Sometimes I look back at older songs I have written and have little recollection of where the lyrics came from or even of writing them. I heard Bob Dylan say something along those lines (although his are a hundred million times more successful than mine!!) - he said he had no idea where his big ones from the early days came from.

Sometimes it is a struggle to get new ones going. But then they appear and if I don't record them in some way, they go away again in minutes.

What about you? Do lyrics miraculously float into your head or do you struggle over every word?

I watched this video I had made of one of mine and recalled that I was sort of challenged by an English friend to use the car Hillman Minx (which my Dad owned) in a song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM9qriJlNOI

The song is basically about me but many of the lines came from nowhere.....

The Emigration Song Copyright ©2011 Colin Ward

V1
Stirring tea in the afternoon,
In a china cup with a silver spoon,
A biscuit with Typhoo, an afternoon treat,
Something hot and something sweet

V2
A Hillman Minx, still warm in the drive,
Back from the country where they felt so alive,
The silence is broken by the radio,
BBC News and the Archers show

Chorus 1
The clock ticks loud and the clock ticks slow,
A chill in the air,
And the coal… makes a fiery glow

V3
The needles click as the sweater grows,
A black cat watches, licking milk from his nose,
A boy reads quietly sitting on the floor,
Lost in homework, never saying he’s bored

V4
A sweater and tie, wool pants to his knees,
Wet socks by the fire, in from the freeze,
Mud-covered shoes from puddles and rain,
The cold and damp drives them all insane

Chorus 1
The clock ticks loud and the clock ticks slow,
A chill in the air,
And the coal… makes a fiery glow

Bridge
Six months later they’re warm in the sun,
Ninety degrees, they sweat when they run
The new clock’s quiet and plugs in the wall,
An Oldsmobile waits at their beck and call

V final
The countryside is dry and flat,
They don’t miss the rain, there’s not much of that,
They miss the folks who they left behind,
But the memories fade to the back of their minds

Chorus 2
The clock ticked loud and the clock ticked slow,
A chill in the air,
And the coal…. made a fiery glow



Colin

I try to critique as if you mean business.....

http://colinwardmusic.com/

http://rosewoodcreekband.com/