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I've been working on two songs over the last couple of months, spurred on by a karaoke moment at a friend's birthday (alas, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" remains simply too high for me, even transposed down a key; while there's always "Take Me Home, Country Roads", I really feel that I've done all with that song that I can over the last few years, at least for now.)
The first song is "Amie", by Pure Prairie League. I truly love the "Amie, whatcha gonna do?" chorus, but verses such as
I can see why you think you belong to me
I never tried to make you think, or let you see one thing for yourself
But now your off with someone else and I'm alone
You see I thought that I might keep you for my own
prove surprisingly difficult for me to memorize, even after at least twenty runs through the song. It's not at all that they're not good lyrics; they're clever, and I enjoy them a great deal... but I've always had a problem with stage fright (which is amusing, considering how long I did musical theater, way back when), and lyrics- especially complicated ones- tend to go fwing! when I'm doing a new song. (It took a dozen or so performances of "Country Roads" for me to feel that I had those lyrics at all secure for public performance- and this is a song I've sung regularly for the better part of thirty years.) I'm still digging away at it (and a couple of the other songs on the delightful mix it's on), but for now, it may continue to remain a Casa del Coyote number. We shall see.
I'm also working on "Drift Away" (the Dobie Gray version, not the Uncle Kracker); the lyrics are a bit more straightforward, at leats by my lights, and there's another great chorus to lean into. Also, it's a song that reminds me of Robbie, the piano player who helped me get into the piano bar habit to begin with; while he's moved on to other things now, it makes me smile every time I hear a number I associate with him. It's the sort of song I can practice while working on other things (in fact, I'm singing it right now), and that I can see myself feeling comfortable with, after more work. (I'm also swimming regularly now, which helps with breath control.) I haven't been singing much at piano bar of late, and as stressful as the first few times after a break always are, there really is a part of my soul that isn't nourished any other way.
The first song is "Amie", by Pure Prairie League. I truly love the "Amie, whatcha gonna do?" chorus, but verses such as
I never tried to make you think, or let you see one thing for yourself
But now your off with someone else and I'm alone
You see I thought that I might keep you for my own
prove surprisingly difficult for me to memorize, even after at least twenty runs through the song. It's not at all that they're not good lyrics; they're clever, and I enjoy them a great deal... but I've always had a problem with stage fright (which is amusing, considering how long I did musical theater, way back when), and lyrics- especially complicated ones- tend to go fwing! when I'm doing a new song. (It took a dozen or so performances of "Country Roads" for me to feel that I had those lyrics at all secure for public performance- and this is a song I've sung regularly for the better part of thirty years.) I'm still digging away at it (and a couple of the other songs on the delightful mix it's on), but for now, it may continue to remain a Casa del Coyote number. We shall see.
I'm also working on "Drift Away" (the Dobie Gray version, not the Uncle Kracker); the lyrics are a bit more straightforward, at leats by my lights, and there's another great chorus to lean into. Also, it's a song that reminds me of Robbie, the piano player who helped me get into the piano bar habit to begin with; while he's moved on to other things now, it makes me smile every time I hear a number I associate with him. It's the sort of song I can practice while working on other things (in fact, I'm singing it right now), and that I can see myself feeling comfortable with, after more work. (I'm also swimming regularly now, which helps with breath control.) I haven't been singing much at piano bar of late, and as stressful as the first few times after a break always are, there really is a part of my soul that isn't nourished any other way.
