May's Challenge?

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An Excellent Question

Enthusiasm across the board seemed to have flagged during the April Challenge so I didn't issue anything for the month of May. If somebody out there has something in mind I would be happy to be a participant and throw my songwriting skills to the wolves. The wolves have been helpful to me so far.:D

Any ideas?

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may challenge ideas

I've missed out on earlier challenges, so I don't know what they were. I guess challenges could dwell on themes (e.g. forbidden love, lost opportunity, etc.), on wordcraft (e.g. like the third person challenge of April, or maybe something like the use of metaphors) or maybe on technical things (e.g. writing a song without guitars, or where harmonies are featured).

Or maybe someone could present a set of lyrics from which people create a song.

I'm happy to suggest a challenge, but I'm not sure what's been done before. If someone can show me a list, then I can find a gap on it.
 
What's been done to date.....

February Challenge

March Challenge

April Challenge

All were authored by the up-fiddler but any and all ideas from others are welcome. The initial Challenge (February) was to get many of us off our collective arse and write something. It worked as designed and was well received and useful to many of us.

As far as additional Challenges...........Give her a go and post something. The long term goal was to be certain that people were writing something every month and end up with 12 songs at years end which were critiqued for rewriting by their comrades and peers.
 
I have some ideas for challenges because I have always challenged myself.

Limiting comes to mind. Not sound levels, but ingredients. I wrote a song that was only six sentences. That was different. I also wrote a song with only two chords. I suppose if Lennon/McCartney were faced with that one, they would say, "Elanor Rigby." Then, of course, they would win the challenge.:)
 
The March challenge looked cool, but I missed it. You should just repeat that one! ;D
 
If there is still.....

.....an interest in a Challenge for May AND if no one else posts a Challenge between now and Friday then I will put something out there for us to pursue.

Everyone should feel free to throw something up for us to try though. I do have an idea for another Challenge if none show up. But I don't want to monopolize the Challenge thread idea.

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Some that come to mind would be write a new set of lyrics to a known song everyone agrees on. Just as a lyric writing competition.

The other one would be someone donates a set of lyrics, and everyone has to try to write a melody to it.


Mike
 
Nightfire said:
Some that come to mind would be write a new set of lyrics to a known song everyone agrees on. Just as a lyric writing competition.

The other one would be someone donates a set of lyrics, and everyone has to try to write a melody to it.


Mike
Click to expand...

Hmmm..... I likee this Mikee. Great ideas.;)
 
I assume that's replacing the lyric to a known melody/syllable scan. Am I heading in the right direction?
Sounds like good fun to me.
I'm in!
Song suggestions - how about "Wouldn't It Be Nice" ?
But as a twist make it a love lost lyric so that the tone of the words contrast with the uplifting melody?
 
May challenge

Throughout this thread we seem to be drifting to a challenge of sorts. Through various twists and turns we've arrived at (so far):

1 A set of lyrics to replace those of the existing song "Wouldn't it be nice";

2 With a theme of love lost.

This seems like a pretty good challenge, and saves having to compose and record a track, which is handy given that we are halfway through the month already.

I'm ready to give it a go.
 
I'd get in on this, but every time I try to write lyrics to an existing song, they inevitibly end up being very dirty.... :o



Case in point:

"Choking On A Hair" (Living On A Prayer)

Use your imagination. I'm not going to post those lyrics, I don't want to offend...
 
So, let's have at it.
Here are the original lyrics (I think) if that's of assistance to anyone.
Courtesy of um, I don't know...

Wouldn't It Be Nice?
Wouldnt it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldnt have to wait so long
And wouldnt it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

You know its gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldnt it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

Happy times together weve been spending
I wish that every kiss was neverending
Wouldnt it be nice

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray it might come true
Baby then there wouldnt be a single thing we couldnt do
We could be married
And then wed be happy

Wouldnt it be nice

You know it seems the more we talk about it
It only makes it worse to live without it
But lets talk about it
Wouldnt it be nice
 
& to kick things off - a quick 15 min jobbie:

Not so long ago I had a girl friend
And it seemed that nothing could go wrong
Not so long ago there was a time when
We could live the lyrics of a song

But dreams have a way of becoming nightmares
From your REM to my eyes wired open

Not so long ago I had a love life
When kissing her was like the morning dew
It wasn’t long before the breath was stolen
Couldn’t help but feel the deja vu

So little time that we’d known each other
Such a simple love you had to smother
Not so long ago…

Maybe if I stay inside and hide or I swallow my pride
Maybe I could pretend it wasn’t you & that I had lied
I could recover
And I could get over
Not so long ago…

I know I talk of nothing but it
And you don’t want to hear about it
Now distance makes me doubt it
Not so long ago….
 
I decided to do a slight re write.
I've reworked my 1st draft to be gender & orientation non specific as well as developing the suffication idea.
Not altogether for altruistic reasons: using the trad. gender & sexual orientations lead me down cliche territory.
So, I bit the bullet, spat out the cliches & tried again.
Oh, I've added the syllable scan from the original I posted.

Not so long ago I had a lover 10
And it seemed that nothing could go wrong 9
Oh not so long ago there was no other 11
I had someone with whom I belong 9

But dreams have a way of becoming nightmares 11
Go from REM to my eyes wired open 11

Not so long ago I had a life where 10
Sharing air was something very new 9
It wasn’t long before that breath was stolen 11
Suffocating with the déjà vu 9

Oh so little time we’d known each other 10
Such a simple love that you had to smother 11
Not so long ago… 5

Maybe if I stay inside and hide or I swallow my pride 15
Maybe pretend it wasn’t you & that it was I that had lied 15
I could recover 5
And I could get over 6

Not so long ago… 5

I know I talk & talk of nothing but it 11
And I know no one wants to hear about it 11

And time makes me doubt it 6
Not so long ago…. 5
 
may challenge

Here's my effort. Not highly satisfying, and I'm not sure about getting the number of syllables right, but it kind of fits:

Please don't cry upon my shoulder
Don't you stain my coat with your wet tears
Your misery just makes me colder
It just falls upon my deaf ears

You thought that maybe I could make it better
Fill the gap made by the one who left you

I guess you thought that he would stay forever
I guess you thought that he would hang around
It looks to me like you were not so clever
It looks to me your judgement was not sound

He hijacked all the love you gave him
Robbed you of your heart, left you penniless
Baby please don't cry

I could fill the chasm he created
I could be the blanket on your bed
I will keep those thoughts inside
Some things are better left unsaid

Baby please don't cry

The swamp of life is hard to plough through
If only you could see what waits there for you
But that's the way it is
Baby please don't cry
 
C'mon, c'mon etc.
Post something folks.
gecko zzed has some very nice work done,
I've had two cracks at the whip (neither made the whip crack but there you go). I'd like to see how others went with the task - is my attempt a nadir? Is your attempt an inspired piece of story telling. Has Gecko cornered the market - particularly since he has a very good rewrite of Caroline No (I think) in the story line of taking on someone rejected by another (was it caroline no or another Pet Sounds track?). Not to mention the fact that I want to comment on some of his excellent "word pictures".
The month, down under is about to be torn asunder, into winters claws we blunder I wish I could say things that were more profunder!
 
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