[adamfarr]

Anyone remember the last days of June when by the magic of the internet we were able to meet and hatch a plan for a forum "competition" with the theme of Swings/Swinging/Swingers?!

Well... @PaulyX and I were paired up and duly started brewing something up. He had to put up with various weeks of silence, bad takes, and general indecisiveness from my side, but we have finally done it! (And I think we may be the first...)

This one is intended to be a bit emotional but also uplifting and encouraging. Fairly typically for me, it has three not-so-interconnected stories, but with great lyrical concepts, instrumentation, and mixing from Paul, has turned into something a bit different from either of our normal styles. Thanks to him for all the patience, skill, diplomacy, and enthusiasm!
 
All comments welcome! (And where are those other Swinging Songs, eh?!)


Swingers

V1
Shy boy, you glide when you dance
But only when the other boys can't see
Your dad - is gonna burn your books and art
He says that's not how a man should be

PreCh1
Now you go to the park
Alone after dark
To sit on a swing
And dream of entertaining

CHORUS
They try to make your differences a fence to keep you in
They try to make you stand aside before you can begin
They think their words are handcuffs, but you’ll break them like a string
Cos The harder they push you, the higher you swing
The higher you swing

V2
Brown girl, everybody’s favourite sport
Is making vulgar versions of your name
Your lunch - is not the same as theirs
But they’re gonna steal it anyway 

PreCh2
Now you go to the park
Alone after dark
To sit on the swings
And dream of growing wings

V3
Sad teen, sometimes you want to die
And booze and pills never restore your pride
Let down - when you want to be made up
Your Identity gets called a crime

PreCh3
Now you go to the park
Alone after dark
To sit on a swing
And try to ease the sting
 
Final Chant
They don't like to see your light, and try to make you stand aside
Tryna get under your skin, stop you before you begin
Hiding behind the rough smut, they think their words are handcuffs
But they're just midges in the wind, and you can break them like a string

Final Choruses

[Kafla]

This is pretty fantastic you know

I really like the simple but effective arrangement and production. It's got some great chord changes that are unexpected...the melody is also so clever and twists in places where I didn't see it going. My only slight nit here is that you sound a little unsure yourself Adam and you trip here or there....

I found the first verse in particular so gut-wrenching and I am wondering if that protagonist's story could be further developed. Sometimes when I do this I make my first verse my middle one and write an intro verse and a concluding verse....it could also be very easily adapted to suit this...I also think the narrative of the first story really packs a punch with the chorus "swing" twist....its quite the defiant line "Cos The harder they push you, the higher you swing"....totally love it  .... but who the hell am I 

Anyway, its easier to crit sometimes and I don't want to give you both the wrong impression....I loved this and found it very powerful and well-crafted.

Lovely guitar and piano and the strings are just ahhhhhhhh beautiful....

Very well done to you both and thanks for sharing 

[pompeyjazz]

Well, what an absolute treat listening to this for the first time this evening and it’s on my favourites list for sure. I love what you two have done with this. The harder they push you, the higher you swing is such a killer line. The instruments, arrangement, just spot on. I love that little break down towards the end. Sweet sounding vocals too @adamfarr Made my day. I don’t know what happened with this competition. My nominated collaborator just disappeared into the ether. Ah well, A worthy winner I reckon @adamfarr @PaulyX

[moraamarolaloba]

Hola @adamfarr

Hello
I was wondering where your songs were!!! I really liked listening to this. The story is beautiful and very well constructed.
Perhaps the voice needs a bit of reverb to integrate it with the backing.
The chorus sounds great!
When the piano appears it sounds too present, at least on my speakers, you could turn down the volume or treble a bit.
Very nice job.
see you another day!!!

[IronKnee]

A very well written lyric...........a powerful message.
Good stuff, guys!!

[Skub]

Yo guys.

I love the line,'the harder they push you,the higher you swing'.  Inspired exhortation.

A sweet and gentle song with a subtle punch. Well done Adam and Pauly,one to be proud of.

[crystalsuzy]

This is so good guys...blew me away. On 2nd listen now. I couldn't take it all in the 1st time round.

I like the 3 different stories and love the final chorus with the spoken word going on underneath it.

Well written lyrics and great job on the vocals. The arrangement and production are spot on.

thanks for taking this challenge the to the next level. 

[shadowfax]

Blimey! this is special, such emotional lyrics and the plaintive singing suites them so well, perfect instrumental accompaniment, super collab guys..

[Wicked deeds]

Hey chaps,  this feels like it belongs in a different decade.  How did you achieve this?  It's very cool!- so low fi.  I think the controlled application of reverb has really helped this to breath.  Engaging lyrics to hold our attention throughout.  A fine song with a rich pallete of sounds and how the production grows to support the ever developing song structure!

Wicked.

[ChrisPrice]

As has already been suggested, this harkens back to another time. I don't know why exactly but Keith West's 'Grocer Jack' sprang to mind as I was listening (I'm old enough to remember that!!). Nothing to do with the lyrics, but just the overall vibe. If I'm honest, I don't fully understand the words but the whole thing sounds very poetic and the arrangement is excellent. Lovely

[MonnoDB]

Hey @adamfarr and @PaulyX … love the instrumentation - the first part has a lovely melancholic vibe to it… arrangement is great throughout.

The lyrics are fantastic. So many great lines and images. Standout for me is this line:

The harder they push you the higher you swing.

That’s soooooo clever. One of my favourite lines ever actually!!

Loved the whole thing!! Great to hear new music from you both! Now get back at it - I want more already! Although I’ll be giving this one more listens for sure… Magic!!

K

[PaulyX]

Thanks for the comments all and thanks to Adam for the collab.  He did all the hard work (chords, 95% of the lyrics, melody, vocals...) so hats off to him.  Was really fun working together, as it turns out we've got quite different go-to methodologies so I learned a lot about a different approach.  Come on the rest of you Swingers... show us your babies...

[seriousfun]

Swingers?   I had been expecting a song about golf

This is a beautiful melody and it really takes off when the band enters.  And then the breakdown allows a second build, well constructed.

[Kafla]

I keep coming back to this…such a powerful song that grows with every listen ❤️❤️

[Dorian]

This is a wonderful arrangement with a great melancholic voice that fits very well. It has a sort of Beatles era vibe to it, with lost of pleasant musical variations from “the old days”. Love it that the drums wait until the listener thinks there might be no drums in it at all, which adds to the surprise in a nice way.
About the mix: The vocals seem to be a little muffled (when listening on my crappy laptop speakers that is

Greetings, Dorian