'I Don't Write the Songs, I only write them down.' This song is not related to any other with a similar title. It has a very unusual slow 7/4 timing but doesn't really feel like a broken beat. Well, not the way I hear it, anyway...
acoustic
melodic
jazz
vocal
original
guitarist
fingerstyle
bach
lyrical
witty
funny
poetic
solo
english
moving
fretless bass
thoughtful
haunting
touching
ragtime
unusual
humorous
bittersweet
sensitive
counterpoint
Creative Commons license
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Story behind the song
Does creative or artistic inspiration come from within us, or does it come from outside? Do we 'make up' the songs ourselves, or do we just transcribe whatever the cosmos aims at us? How much actual choice do we have in what we write? or paint, or compose, come to that.
I wrote two versions of words for this song, and used to sing one or the other each time I played the song live. That way people get a different slant even if they've heard the song before. The verses I've put in brackets don't appear on this recording. The bit about the exams is true, my university finals!
Lyrics
I Don't Write the Songs
There's a lovely song that I heard on the morning.
It's a lovely song, one I never knew.
So I listened to it, until I knew it. Now I bring it, and sing it, to you.
I don't write the songs, I only write them down.
Artists are taught: you draw what you see.
Capture what you hear, never interfere, go along with the song — set it free.
(It must be the same for the poets and writers, waiting for the right word or phrase to use.
Then comes inspiration to fire creation and I guess that they call it the Muse...
All your songs are given to you for a reason. I think you should share them, so don't be coy.
If you hear a beauty, you have a duty to recall it for all to enjoy.
I don't write the songs, I only write them down.
Don't know where they come from, but not from within.
They're not my creation, more like dictation from outside that I try to bring in.
Some, I know, can start with a blank piece of paper, or a chord or two on the old guitar.
With a wondrous craft and a lot of graft they can create something great we admire.
Other songs, like mine, seem to come from the ether, all I have to do is a minor hone.
I can't claim the credit, I only edit. I could not do a lot on my own.
I don't write the songs, I only write them down.
Songs are a gift we should never ignore.
If we fail to use them, or we abuse them, then we may not receive any more.
If you get a song on your mind, listen to it. Learn it and remember and sing along.
You may not have tinnitus or schizophrenia, and you may have today your new song.
As it keeps repeating the words and the music, it will let you know if you have it wrong.
It will not be distant, will be insistent in your ear, so clear and strong.)
When I got the tune for my song, "21 Days", I already had all the words complete.
Big exam next day, in my bed I lay; I'd revised and was trying to sleep.
Then I heard the tune, with the words singing to it. All the chords were there, ringing in my head. I was woken by it and longed to try it, but I dare not, and stayed in my bed.
All through the exam I could hear it behind me, in me and beyond me and all around.
I was so afraid it would surely fade away when I lay my pen down.
But it was still there, and I biked home in triumph, singing it out loud in my strongest voice.
No-one knew what to think as I stormed the Inner Link —
Norwich, listen — you don't have a choice!
I don't write the songs, I only write them down.
They have to be how they want to be.
Even if they're strange, never try to change them, just arrange them a little, maybe.
There's a lovely song that I heard on the morning.
It's a lovely song, one I never knew.
So I listened to it until I knew it. Now I bring it, and sing it, to you!