I Will Be Presenting a Songwriting Workshop at Far-West Folk Alliance

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

... I find the greatest songs, the ones that move me and others, whether popular or unpopular, come from suffering, despair and desperation, which over time coalesces, through some kind of mysterious alchemy of aging, steeping and fermenting, into compassion.

There is considerable profundity there, Scott. But as a happily married upper-middle-class professional white guy in my early 60's, I don't feel much despair or angst. We've all had tough times, for sure, but mine don't rise to the deep despair that drives the blues. Or the best country songs. There are no drinking problems, no drugs, no divorces, no murders. How boring... What message do I have to contribute? I just don't have the bona fides to play the blues, and I've been told that my voice is too good to sing blues songs -- they are meant to be rough and ragged around the edges. So I cover the better songs written by others that speak to me, in lieu of making my "statement". Good writing and clever turns of phrase are always appreciated, but there is no major suffering in my life worth writing about.

I have written a couple of experienced-based songs that tell a story, but they would not be popular beyond a narrow target audience. For example, I used to fly Search and Rescue (SAR) missions in Alaska and found many crash sites and helped rescue a few folks too. There are any number of car wreck, train wreck, and shipwreck songs around, but no plane crash songs that sprung to mind. So I wrote a song about a crash near Denali and the resulting search efforts. It was basically the Cessna / Alaskan version of "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

Your workshop sounds like it would be very interesting, but way too far for me to travel. If it were streamed, I would pay to "sit in".

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Earl49

There is considerable profundity there, Scott. But as a happily married upper-middle-class professional white guy in my early 60's, I don't feel much despair or angst. We've all had tough times, for sure, but mine don't rise to the deep despair that drives the blues. Or the best country songs. There are no drinking problems, no drugs, no divorces, no murders. How boring... What message do I have to contribute? I just don't have the bona fides to play the blues, and I've been told that my voice is too good to sing blues songs -- they are meant to be rough and ragged around the edges. So I cover the better songs written by others that speak to me, in lieu of making my "statement". Good writing and clever turns of phrase are always appreciated, but there is no major suffering in my life worth writing about.

I have written a couple of experienced-based songs that tell a story, but they would not be popular beyond a narrow target audience. For example, I used to fly Search and Rescue (SAR) missions in Alaska and found many crash sites and helped rescue a few folks too. There are any number of car wreck, train wreck, and shipwreck songs around, but no plane crash songs that sprung to mind. So I wrote a song about a crash near Denali and the resulting search efforts. It was basically the Cessna / Alaskan version of "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

Your workshop sounds like it would be very interesting, but way too far for me to travel. If it were streamed, I would pay to "sit in".

I value your input. There is no easy answer to that question (does one need to suffer to produce great art?), and of course it's been debated for thousands of years.

One point in your favor: Shakespeare wrote some of the most gripping, despairing and spiritually dark plays in the history of world literature, and yet from the reports we have he seemed to be a well-adjusted wealthy man who was an excellent businessman.

Perhaps we could agree to disagree that there are plenty of examples on both sides of the equation. It's fascinating to consider.

Earl, I had a very challenging childhood, with mental illness in the home, and due to trauma and genetics I am susceptible to depression. For many years I grappled with those events, and I wrote a 300-page memoir that was repped in NY by a top literary agent. It didn't sell, which turned out to be a good thing, but I was miserable during that time and in no way ready to deal with recounting those events. Interestingly, over the last ten years, as much life has come into balance, I feel much less of a pull to retell the story. It's quite a relief.

Robert Frost said, "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader," but I feel much less inclined to cry or feel blue these days.

You know, most platitudes and cliches have stood the test of time because they have a grain of truth in them. As far as holding on to the hurts of the past, I say to myself, "Life is for the living."

Everyone who hurt me (unintentionally) is now dead. Why be angry at them? They did the best they could, as do we all.

Thanks so much, Earl. I'm surprised this thread has gotten as much activity as it has. Another blessing.

I say this about music. Songs are holy. That's why music is a part of every major faith tradition on the planet. It has the ability to heal and console, and also to get us dancing and rejoicing. It doesn't get much better than that.

sm

[Earl49]

Scott, I cannot say that suffering is mandatory but it seems to help inspire the muse. My point was that given the comfortable adult life I've been blessed with, there isn't much to whine or pontificate about. We agree far more than not, and I apologize if that came across differently before.

I too had mental illness in the home as a child and in the extended family, plus some rough experiences. (The extended family and one of my parents would have been on the Jerry Springer Show had it existed back then). As a result I opted to never become a parent -- stop the madness before the genetics can be passed along, even if the nurture part was ultimately OK. That was a decision taken at age 17 and I have never looked back. It took a long time to get there, but I ultimately vowed to "forgive the people, but never forget what they had done". I let go of the anger, and I'm better off for it.

Ten years ago I had a brain tumor that suddenly paralyzed the entire left side of my body for weeks. One day I was scuba diving in preparation for a dive trip and riding my motorcycle on the highway, and literally the next morning ended up in the ICU very close to death several times. It took months to learn to walk, work, function, and especially to play guitar again. But that adversity gave me something to strive for. I chose the "glass half full" attitude, but could easily have given up. I have often considered writing a song with the working title of "Perspectives" since the tale is fairly compelling, something along the lines of Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying". A few ideas have been kicked around, but I never actually put my mind to it. Maybe I do have something to say after all....

Songs ARE holy, as is music in general. I am blessed to be back to about 95% of my prior playing ability and still able to learn and sing. Life would have been bleak without making music. A handrail is now mandatory on stairs, but I can still get around and do my engineering work (there are some things in the field that are not wise -- no more ladders or rooftops).

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Scott, I cannot say that suffering is mandatory but it seems to help inspire the muse. My point was that given the comfortable adult life I've been blessed with, there isn't much to whine or pontificate about. We agree far more than not, and I apologize if that came across differently before.

I too had mental illness in the home as a child and in the extended family, plus some rough experiences. (The extended family and one of my parents would have been on the Jerry Springer Show had it existed back then). As a result I opted to never become a parent -- stop the madness before the genetics can be passed along, even if the nurture part was ultimately OK. That was a decision taken at age 17 and I have never looked back. It took a long time to get there, but I ultimately vowed to "forgive the people, but never forget what they had done". I let go of the anger, and I'm better off for it.

Ten years ago I had a brain tumor that suddenly paralyzed the entire left side of my body for weeks. One day I was scuba diving in preparation for a dive trip and riding my motorcycle on the highway, and literally the next morning ended up in the ICU very close to death several times. It took months to learn to walk, work, function, and especially to play guitar again. But that adversity gave me something to strive for. I chose the "glass half full" attitude, but could easily have given up. I have often considered writing a song with the working title of "Perspectives" since the tale is fairly compelling, something along the lines of Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying". A few ideas have been kicked around, but I never actually put my mind to it. Maybe I do have something to say after all....

Songs ARE holy, as is music in general. I am blessed to be back to about 95% of my prior playing ability and still able to learn and sing. Life would have been bleak without making music. A handrail is now mandatory on stairs, but I can still get around and do my engineering work (there are some things in the field that are not wise -- no more ladders or rooftops).

Earl, this is such a great discussion, but I'm buried the next two days. I'll do my best to add more thoughts in here by the weekend.

Take Good Care,
Scott

[jaymarsch]

Just ran across this thread and am happy to hear about your teaching this approach to songwriting. One of my favorite song/album collections is Kin by Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr. Rodney has spoken a lot about songwriting as literature as has Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Bonnie Raitt was blown away when she won a Grammy this year for Just Like That. She wrote the song based on a news story that moved her.
I’ll check out more about Far West this year.
Best,
Jayne

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Just ran across this thread and am happy to hear about your teaching this approach to songwriting. One of my favorite song/album collections is Kin by Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr. Rodney has spoken a lot about songwriting as literature as has Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Bonnie Raitt was blown away when she won a Grammy this year for Just Like That. She wrote the song based on a news story that moved her.
I’ll check out more about Far West this year.
Best,
Jayne

Jayne, thanks for your post. I wasn't aware of that with Rodney, but it makes sense. He's a terrific writer. Were you aware that he's doing an annual songwriting camp? Special guest this year is John Hiatt. I hope in time to teach at these kinds of gatherings. I can't say my song are at this level, but I am a passionate and generous educator, and we have a lot of fun and laughter in my classroom.

https://campscui.active.com/orgs/dre...ssions/3304235

Jayne, a lot of what I do is straight Strunk & White. I have found the advice on using active verbs, avoiding modifiers, and that less is always more, especially in songwriting, has stood the test of time.

I'll post a few more thoughts later this week.

Thanks again. Always a pleasure.

Scott

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Scott, I cannot say that suffering is mandatory but it seems to help inspire the muse. My point was that given the comfortable adult life I've been blessed with, there isn't much to whine or pontificate about. We agree far more than not, and I apologize if that came across differently before.

I too had mental illness in the home as a child and in the extended family, plus some rough experiences. (The extended family and one of my parents would have been on the Jerry Springer Show had it existed back then). As a result I opted to never become a parent -- stop the madness before the genetics can be passed along, even if the nurture part was ultimately OK. That was a decision taken at age 17 and I have never looked back. It took a long time to get there, but I ultimately vowed to "forgive the people, but never forget what they had done". I let go of the anger, and I'm better off for it.

Ten years ago I had a brain tumor that suddenly paralyzed the entire left side of my body for weeks. One day I was scuba diving in preparation for a dive trip and riding my motorcycle on the highway, and literally the next morning ended up in the ICU very close to death several times. It took months to learn to walk, work, function, and especially to play guitar again. But that adversity gave me something to strive for. I chose the "glass half full" attitude, but could easily have given up. I have often considered writing a song with the working title of "Perspectives" since the tale is fairly compelling, something along the lines of Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying". A few ideas have been kicked around, but I never actually put my mind to it. Maybe I do have something to say after all....

Songs ARE holy, as is music in general. I am blessed to be back to about 95% of my prior playing ability and still able to learn and sing. Life would have been bleak without making music. A handrail is now mandatory on stairs, but I can still get around and do my engineering work (there are some things in the field that are not wise -- no more ladders or rooftops).

Earl, I just wanted to let you know that I still owe you a post or two here. I value your comments and insights. I've just been overwhelmed with the success of CLP, something I never foresaw. It's quite gratifying, and it certainly keeps me out of trouble.

Till then.....

Scott Memmer

[Earl49]

No worries, Scott. I figured that you were keeping busy with something, and I'm glad that CLP is successful. Business has been slow for me the past two months (very unusual) so I'm taking it as a preview of retirement.