April began

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Wicked Deeds

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« on: May 24, 2017, 09:05:38 PM »
I did set out to write a summer song but was hijacked by an unknown force that demanded I write something  completely different.  

I kicked the song off with a lovely marimba sound to suggest the movement of a crab on the beach.

I collected the summer imagery based on a holiday to the South in April.  At the beginning of the holiday I went for several lovely walks along the beach in Shoreham in West Sussex.  I thought to myself, wow, the summer is going to be great but I got into a terrible argument with my fiancee which ruined the end of our holiday and that, left us both feeling really flat.  (We've since made up :-) )After that I started to think about how anticipation and beginnings can often be perfect but then sometimes, great beginnings derail.  I started to write about a promising summer that didn't come to fruition, even though the summer hadn't really began or got into  full swing. I then thought about something that happened when I was three years old, one of my earliest memories and suddenly, it was there in the song as a spoken word section "When I was a boy, I lived by the sea.  My father said son, are you coming with me?'  My Dad and I never really got along after that but those words 'Son, are you coming with me?' stayed with me for the rest of my life.  I though about that day often down the years and suddenly the idea became part of a song.

So this isn't a summer song at all but it's a great example of how a song will sometimes go on a very different journey to how I initially expected it to.  

It's just a demo, I wrote each section over different days as I waited to understand where the song wanted to go.  I took very little care over the recording and  even neglected the vocal panning and settings which, were different each time I added new sections.  I know that I will never develop this or enter it into the summer song competition.  it doesn't do what it was supposed to do.  but I wanted to share it anyway.

April began

April began. We left our homes and drove down to the coast.
My hand on the wheel as Corrine Bailey sang our favourite song.
I yearn to belong.  The Summer's almost here and yet, it's gone.

When i was a boy, I lived by the sea.  
My father said “Son, are you coming with me?”

The beach was a blast. The surfer dudes rode waves that would not last.
The gulls in the sky, flew overhead in circles as they cried.
I yearn to belong.  The Summer's almost here and yet, it's gone.

When I was a boy, I lived by the sea.  
My father said “Son, are you coming with me?”

In the blink of an eye, relationships die.
We duck and we dive.  In the spring we’re alive.  

It was summer in spring.
When I was a boy, (summer in spring)
I lived by the sea (summer in spring).
My father said “Son, are you coming with me?”

Written by Paul Vasey  May 2017

https://soundcloud.com/wicked-deeds/april-began
« Last Edit: May 25, 2017, 09:46:52 PM by Wicked Deeds »

Darren1664

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« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2017, 09:33:45 PM »
This is very original and very creative. The song trickles along nicely. The chorus was not at all what I was expecting - I was expecting an uplift but the chorus was quite...whats the word? haunting? :P I don't mean that in a bad way - and I think that is what I liked about this track the most, its unexpectedness. It kept me engaged and that was helped by the lyrics which I thought were excellent.

I really like how an idea seems to come to life and takes it's on a path of its own and that often the meaning/theme morphs as the song develops. I think music in this sense can be very therapeutic. It can help unlock thoughts and feeling that seem to lay hidden until a lyric hooks them in. I'm very interested to see how this will develop, I hope you keep working on it.

All the best, Darren

Binladeda

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« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2017, 01:48:32 PM »

 A Beautiful song Paul. Captivating, it draws you in from the off ;D
 Great choice of instrument.....vibes ?  Drama, tension...it's all there.
 Lovely melodies/arrangement/production....I could go on  ;D

 One of your best Paul.  I loved it  ;D

Nowt as queer as folk...........my gran

PaulyX

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« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2017, 11:42:31 PM »
Thought this was original and super evocative.  Made me think a bit of Sufjan Stevens in its kind of quiet, measured, confident poignancy.
I really liked the minimalism of the first verse.  It made me picture an 'awkward silence' in that car as you're driving along, listening to Corinne.  Plenty of space to process the lyrics.
Also liked the change of direction for the chorus and the lyrical change of scene back to a childhood memory.
Then when you went minimal again for the second verse, I sort of thought you'd play that card already.  What about 'going big' for the second verse?  Some big percussion, some chugging guitar, etc.  It felt like it would fit the lyrics too ('the beach was a blast') and that would give you variety enough for it to be even more powerful when you return to minimal again with the come down of 'in the blink of an eye, relationships die'.  Then maybe big again for last chorus?
The last lines of the chorus ('Son are you coming with me?') are just great ... I was adding my own interpretation to the lyrics but it made me think the father figure was in a relationship that broke up ("Are you coming with me?" reading as "Are you going to live a life like mine?").  I realise from your explanation that that wasn't the context, but it works well like that!
Well hope you can see I loved this and just thought it could be even better with a few more dynamic changes... some mountains to offset those beautiful valleys.
It's all too beautiful.

Wicked Deeds

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« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2017, 10:21:27 AM »
Hello Darren,

The chorus was not what I was expecting either  :) I had my plan but the song took a different route and embraced old memories and a rather sombre mood and message.  I think the song has a rather uneasy feeling and that is what makes it a little more interesting than it might have been.  I had intended to leave this alone as a quirky unfinished demo to communicate an idea but I might go back to  the beginning and record everything from scratch, taking time to record correctly and perhaps developing it further as the song, seems to be striking a chord with one or two people.  Thank you for listening. It's wonderful to learn that you have enjoyed this song and liked the lyrics which I am often quite proud of.  

Paul

Steve my friend,

Thank you for listening and reviewing. I am so pleased that you enjoyed this one.

Thank you.

Paul

Paulyx

I'm pleased that you loved this song so much.  It was  always a sketch and not a finished production.  I might now revisit this again and record everything new, concentrating on developing  the production as the song progresses.  

The childhood memory section "When I was a boy, I lived by the sea.  My father said son are you coming with me". Literally is about the breakdown of my relationship with my father.  I recall that's he had met another woman and wanted me to leave the family home to be with him. I didn't understand what was happening and remember digging my heels in and thinking that I would stay with my Mam and sister.  Strangely, I soon started to think, why didn't I go with him?  What have I missed out on?  Finally as I grew older I realised that's I really had made the right decision, choosing to stay with a wonderful mother.  My father returned and brought with him, chaos down the years as he drank heavily and turned into a very abusive, alcohol dependant man.  It was incredibly sad but those events strengthened family bonds between my Mam, my sister, my younger brother and I, that are stronger than ever today.  The reason that this idea found it's way into the song is because my relationship with my father never developed. We had our summer in the earliest years that we shared together. It was our spring-time, before the chaos set in. On a positive note, I became a songwriter as a coping mechanism to escape the ugliness and the heartache of what's was to follow for many years.  

It's heart-warming that. this struck a chord with you.

Thank you my friend

Paul
« Last Edit: May 29, 2017, 11:11:49 AM by Wicked Deeds »

Eline97

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« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2017, 02:41:58 PM »
I love the mystery this song contains! Your arrangement is also very nice, I especially like the parts where the strings come in. Maybe it would be even better if you build up the tension by using a little more than just the marimba sound in the second chorus. However, I also like it this way: it's a really nice, classy song. Keep it up! :)