

we're reaching our destination
we wash and shave and clean
next to the railway station
we'll find a lively scene

the girls will be waiting there
and drinks we've missed so long
and we will be the masters there
we're jolly and we're strong

and we will party, we will party
we will party all night long

we've made good money, we feel rich
we're pushing through the throng
we've long enough suppressed the itch
we're jolly and we're strong

and we will party, we will party
we will party all night long

I have posted a few of my songs on the unsigned band web site.

Bernd on UBW

I also asked for reviews. Astonishingly, they did not come out as bad as I feared in spite of my rather lacking musical skills and crude arrangements.

Spartacus:

warm voice , i like the vocal mastering it is original, guitar sing well too, outro is excellent but song is short

Sounds like a demo by Roger Waters, which is good or bad depending on what you think of Roger Waters....


Cathedral:

I really enjoyed this piece of yours. It’s...well...different. Very innovative songwriting. I’m not sure about the marketability but it really does show how talented you are.

Bernd - I listened to this song several days ago and it’s stayed on my mind ever since...
The thematic vehicle that you’ve hatched here is brilliant and I love the way that you just hop in it and drive around...
The instrumental changes between chorus and verse serve to illustrate the point of your lyric in ways that go far beyond what the words themselves could ever achieve - the effect that you engineered that way is sheer brilliance.
Good work on this one, Bernd - I’m very glad that you shared it.

That was an interesting piece. It is a bit different from the norm. I’ll be listening to it again. Good job.

Hello Bernd,
I’ve just got around to listening to this and really liked it - it has something about it that I really like, but I can’t put my finger on it yet!  I’ll have to have another listen when I’ve got a bit more time (things are a bit busy here at the moment).
Nice one


Terminal disease:

the music is nice i like it...sounds like 80's well formatted...rock for sure

With a stronger voice and a few musical alterations, the formatting of this song could make it a hit

Martin suggested writing a song about cowboys. That's a subject as far from my former lyrics as one can possibly get (I mention Jakaroos, i.e. Australian cowboys, in one of my songs, but that has been my only contact with this topic so far). So, how do I go about it?

1. collecting information

Wikipedia (always a good resource)

2. collecting ideas, images, phrases

on a northbound drive from Texas
moving slowly with the herd

teaming up with last year's companions (friends? mates?)
anticipating last year's girls (I use to hide at least one girl in each of my lyrics)

dull food, harsh conditions

always risking a stampede

eating beans from tins


I'll keep you updated.