Enjoyed Da Read
Maybe
grinnin' like a fool,
lookin' at the pool,
Larry G. Killam
This Lyric came quickly, because of the ease or difficulty of designing Verse II and III to match the Rhyme-Scheme and 'middle' concept of Verse I.
That can be classified as 'inspiration' and 'crafting'. Some editing later is 'crafting', deliberate decisions made to 'improve' the Song, judgment calls of the Song-Writer.
"In The Middle Of Love" Copyright March 17, 2022 by Gary E. Andrews.
G 32OOO3
C/G bass 332O1O
D XXO232
Verse I
In the middle of the night,
I wake up thinkin',
I don't wanna start drinkin'!
I don't wanna fight,
or wake up thinkin' about it (I don't wanna wake up thinkin')
in the middle of the night.
Verse II
In the middle of the day,
you're drinkin' doubles.
I don't wanna have your trouble!
I don't wanna play, (I don't wanna say)
the crazy games you play ('You can't be drinkin' doubles)
in the middle of the day.
Bridge
You come rollin' up,
in somebody else's truck,
with mud all over the place,
grinnin' like a fool,
actin' like a tool,
with blood all over your face!
In The Middle Of Love,
we have nothing more to say.
In The Middle Of Love,
I wanna go my own way.
Verse III
In the middle of a sentence, (In the middle of the road, ?)
you stop me to say,
you don't wanna hear about it.
You don't wanna know.
You'd rather stand here laughin'
in the middle of the road.
Repeat Verse I
In the middle of the night,
I wake up thinkin',
I don't wanna start drinkin'!
I don't wanna fight,
or wake up thinkin' about it
in the middle of the night.
Coda
I'd have to think about it,
in the middle of the night.
I just played through this and it's well under 3 minutes. Short Songs have appeal for terrestrial radio, leaving more time for commercial advertising that pays the bills. If you can do something interesting, to keep them listening long enough to get to the ads, it might get a lot of airplay.
I thought of the adage, 'Don't change horses in the middle of the stream' but I don't care for the Verse I wrote with it. I prefer keeping it short. Adding another Verse would 'dictate' Repetition of the Bridge. That Structure could work, but keeping it simple appeals more to me.
In the middle of the stream
you wanna change horses.
I don't wanna change courses
or live in a dream.
I don't wanna change my horse
in the middle of a stream.
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
Refining it down to its simplest form.
The Line about the Love-Interest Character stopping the Singer-Character in mid-sentence had a literary quality to it, but for a Song the Repetitive 'structure' of the Verses is probably more appropriate. I think it will be easier for a singer to remember with that Structure, and possibly easier for listeners to 'stay' Hooked with.
I'm still not happy with the Bridge. This Song began with the 'In the middle of the night...' Line, and then finding other 'middle' metaphors to work with made it a 'crafting' process and less of an 'inspiration' ad lib process.
That's my usual style, beginning with an ad lib that suggests to me a Singer-Character beginning to relate something, a story, a relationship with a Love-Interest Character. I'm 'Hooked'. I want to know where the story's going.
I usually arrive at a point where it is 'time' for the Chorus, hopefully within the first 60 seconds of the Song, and arriving there I usually 'find' the Chorus, summing up the storyline, and find THE Hook, the main idea, the title Line.
This Song was a 'fabrication' process and it threw me off my usual 'control' of Structure. I dashed off the Bridge where a Chorus would usually be, with a succinct Hook/title Line.
It took a definite turn in the Bridge, with the Love-Interest Character suddenly losing the Singer-Character's 'affection'. He no longer finds her 'attractive' in her mudding and blooding in some other guy's truck. But the 'go my own way' Line just doesn't seem 'strong' enough, conceptual enough, summary enough to be THE Hook. It may continue to evolve.
"In The Middle Of Love" Copyright March 17, 2022 by Gary E. Andrews.
G 32OOO3
C/G bass 332O1O
D XXO232
Verse I
In the middle of the night,
I wake up thinkin',
I don't wanna start drinkin'!
I don't wanna fight,
I don't wanna wake up thinkin'
in the middle of the night.
Verse II
In the middle of the day,
you're drinkin' doubles.
I don't wanna have your trouble!
I don't wanna say,
'You can't be drinkin' doubles.
in the middle of the day.
Bridge
You come rollin' up,
in somebody else's truck,
with mud all over the place,
grinnin' like a fool,
actin' like a tool,
with blood all over your face!
In The Middle Of Love,
we have nothing more to say.
In The Middle Of Love,
I've got to go my own way.
Verse III
In the middle of the road,
you stand there laughin'.
You tell me, "Stop your yappin'!
I don't wanna know.
I'd rather stand here laughin'
in the middle of the road.
Repeat Verse I
In the middle of the night,
I wake up thinkin',
I don't wanna start drinkin'!
I don't wanna fight!
I don't wanna wake up thinkin',
in the middle of the night.
Coda
I don't wanna wake up thinkin',
in the middle of the night.
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
Bridge could be a Chorus, simplified.
Bridge
You come rollin' up,
in somebody else's truck,
with mud all over the place,
grinnin' like a fool,
actin' like a tool,
with blood all over your face!
We have nothing more to say!
We're stuck In The Middle Of Love,
We're stuck In The Middle Of Love.
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
What's up Gary... Anybody got ears in cyberwaste land?
https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandid=1449856
I like this, especially the repetition structure and I think it has evolved in the right direction in the second version you posted. It's clearer what's going on and just seems to hang together better. When I first read the line "in somebody else's truck." I thought he/she was driving somebody else's truck for some reason, although I think I''m supposed to picture a girl with another guy in his truck?
I wonder if you could play on the idea of the middle moving to the end. One way would be in the coda with something like...
I don't wanna wake up thinkin',
in the middle of the night.
In the middle of love
There's an end in sight
It would depend which way you went with the bridge. It wouldn't work with the revised version.
I may or may not be an enigma
http://mysteriousbeings.com
I've been thinking the Bridge had to serve a function like a Chorus.
But it only needs to serve a function as a Bridge, a brief variation of Melody and/or Rhyme-Scheme, Rhythmic dynamics, with coherent information relevant to the Lyric that has preceded it. So I'm simplifying it, and I think it works when I play it.
"In The Middle" should be the title, since it's the most Repeated Line. But 'Of Love' makes it more interesting.
"In The Middle Of Love" Copyright March 17, 2022 by Gary E. Andrews.
G 32OOO3
C/G bass 332O1O
D XXO232
Verse I
In the middle of the night,
I wake up thinkin',
I don't wanna start drinkin'!
I don't wanna fight,
I don't wanna wake up thinkin'
in the middle of the night.
Verse II
In the middle of the day,
you're drinkin' doubles.
I don't wanna have your trouble!
I don't wanna say,
'You can't be drinkin' doubles.
in the middle of the day.
Bridge
You come rollin' up,
in somebody else's truck,
with mud all over the place,
grinnin' like a fool,
actin' like a tool,
with blood all over your face!
In The Middle Of Love,
we have nothing more to say.
Verse III
In the middle of the road,
you stand there laughin'.
You tell me, "Stop your yappin'!
I don't wanna know.
I'd rather stand here laughin'
in the middle of the road."
Repeat Verse I
In the middle of the night,
I wake up thinkin',
I don't wanna start drinkin'!
I don't wanna fight!
I don't wanna wake up thinkin',
in the middle of the night.
Coda
I don't wanna wake up thinkin',
in the middle of the night.
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
like this one. did you record it?
carroll kiphen
Enjoyed Da Read.
Larry G. Killam
I heard the 'other' Song and this title came to me, and stayed in my mind for weeks.
So I got to jamming on the bass E and A, droning the E and picking out the 'other Song' Melody on the A, then dropped into chords,
E O221OO A XO222O and B XX4442. B7 O212O1
"Paparazzi Jonnie" copyright June 16, 2022 by Gary E. Andrews.
Verse I
Paparazzi Jonnie, calls me on the phone, wants me to come home.
She says I've been gone too long.
She's out there takin' pictures, of people she can't touch. She says resisting is rough. She says she loves me too much.
I never should've left her, I never should've left her alone!
Verse II
Paparazzi Jonnie, writes me every day. She's runnin' out of things to say. She gets in her own way.
She says she'll send me money, help me pay my way, to leave the Frisco Bay, come home to L. A.
I never should've left her, I never should have left her alone!
Bridge
Paparazzi Jonnie, Honey I'm on my way!
I don't need your money!
I just need one more day!
(Instrumental Bridge, the droning E and A Melody)
Repeat Verse I
Paparazzi Jonnie, calls me on the phone, wants me to come home.
She says I've been gone too long.
She's out there takin' pictures, of people she can't touch. Resisting's getting rough. She says she loves me too much.
I never should've left her, I never should've left her alone!
Coda
I never should've left her, I never should've left her alone.
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
"Six A.M. In Nashville". Copyright July 19, 2022 by Gary E. Andrews.
(Verse I)
(Chorus Refrain; opening Line.)
"It's six a.m. in Nashville!
We haven't been to bed.
The darkness is all fading.
The morning's turning red.
I hope I haven't kept you up!
For some reason I feel fine.
I just can't quit loving you.
I love you all the time.
(Verse II)
It's six a.m. in Nashville.
I just crawled into bed.
I went home at two-thirty.
She called me up and said,
"I hope I didn't wake you up.
It's just that I can't sleep.
I just can't quit loving you.
Do you still love me?"
(Bridge)
Well I do and I don't!
It's too early for me to tell.
I do and I don't.
I'm at the wishing well!
I'm tossing in my flipping coin!
In a moment now you'll know.
It's six a.m. in Nashville.
I'm back on the road!
(Verse III)
It's six a.m. in Nashville.
I'm knocking on your door.
The daylight on your face is
everything I'm looking for.
Come on! Let's go and get some sleep!
We can talk if you're inclined.
I just can't quit loving you!
I love you all the time!
(Bridge/Coda, fading)
Well I do and I don't!
It's too early for me to tell.
I do and I don't.
I'm at the wishing well!
I'm tossing in my flipping coin!
In a moment now you'll know.
It's six a.m. in Nashville.
I'm back on the road!
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
I have a feeling I would like this a lot if I wasn't so confused LOL.
Is it a duet? If not, it's the same person who "can't quit loving you," and, according to the bridge, can't decide if he loves her or not. That doesn't seem to make sense. Of course, it's very possible that I'm missing the whole point 🙂
I may or may not be an enigma
http://mysteriousbeings.com
Well you keep thinkin' on it and let me know what you figure out! LOL
Verse I, Line 2: "We..." More than one person.
VI, Line 5: Singer-Character "I..." and Love-Interest Character "you".
VII, Line whatever, she let him go home at 2:30 and he no sooner got to bed than she called him up and seemed to want him to come back and made him want to go back. Damned women!
A rational man questions whether he loves her that much. But we all know we'd drive back over there, don't we?
Despite 1,000's of years of Songwriting humans have not exhausted the possibilities. There will always be another Song to be written. Someone will write it. Why not you? www.garyeandrews.com
I have a feeling this is going to run long with this many lyrics.
carroll kiphen