"August 3rd" (Session #3)

After laying down a solid “nah, nah” chorus, I remember feeling a sense of accomplishment. This is a familiar and dangerous feeling for me. It’s dangerous because this sense of accomplishment comes with a heavy drop in motivation. It reminds me of a feeling that I had in University, after finishing a draft of an essay. I’d sit at my desk, contemplating whether I could get away with hitting submit or print without reading it again. Most times I fought against this feeling and did some rewriting and editing, but every so often I’d take a deep breath and just be done with it.

Finishing the “nah, nah” chorus put me (I’m not sure about Tom), in a similar place. I was feeling like we’d made a lot of progress. I knew that it wasn’t ready to submit, but I wanted the next part to come more easily.

It didn’t.

I spent three sessions, between August 16th and September 9th, on my own, banging ideas out on the piano. Scary things started happening: voice cracks, melody changes, random sounds, lyrics with puns. Somewhere in between Tom and I might have gathered to work, but if we did, we didn’t like anything because I don’t have recordings.

Amid the terror, something productive must have been happening because on September 13th a chorus with lyrics appears. I remember working out words on the whiteboard in my studio/office (one might call it a song shop) but I don’t have pictures anywhere that show the progress. At any rate, here is what we start with. Take a listen.

Take it slow, put the fear behind me
I’m all of the hero I need
Footsteps on the road to almost home
I’m happy leaving now
I’m happy leaving now
I’m happy leaving now