Day 31: Somewhere In-Between (Song-a-day January)

Day 31: Somewhere In-Between

by David Coile

Lyrics:
I wanna have my cake and eat it, too
I wanna lie in the bed that I made
I wanna count my eggs before they hatch
I wanna fail the test but still make the grade

And you may think I'm crazy
Trying to have it both ways

I wanna mix my business with pleasure
Stir it up and pour it into a glass
'Cause that way I could take my shots
And nobody would think I'm an ass

But people think it's crazy
Trying to have it both ways

I wanna be rich but live like a peasant
Be a king who doesn't wear any robes
Or maybe be a starving actor
Who gets cast to play in all of the roles

It may be that I'm crazy
Trying to have it both ways

But I believe
It can be achieved
Finding my true meaning
Somewhere in-between

***

Details:

My requirements for the last song of any Song-a-day January is that it get done quickly. But it's also sometimes a confessional. This one is definitely dealing with some of the weirdness of trying to be a working artist; in a lot of ways, it feels like cheating the system. You're not supposed to live like this. But I'm greedy, I guess-- I want to find a way to live creatively without being completely poor, and to be productive but still have as healthy social life.

There are also issues with commitment. I've definitely committed to being creative, but hesitant to do all the things you're supposed to do to be successful at it. I have all sorts of mental blocks and emotional barriers to doing various things.

But one thing I love about this project is that it somehow brings together the creative, the social, and the business sides of things in a fluid fashion. It allows me to do what I really love doing, which is writing songs. When I co-write, it allows me to potentially make new friends and to maintain older friendships. And posting the songs everyday is a great marketing tool. It's not perfect-- I haven't figured out how to monetize it, yet. But it's a great example of how you can pull all these different facets together.

Anyway, back to the song. I was listening to the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" just before starting, and the chord progression and groove bear some resemblance. But the rest of the song goes in a completely different direction. I started out with a bunch of well-known idioms; I recognize that they don't all mean exactly what I want them to mean, but structurally, they're what I was going for. They'll get better in revision. I''d like to get all the verses to be kind of like the 2nd verse-- taking a cliche, but putting a spin on it.

Anyway, I"ll admit that this isn't anywhere close to my favorite song of the month, but I think it emotionally wraps up the project.

Thanks for listening!