Re: SpinTunes 25 Round 4 Challenge - 'Keep It Simple'

[BoffoYux]

David Taro - Hug Your Children

Hug your children
Even when they say it annoys them
Even when they tell you to go away
Do it anyway, do it every day
Hug your children

The day you arrived
You took your sweet sweet time
Slow waters broke
Your mother tried to see the joke
Seconds were hours
Hours were days
But it doesn't always stay the same
It doesn't really work that way
So hug your children

Hug your children
Even when they say it annoys them
Even when they tell you to go away
Do it anyway, do it every day
Hug your children

We took you home
Could not believe they really let us
You cried all night
Like you were hoping to forget us
Days were weeks
Weeks were years
But through the screaming and the tears
All our doubts and crazy fears
Hug your children

Hug your children

Sending you to school felt pretty cool
Like you were all grown up
But really time was still on our side

(One, two, three, four)
Suddenly the world hits fast forward
Bodies smell and voices drop
Weeks are days and days go by like hours
You're on a train that never stops
City signs flashing by
You shout get me off this ride

So hug your children
Even when they really annoy you
Even when you wish they would go away
Do it anyway, do it every day
Hug your children
Because time is not a two-way street
It's something you will never beat
No, you can't just hit repeat
So hug your children

My song was inspired by a recent catch-up with a friend in the US. Without going into specifics, he and his family have had a profoundly challenging year, and he signed off our Discord call by reminding me to “hug my kids”. My kids are 13 and 11, so their best hugging days are behind them. In fact, sometimes they’ll straight-up tell me to go away! But I went and hugged them all the same. Writing the chorus also made me think about how you experience time as a parent. The first few months and years go by in slow motion, and then suddenly they’re racing through secondary school, perhaps university, and (with any luck) out of your immediate orbit. Finally - and I know it sounds corny - given both my friend’s experiences and the wider context of this SpinTunes, I wanted to try and write something about taking a little daily moment to show your love to the people you cherish.

[BoffoYux]

This Big Old Endless Sky - Falling Down

hey!

one two three four

I am a simple man
I have a simple plan
I’m trying to make a stand
I’m doing the best I can

I am falling down for you (you)

I am an angry man
angry as angry can
showing you how I dance
before I start throwing hands

I am falling down for you
are you falling for me too?

the piece of me
that you have eaten up
the lies i keep
the truth they interrupt

I am nothing
you are nothing
I am nothing
you are nothing

you’re not in love
you’re not in love

I am falling down for you
are you falling for me too?
I am falling down for you
are you falling for me too?

i am a stupid man
not able to understand
why we are both broken
going to hell hand in hand

I am falling down

The two best things that have happened to me in recent years have been SpinTunes and Tough Guy Book Club. Both of these groups promote a strong sense of community and care and compassion. Both of them challenge me to explore parts of myself I would not have otherwise explored. Both of them push me to do things I wouldn't otherwise do.

And both of these groups are full of amazing people.

In October, TGBC read 'The Knockout Artist' by Harry Crews. A truly brutal book. I saw a link between this challenge asking us to use a limited vocabulary, and the main character of the novel, Eugene Biggs, who often doesn't have the words to express himself in a world that is becoming more complex and challenging day by day.

So anyways - I love you all, thanks for being part of this world. Take care of yourselves, and of each other. And here's 'Falling Down'

[BoffoYux]

The Alleviators - Shadow Teeth

Guess it's time to shadow up myself again
Less is more, broken whispers
Saying nothing

And every time we cross our lines
It's like something else is burnt
I didn't mean to have hands so clean
Once upon a time they weren't

I'd settle for a smile that doesn't hurt

The sounds out loud, never how they were within
If I care so much it hurts
That must mean something

You just can't be alone with me
And I'm sure you've had enough
Of my stupid stuff, I say i'm fine but I'm fucked
Dreaming how our hearts once shared a beat

Now I think you only smile to show your teeth

Tell me how your dreams are dying
And I am all you've got
They say it's the thought
We both know it's not

It's not

My name through your mouth, shakes me still
Nothing words like an empty gun
I've lost myself and I always will
And I know if I try to cut and run
Your smile burns this shadow like the sun

Your smile burns this shadow like the sun

This is a song about never finding the right words, about avoiding and pretending and feeling like you can never get back what you once had, but trying to smile through it regardless - even if the smile hurts.

[BoffoYux]

Hot Pink Halo - Move Through The World In Waves

The sound is all around
I can hear where it wants me to be
Cut through the noise
Move in whispers, shouts, screams

Time to open up and look
Be the light turned up to full

Send out your voice into the air
(Look into your heart)
Send out your voice into the sky
Send your voice through walls
(Look into your heart)
Send your voice through night
Send out your voice with love
(Look into your heart)
Send it all into the fight
Move through the world in waves

The heart of my home
Is sometimes hidden from sight
If I keep it locked away
I'll never find my fire

Time to throw it back, set it free
Be the light that we can't see

Send out your voice into the air
(Look into your heart)
Send out your voice into the sky
Send your voice through walls
(Look into your heart)
Send your voice through night
Send out your voice with love
(Look into your heart)
Send it all into the fight
Move through the world in waves

Light shifts
(Look into your heart)
Light beats
Feel your way
Move through the streets
Many sides cut to return the fight
(Look into your heart)
Fear cleared away by wind, color and light

Send out your voice into the air
(Look into your heart)
Send out your voice into the sky
Send your voice through walls
(Look into your heart)
Send your voice through night
Send out your voice with love
(Look into your heart)
Send it all into the fight
Move through the world in waves

After writing the last three songs about books I read, I decided to keep going. I recently found 'All the light we cannot see', the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Anthony Doerr, on a shelf at the library.

Without spoiling, here's a little blurb from wikipedia:
"The novel is set during World War II. It revolves around the characters Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl who takes refuge in her great-uncle's house in Saint-Malo after Paris is invaded by Nazi Germany, and Werner Pfennig, a bright German boy who is accepted into a military school because of his skills in radio technology."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Light_We_Cannot_See

[BoffoYux]

Huge Shark - Wish One For Me

I walk in
next to morning
side by light
everything is
fine and bright our
conversation
I can't believe you and…

I understand
you can only
lie but I
only want to
hold you tight
love is just a
box you don't fit in but

I'm from a place with no shadows
but shadows are falling on me
All of the stars out my window
Hoping I'll wish one for me

look at me
I believe in
everything
I believe in
summer nights
I believe in
love fire for ever but

carefully
you decide to
walk with me
everything is
fine and bright our
conversation
I can't believe you and

I'm from a place with no shadows
but shadows are falling on me
All of the stars out my window
Hoping I'll wish one for me

"You know that you get to dream
You know that you need to find
the morning side of the street
and put yourself first in the sun"

I'm from a place with no shadows
but shadows are falling on me
All of the stars out my window
Hoping I'll wish one for me

I walk in
next to morning
side by light
everything is
fine and bright
no conversation
I am myself again

I don't really like to explain my songs, because I feel the listener should be allowed to put their own spin on it, but for this song I was thinking of those luminous personalities who often seem to be dampened or have their spark suppressed by hanging around with people who seem to take pleasure in squishing them.

[BoffoYux]

Wendy Wiseman Fisher - Round Fall Food [SHADOW]

Round fall food in my mouth, so sweet.
Round fall food, so sweet.
Hard before you make it hot.

A little song about pumpkins. Written as part of my research into how Max Martin constructs pop songs.

[BoffoYux]

gammammannn - IDK [SHADOW]

[[START]]
{Lets write something weird}
{its gonna be crazy}

{i don't know}
{i don't know}

[[NORMAL]]
everything is going back and back and back and forwards
{i don't know} why everything's falling down into {i don't know}

i can't find the words to think, it's like i've been told what not to think at all
{(not enough words to think)}

everything is falling back and to and from and forwards
{and its just} that nothing makes sense anymore {and i want to tell you something}

i'll try to explain my thoughts but i don't think i ever could {but i'll try anyway}

okay lets give this a try

[[DROP]]
i feel like {i don't know}
how do i get it across to you that {i have no idea}
i don't have all the words to {i don't know}
as i fall deeper into a {i have no idea}

[[NORMAL]]
(back to front {back to front} back to front)
(front to back {front to back} front to back)

let's return back to the question
where we all figure something out

i can't find the words to piece together everything about my world
{i don't know where to put you in there}

don't have the word for {i don't know}
why can't i figure something out?

figure something out

okay let's try this again

[[DROP]]
i'd like to {i don't know}
i really really want you to know that {i have no idea}
i'm still struggling to find words to {i don't know}
but even then i can feel something there {i have no idea}

[[BROKEN]]
{it's not beautiful, it's not bad, it's not simple, it's hard to, it's hard to}
i'm so confused
{it's not love, it's not hate, it's not simple, it's something else, it's something else}
my words have disappeared

{i like it, but not all of it, it's not simple, it's hard to, it's hard to}
i don't know anymore
{it's all right and all wrong, it's not simple, it's something else, it's something else}
i can't place you in my head

{why is this so damn hard?}
{why is this so damn hard?}
{why is this so damn hard?}
{why is this so damn hard?}

i can't just say "i love you" because that's not enough
but i do have something that might get it across

[[DROP]]
i know now {i love you}
just through the power of my own voice {i will see it through}
i might not have the words to say {i love you}
but i'll push past all the blue and grey {i will see it through}


[[END]]
{ten hundred words for you}

this song is about someone who can't find words to say how they are feeling or thinking. if you know the book 1984, you might know of this idea.

most of the time when people write a song like this, they end up (KIND OF) lying. in saying they don't have the words to tell people how they feel, they end up writing with words that tell people how they feel. so in this song i am attempted to really use this as an excuse to get this idea across. instead of pretending to write a song that can't get an idea across, i'm writing in a way that actually can't get an idea across. i hope it worked.

my song uses words that i say back-to-front in place of stuff i can't say. of course i still can't use words outside the top ten hundred most used words, so these back-to-front bits still follow through.

if these notes don't make sense, i agree. it's not easy typing out notes that also don't use words outside the top ten hundred most used words. it only makes sense to make it harder to explain what the song is about, after all this song is about not being able to explain what it's trying to say.


all the words in {} are back-to-front

[BoffoYux]

The Moon Bureau - A Song (For You) [SHADOW]

Listening to “Blonde On Blonde” I did not understand
How you thought I should respond and so I took your hand
Just the smallest human touch
My heart had never felt so much

And so I wrote a song about you
I used some easy words that I knew
I hope that you think it is cute
I did it since you asked me to
Stop going big when small will do
Find simple lines to follow through
Not touch too much upon the things known only to a few

Two times I'd write ten hundred lines
Like men across the water way
Just to be the twenty hundred writing guy
Who made you happy for a day

Last night I wrote a song about you
I used some easy words that I knew
I'll play it until I turn blue
I did it since you asked me to

[BoffoYux]

The Pannacotta Army - It’s How You Get There [SHADOW]

It's a long way down this road but I don't care
Where you're going is not the point, it's how you get there

I have no need to rush, so I'll take my time
And what lies up ahead is not on my mind

I need nothing to believe in
I'm not looking for a reason
To keep me from moving on

I'm not so far gone yet I need to slow down,
I'm not reaching for the stars, just the next town

There is no hidden meaning
You won't find any feeling
Left in this old broken heart

From one moment to the next
You never know what to expect

It's a long way down this road but I don't care
Where you're going is not the point, it's how you get there

[BoffoYux]

Siebass - Top 5 [SHADOW]

the, the, the

be be be be be be be be
of to, of to
and

The and be to of
The

be be be be be be be be
of to, of to
and

The and of be and of the and of to
The and of be and of the and of to

Wanted to go absurdist and only use the top 5 words; why stop at the top ten hundred

Top five words, in order of use frequency, 1 the, 2 be, 3 to, 4 of, 5 and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_comm ... in_English

[BoffoYux]

Nathan Joe Long - The Day After Days [SHADOW]

Mom groans
You cry
Breathe in
See light
Dream big
Grow right
Leave home

Love some
Then one
Take wife
Make life
Raise right
Settle in
It's a win

Day after day after day after day
The day after day after day after days
What peace may come to those who fade away
What dreams may come to those who choose to wake

Be the man
In big pants
Money's fast
While it lasts
So tired so fired
No job no work no problem

Children's children painting pictures of your big old nose
Who knows what's left before you lay to rest what the hell is left?
Evening evening out your mind
wonder what you find if you wake to dream
what dreams may come?

Chair sleep
Sun down
Lose keys
Old home
Grey gaze
Fire spent
Last gasp

Maybe memories are meant to keep
Family meets you greets you
Hugs and kisses telling you
well come so well come you're home
Love is home

I saw the final challenge and immediately wanted to see how much I could fit into ten hundred words and 3 and a half minutes. So this is a vignette of a whole life and maybe afterlife. Co-write credit to Billy Shakespeare and Pachelbel.

[BoffoYux]

The Dreams Corporation - Dream Hospital

its really simple
just don't think about it

just just wait an hour
the doctor will be here
and then you CAN leave
just wait an hour-
... okay

WATCH THINGS ON THE TV!
TV will give you everything you want and more
watch amazing shows such as WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?

you're okay!
the doctor will be here
and you can YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED. WHAT? YOU ARE TO STAY HERE UNTIL YOU leave

take deep breaths... take deep WAKE UP NOW!!!!

just just wait a minute
the doctor will be here
and then you

okay. let's begin.

[BoffoYux]

Governing Dynamics - Beautiful Breaking [SHADOW]

Softly, slowly, one not only
Watching, minding
left for dying
Cold glance, hot tears
Last chance, for years
Time keeps winding
Around the signs and we

Slow dance
Towards a chance for the taking
Join hands for the beautiful breaking

His breathing is lying
His crowd is crying
In the strong grip
Of old lies, new trips
Torn tongue, hard eyes
Dead to good-byes
Sick words winding
Lost minds and these

Dark towns
And memories of making
Join hands for the beautiful breaking

sisters and brothers
one way or the other
have we not all grown sick from the hating
Do we not all agree what is worst is the waiting

This slow dance
with the chances we’re taking
Join hands for the beautiful breaking

There's a screaming black star
At the edge of the breaking of day
I'm dreaming it pulls down the sky
And I just don't know how we'll escape

All the colors, not yet broken glass
All the songs saying this too would pass
Sometimes I wish I could believe it
But I just can't remember when I could last see it

And it’s known we’ve all grown tired of waiting

[BoffoYux]

Micah Sommersmith - Song 23 [SHADOW]

You're the one who cares for me
There's nothing that I need
You make a bed for me
Lying on the green

You take me to the water
You bring me back to life
You show me where to set my feet
And point to what is right

And death is all around me
But I am not afraid
The dark may still surround me
But I am not afraid
I know that you have found me
And I am not afraid
I'm safe within your arms
And I am not afraid

You set me at the table
With those who want me dead
Your love is falling over me
Like rain upon my head

My cup is never empty
My mouth is never dry
I know your love will follow me
As long as I’ve got life

And death is all around me
But I am not afraid
The dark may still surround me
But I am not afraid
I know that you have found me
And I am not afraid
I'm safe within your arms
And I am not afraid

There's a room for me in your house

And death is all around me
But I am not afraid
The dark may still surround me
But I am not afraid
I know that you have found me
And I am not afraid
I'm safe within your arms
And I am not afraid

Lyrics are based on the 23rd Psalm.