I've written a sixties style protest song that I think has pretty decent lyrics and a good chorus. The song actually had its genesis back a few years ago after it became more and more clear that the Iraq war was turning out to be a debacle based upon lies. In its original form it was in a different key and I attempted to make it have a three-four time signature like a waltz. I wasn't too happy with my lyrics, and the waltz time signature made it sound a bit too sing-song, but I did like the chorus. There it sat for quite some time. Lately I have been trying to extend my playlist of original songs, so I thought to myself it would be a shame to scrap this one entirely. With this in mind, I changed the lyrics, chord sequence, melody and time signature. Now I am happy with it.
I sang it acapella at the last Cartersville Songwriters Exchange meeting (last Wednesday). I guess they liked it, but I wonder how many people were thinking "Oh great, a protest song...". It was cool I got some compliments on how my singing. One of the guys said I sounded a lot fuller and more resonant vocally than I usually do when I sing and play guitar. I am still developing as a singer so this is encouraging.
Here is the chorus of the song:
My country right or wrong
Don't ever ask yourself why
My country right or wrong
While the fire rains down from the sky
So what do my readers think? Are politically charged protest songs dead?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment