My (our) song “All the Lines” is one of those that started out as just my personal point of view. But, as my co-writer points out to me all the time (!!), this, below, is the formula for producing a song:
A PERSONAL POINT OF VIEW ➕ A RELATABLE VISION & NARRATIVE 🟰 A SONG
It takes a personal point of view, combined with a relatable vision and narrative (story), to create a song. If it stays just a personal point of view, it’s not a song, it’s a confession, an unburdening. That’s fine if you want to make the song for yourself. But if you want to release it into the world, then you can’t just keep to your own point of view.
My personal point of view when I first wrote this, is that time gives you wrinkles. Every health issue that you’ve had, every life event, can show on your body with a scar or a line. These are signs that you have lived, and that you have survived.
Ever felt this way?
I feel like this. Half of this is our story, the question is, who else out there feels like this? Did the song resonate with you? Drop me a comment if it did. (Down at the bottom of the page. 👇)
Lines and lines and lines…
He agreed that it was a relatable vision, but pointed out that my lyrics were just about me, and what I thought of as lines. Lines can, after all, be many things, and take many forms – not just wrinkles and surgery scars. They can delineate, connect, and protect.
He changed the lyrics; and in case you’re wondering, yes, that’s what a songwriting partner does. The co-writer adds to, and changes the lyrics. Otherwise, why have you got a co-writer? It’s their ideas and words, as well as yours.
His lyrics include the following lines (pun intended) in the Chorus:
Skyline, fine line, zigzags
Dotted lines we sign in blood
Red line, deadlines, headlines
Broken timelines in the mud
Skylines, fine lines, zigzags
Straight lines can’t be so obtuse
Red line, deadlines, guidelines
Both the strict ones and the loose
And he added one more kind of line – the towline used for ships and boats. The words ended up speaking to a much wider audience than I had anticipated. These lines go with an absolutely throbbing bass and beats. And to let the listener get a breather, some angelic voxes float in the background.
Below is the lyric video – because, in this instance, it’s the lyrics that count. This is not a Dance track. I’d call it Electronica. Possibly Synth-Pop? The idea is to get your attention the first time you hear those gut-punching beats, and then to pull you in for another listen to the lyrics, and another, and another.