Decembers Challenge ~ Another Work in Progress

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up-fiddler

up-fiddler

Taming the World--for now
For me, nine times of ten, the song starts with the chorus. It doesn't seem to matter if I am composing music and lyrics at the same time or simply writing down the lyrics.....it usually starts with the chorus. With this particular song the topic and many of its details are already set in stone. My first car was a six cylinder 1959 Chevy, yeah, the one with the monster fins in back.:eek: It's sole purpose was to get me and my friends to where the women were and capture them for our personal pleasure.:cool: Unfortunately, it never lived up to its potential in that capacity. For the chorus I started reflecting back as to what we actually did in that freedom vehicle that made it so special to us. We had a car when many others did not. We were King Poop in our minds. :D Here is what I came up with.
Chs
It didn’t go fast. We never went far.
But we were captains of the road
In my first car.
 
And the verses begin.... (Caution-Construction Zone)

My first car was a 59 Chevrolet
It had a little bondo on the right hand side
I installed an AM radio
That 59 chevy was a hell of a ride.

WLS, out of Chicago
Just poured out the rock and roll that we all loved
Volume way up, muffler was a bit too loud
That four inch speaker was really getting shoved


This one may be a bit too personal and I may need to doctor it up a bit but everything you see is true. Can you imagine cars coming from the factory/dealer without a radio? Many were ordered new that way since the radio was an add-on which cost extra $$$. I bought the AM radio (There was no FM in 1966!) from Sears mail order and installed it myself. The antenna came with the vehicle if I remeber correctly. The speaker was part of the radio unit which was hung under the dash. It had real knobs and the pointer went left and right across the linear frequency scale. WLS was 890 on the AM band if I remember correctly and it just barely came in. (Btw-I paid $105 for her)
 
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Workin' verse three to death

My first car, like many of its day had a standard three speed manual transmission on the steering column. They were called 'standard' transmissions because an automatic was an add-on which raised the cost of the vehicle. When real four speeds down on the floor became available the standards became affectionately referred to as 'three on the tree'. Hence the kickoff for the third/fourth verse.

Three on the tree,
The standard way to drive a car.
"Easy on the clutch"
The girls are watching now.

Let it out too fast
You ride yourself a shootin' star.
Jerkin through the stoplight
Like a three legged cow.
 
well shoot, folks... I've been away for awhile doing research on another hobby I'm trying to get into. Now I find a new monthly challenge being worked on but I'm be DARNED if I can find where the Challenge was posted... Can someone direct me to the original original thread? I'd at least like to see what, if anything, I can come up with in response...
 
I have taken...

...a couple of wrong turns and detours with my first car song. :D:D Still working on it and will definitely make the deadline of December 31st. Reminder to all - - ater the 31st the threads will be open for comments. Don't be especially concerned if your lyrics don't meet the deadline as 'finished product' since you will be able to rewrite after factoring in everyone's comments and you have the rest of January to get it all to musical form. This is NOT intended to encourage sloppy writing though. I am a huge fan of the process that geckko started and seems to have been adopted by many. I think it is helpful to know other peoples' processes and equally helpful to know that you have an entire forum 'looking over your shoulder' while you develop the song. I, for one, am excited to see where this leads. Thanks again to one and all who participate. Dave aka up-fiddler
 
Rough draft is done

This verse wrote itself due to its historical nature. Still.........it reminds me of a merrier and more carefree time in my life.

Empty our pockets, we all chip in for gas.
Forty cents a gallon and we had no cares
Sometimes we’d splurge and put three dollars in
Full wind in our sails would take us anywhere.

I struggled, and still am struggling, with the end for this song. Since the tune starts out with a bold statement of fact that "My first car was a 59 Chevrolet" it seems logical to end with the selling of her. Everything written is true and memorable but sometimes when I am too close to a subject I don't write as clearly as I should. What I think is good, others think is too personal and they have a hard time relating.

One summer day in 1968
I sold her for 30. (But I’d paid a hundred five!)
I held back the tears as I watched them drive away
That light blue Chevy had taught me how to drive.


In the final analysis, I wanted to convey the idea that the car and I were a bonded entity smiling down the road. I used the repeated choruses to drive (Pun intended.) that point home.

Chs
It didn’t go fast. We never went far.
But we were captains of the road
In my first car.
 
And here it is uninterrupted.

My first car was a 59 Chevrolet
It had a little bondo on the right hand side
I installed an AM radio
That 59 Chevy was a hell of a ride.
Chs
It didn’t go fast. We never went far.
But we were captains of the road
In my first car.

WLS the voice of Chicago
Just poured out the rock and roll that we all loved
Volume way up, the muffler was a bit too loud
That four inch speaker was really getting shoved
Chs
Three on the tree, the standard way to drive a car.
"Easy on the clutch." The girls are watching now.
Let it out too fast, you ride yourself a shootin' star.
Jerkin’ through the stoplight Like a three legged cow.
Chs
Empty our pockets, we all chip in for gas.
Forty cents a gallon and we had no cares
Sometimes we’d splurge and put three dollars in
Full wind in our sails would take us anywhere.
Chs
One summer day in 1968
I sold her for 30. (But I’d paid a hundred five!)
I held back the tears as I watched them drive away
That light blue Chevy had taught me how to drive.
Chs
 
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