Well, here we go….the first song!
Starting this project has been a crazy few weeks and writing and recording this song was a much more difficult task than I anticipated (I’m going to assume it was only because it was the first one). I started the month with a couple of ideas that I thought were brilliant but soon realized they were very contrived and it didn’t take long before I decided to scrap them. It was Monday, January 17th before this little riff reared it’s head and after a couple of days of editing and arranging, I performed ‘A January Song‘ song for the first time only four days later at a songwriter’s circle.
The guitar figure came from messing around in a modified Open G tuning (DGDBDE) that I capo’d on the fifth fret. Lyrically I decided to sing about how difficult it was to write this song. I played around with the words several times and may have gone overboard with the alliteration a little. I couldn’t resist sneeking in a reference to Paul Simon’s masterpiece ‘Song About The Moon‘ since he is someone who I admire very much as a songwriter, and that song is about songwriting as well.
I brought the song to Chris Braydon who played electric guitar on it and sang a last minute harmony that worked out very well. I had my friend Chuck Teed play bass on the song while I handled acoustic guitars, percussion and vocals. The song really came to life when Sean Boyer added his drums.
I recorded all of the tracks on my Boss BR-532 digital recorder using a Rode NT-3 for everything except one of the acoustic guitar tracks, which I recorded direct. The drums were recorded by Sean Boyer on his Mac using just two mics to capture the whole kit. Sean also mixed and edited the song in reaper. I think he did a great job and I am very appreciative of the time that he, and Chuck and Chris, put into the song.
I think this song was a great way to start this project and it has made me excited to get started on next month’s tune right away (which I have!). So without further delay I present to you:
I coaxed a chord out of the neck of my guitar
thumbed through phrases ’til they fell in every bar
but when I opened up my mouth
to sing a January song
the words would not come out
and every chord I played was wrong
I waded through the words I wasted on the page
I paced the floor until the night had turned to day
and while I tried to find a verse to rhyme
with a January tune
the only thing that came to mind
was a song about the moon
I met the morning with a melody in mind
hummed the chorus while the verses fell in line
but when I opened up my mouth
to sing a January song
the words would not come out
and every chord I played was wrong
and while I tried to find a verse to rhyme
for a January tune
the only thing that came to mind
was a song about the moon
A January Song
(to download, right click and select ‘save link as’)
Note: This song is also available in both .WAV and FLAC formats. If you’d like a copy in either format, please write to clintoncca@gmail.com