I uploaded a picture of some buttercups (wild daffodils) to my profile on Facebook. I'm reposting the picture below. Well... here is the song that goes with the daffodils!
Gals, grab your man and slow-dance with him!
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I have posted a while back about one of my love songs which was a challenge to write -- being sung by a woman to her husband -- and I now have the finished "Forever My Man" demo up on the Tunes page.
I uploaded a picture of some buttercups (wild daffodils) to my profile on Facebook. I'm reposting the picture below. Well... here is the song that goes with the daffodils! Gals, grab your man and slow-dance with him!
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I had the pleasure of seeing Travis Tritt perform solo tonight for over 2 1/2 hours. As he said after the opening medley, we would hear some song tonight that might not sound like they did on the radio, but would sound like they did when he wrote them.
His performance was not flawless, but it was energetic, engaging, masterful -- both his vocals and guitar playing, and he had the audience from the get-go. It was a wonderful example of a great singer/songwriter. I knew that since he would be performing solo, it would be a good way to set the bar for how to do a songwriter night . Like I have said before, part of the reason I blog about songwriting is to pull back the curtain on what goes into it. Last night, I uploaded my latest version of "Rubbin' Off On Me" (lyrics and audio here) and this morning received the eval for that version.
I really appreciate the evaluation process. As a writer, it lets me get my work in front of a seasoned writer who can point out weaknesses and suggest changes. This removes it from the realm of my own bias. Lucky 13, my evaluator, said in a nutshell, "Strong, good emotional connection in the chorus, last couplet in verse 1 could be more romantic than practical. Let it percolate and see if you can make that one change." That, folks is what I will do. I will be thinking about that last couplet in verse 1 and hopefully come up with something "just right" to tie it all up. In the meantime, I will move on to some other songs and get started on them. As promised, here is the second scripture chorus updated from 30 years ago especially for Steve and Cindy Baney, but all the old Bloomington folks and anyone else who is interested: Psalm 9:10 - "Those Who Know Thy Name". Love and prayers. Last week was a busy one for me... day travel to Houston for work then leaving again the next day for a long weekend in Kansas for my Dad's birthday. During the trip down, I got a new eval for "Rubbin' Off On Me" in my email inbox. I was just sure that I had gotten it where it needed to be. Not to fast, buddy! Lucky 13 had a couple of more suggestions that will require some... you guessed it... rewriting! But hey, like I say at work, "this is our life" -- and I had better enjoy the challenge! Now that I'm home, I can get into a routine again and get the re-write done.
I bought a ticket to see Travis Tritt later this month doing a solo show here in El Dorado. It will be an interesting learning experience from a singer/songwriter perspective. I have been to writers' night in Nashville and Little Rock. It will be interesting to see how a seasoned performer handles it. Looking forward to that! Along with many others, I received a prayer request on Facebook recently from Cindy Baney regarding her husband, Steve -- (both old Bloomington friends) -- who was recently diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer and has just begun treatments. Cindy and Steve were college students when I met them and was involved in a church-planting ministry there at Indiana University. They subsequently married and have been teaching in the Indianapolis area for many years. Cindy was on the worship music team with me and reminded me of some old scripture choruses of mine that we sang in those days. One was “He Longs To Be Gracious To You" (Isaiah 30:18). I had almost forgotten about them but she has a fond remembrance of them. In her honor and with a hope to encourage both of them as they begin this journey through cancer treatments, I wanted to blow the dust off of it and create a newer version of it with another one -- Psalm 9:10 -- to follow later. You can listen here. Prayers and best wishes, Cindy and Steve. I had "Rubbin' Off On Me" eval'd as I mentioned in a previous post. The evaluator suggested re-writing the last half of the chorus and the rest was good to go. At the time I hadn't written the bridge. I have been mulling over options for those lyrics and think I may have the final set... still not certain. I posted home studio scratch version here. Let me know what you think.
I am a fan of mentoring -- or "discipling" as a preferred learning method. I read something in Exodus 35:30 and following today about how God "staffed up" the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness. It goes like this:
Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. God endowed a master craftsman, Bezalel, with the Spirit and with know-how in all aspects of the artisanship of the tabernacle. God also enabled Bezalel and Oholiab to teach the craft to others. They could have been the stars of the show, but they were enablers of others for a purpose... to get the tabernacle constructed. There are talented people everywhere. Nashville is loaded with talented people. More important, many of those talented people have a spiritual history and desire to honor God with their talents. Are you one of them? Do you view your gifts and talents as God-given and purposeful? It is my own prayer to be like Bezalel and Oholiab. I hope you have a similar desire for the things God has blessed you with, as well. |
AuthorI'm John Rowland, a country songwriter, working man and father from East Texas. Archives
December 2015
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