Songs & Signs? September 16, 2008

My co-worker told me about Pandora.com today. It’s free internet radio. You punch in the songs and artists that you love and it creates a customized station for you that revolves around your musical preferences. I’m so amazed and excited at each new song that appears in my playlist, I’m like a little girl on Christmas day. It’s like the most fabulous present for getting me into a cheerful groove at work. I find myself wondering, “HEY! How did they know I love this song?!” There’s a spring in my step and a smile on my face on this otherwise bland Tuesday morning. I swear, it’s so amazing what music can do.

Speaking of what music can do, Neal and I started “Songwriting Saturdays” at our house this past weekend. Louis came over with the girls and played a pretty little piano ditty while Neal and Krista chimed in on acoustic guitar. Brittany, Mary and I wrote down whatever lyrical ideas came to mind. After a little while, we “lyricists” pooled together our efforts and Brittany sat down and took all three of our ideas to compose three verses, a chorus and bridge. Neal and Louis fooled around with a melody line and Presto! In less than two hours time we had an original song. Well, sort of. It needs some work, but I was so excited and giddy that Mary, Krista and Brittany thought I was totally weird. Something new.

So this morning on Pandora I entered that I liked Paul Simon. It delightfully brought up for me his Graceland, CS&N Southern Cross, Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, Dire Straights’ Romeo & Juliet and JT’s Mexico. Then, all of a sudden, as I’m typing this post, I hear (!) Simon’s Song About The Moon…

If you want to write a song about the moon
Walk along the craters of the afternoon
When the shadows are deep
And the light is alien
And gravity leaps like a knife off the pavement
And you want to write a song about the moon
You want to write a spiritual tune
Then nah nah nah
Presto
Song about about the moon
If you want to write a song about the heart
Think about the moon before you start
Because the heart will howl
Like a dog in the moonlight
And the heart can explode
Like a pistol on a June night
So if you want to write a song about the heart
And its ever-longing for a counterpart
Write a song about the moon
The laughing boy
He laughed so hard
He fell down from his place
The laughing girl
She laughed so hard
The tears rolled down her face
Hey songwriter
If you want to write a song about
A face
Think about a photograph
That you really cant remember
But you cant erase
Wash your hands in dreams and lightning
Cut off your hair
And whatever is frightening
If you want to write a song
About a face
If you want to write a song about
The human race
Write a song about the moon
If you want to write a song about the moon
You want to write a spiritual tune
Then do it
Write a song about the moon