Yesterday, I posted a valentines poem, “Broken Arrow,” that I wrote with a late friend, Steve Graham. That poem is actually lyrics to a song. Here’s a bit more about song lyrics and my work with Steve.
As you know, I write poetry. I’m also a songwriter. On some of my older websites, I posted both lyrics and recordings of my songs. Although I post my electronic compositions here, I haven’t posted any of my songwriting. That will be changing in the future. Today, I’d like to share a few lyrics from a current project.
I’m working on two songwriting projects. I wrote a new batch of my own songs earlier this year. I’m also resurrecting a few dozen songs that I wrote with an old friend who died of brain cancer, Steve Graham. The Erickson & Graham Song Collection was written between 1991 and 2003.
Poetry and lyrics are similar but different art forms. I usually write poetry in quiet reflection, whereas I more often write song lyrics while playing a musical instrument. Poetry gives me more freedom to communicate exactly what I want to say, yet it’s also strangely less specific. There are less restrictions in writing poetry. Lyrics require more exacting meter and rhyming structures. Lyrics are also often more storylike. I enjoy the process of both forms.
Here are some examples from the Erickson & Graham songbook.
Young man in the city
Have you found your dignity?
So tough, so cool
Think you know what you’re coming to
Spraying your philosphy on a wall
But will it save your soul
When the flood gates fall?– from When the Flood Gates Fall, 1991
Those lyrics are from a singer-songwriter track, but Steve and I also wrote many traditional country songs. Here’s an example of a chorus:
But as the days get shorter
Somehow they seem so long
And you’re sounding sad and lonely when I call
I swear it’s my last rodeo
Because I’m missing you so strong
And I’ll be home before the last leaf falls– from Before the Last Leaf Falls, 1993
Finally, here’s the first verse of one of my favorites that Steve and I wrote together.
Through a picture window in a seaside bar
Watching distant ships go by
With these wishes swimming ’round in my head
About the love of my life
I was sipping whiskey feeling miles away
When an old man saw my pain
He leaned over and said,
“Hold on, you can make it through the rain”– from Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon, 1993
I’ve reworked most of the Erickson & Graham songs. I have about half a dozen songs left to complete. Some of the songs will remain exactly as Steve and I wrote them. Others include minor changes. Some have been given new chord progressions and melody because the old ones were long since forgotten.
Hopefully, I will begin recording songs from the Erickson & Graham catalog in the spring. – dse
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