Song-a-day January 2026

 

Every day this January, I'll be composing a brand new song from scratch and then posting it online for all to see! There will be other songwriters joining me along the way. Come see the raw creativity in action on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky! 

Day 30: Turkey Hall of Fame (Song-a-day January)

Day 30: Turkey Hall Of Fame

By Pony Lee & David Coile

Lyrics:

Birds of a feather flock together
And so they gave them names
Tina and Louie, they were ready
To play some turkey games

They were playing peek-a-boo
Flew up to the second floor
They became the peeping toms
And would be forever more

Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
They loved them worms and grains
Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
In the turkey hall of fame

Doctors, nurses and patients
They loved them little guys
Every time they saw them
You know they'd get a rise

Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
They loved them worms and grains
Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
In the turkey hall of fame

Don't know why that mournful day
The turkey crossed the road
But Tina tried, got squashed and died
That's how the story goes

Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
They loved them worms and grains
Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
In the Longmont United Hospital
Same day surgery, post op
And recovery unit
Turkey hall of fame

***

Details:

Back in December, Pony Lee and I talked about writing a song together, and I suggested we set something up in January. About a week ago, he called me and said he wanted to write a song about a turkey that was the mascot for Longmont United Hospital. What's more, he wanted to write it at the hospital and sing it to the staff. So that's what we did...

Day 29: Novocaine Brain (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 29: Novocaine Brain
By Trish Applegate-Loetz, Robby Layton and David Coile

Lyrics:

Big bang trauma therapy
Stepping out of the crash
Sensory singularity
Life gone by in a flash

Who, what, when, where, why and how?
Is it even real?
Battered, bloodied and beaten down
But how come I can't feel?

Novocaine brain
It's keeping me sane
Novocaine brain
It's my only relief from the pain

Heading home in the usual way
Saw I had a green light
Looking forward to dinner at eight
Then came the truck from the right

Novocaine brain
It's keeping me sane
Novocaine brain
It's my only relief from the pain

Novocaine brain
It's killing the pain
But it's insane
Maybe it's time to feel the pain

***

Details:

Trish and Robby are both in my band, and we've written songs together as duos, but never as a trio. We haven't had a chance to catch up for a while, so it took us some time to get started, and when we did, we were really struggling to get mutually inspired.

We've all had politics on the mind lately, but weren't sure if we wanted to tackle it directly. But the world overall seems like a crazy place, and Trish got to talking about how dreamlike it is-- sometimes it's hard to believe it's even real.

Once we had the topic, it came together fairly quickly. We did spend a lot of time trying to figure out the chord progression, and ended up with this grunge-like guitar part, and we were a little inspired by Kurt Cobain's lyrical style. But the lyrics started out telling a more literal story, then got more oblique as we went forward.

I love my band-- they're great to work with! And I'm glad we got to write an original tune together. Next, we might try writing a song with all five of us.

Day 24: My Bottle Cap Souvenir (Song-a-day January)

Day 24: My Bottle-cap Souvenir

By Todd Hawkins & David Coile 

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025 

Lyrics: 

Just left the soda shop 

Got a kick in my step and a hop 

Can't help but shake my hips 

I can still taste her on my lips 

It's a big campus, but it feels so small 

And I'm walking tall to my residence hall 

Flying as high as a rocket 

A catalyst in my pocket 

My bottle cap souvenir 

My bottle cap souvenir 

Means that she's always here 

My bottle cap souvenir 

The tingle on my tongue is still fizzy 

That girl has left my mind in a tizzy 

It's hard to go to sleep at this hour 

Not until I take my cold shower 

My bottle cap souvenir 

My bottle cap souvenir 

Means that she's always here 

My bottle cap souvenir 

Alarm goes off, I roll out of bed 

Can't seem to get her out of my head 

But she's not there at the lecture 

All I can do is recollect her with 

My bottle cap souvenir 

My bottle cap souvenir 

Feels like she's always near 

My bottle cap souvenir 

*** 

It's Neil Diamond's birthday! And what better way to celebrate than with the biggest Neil Diamond fan I've ever met, Todd Hawkins? 

Todd and I are good friends, and I believe this is the 5th song we've written together. When we met up and he mentioned it was Neil Diamond's birthday, I knew we had to do something in his spirit. That was perfect after yesterday's song; I needed a break from being super serious. Todd felt that Neil Diamond's greatness was in writing simple and catchy pop songs, so that's what we set out to write. 

Neil Diamond has a pretty distinctive guitar style, and we ran through a couple different riffs, then set off to write something in the vein of "Cherry Cherry". Just made it a simple story about a student excited after a date with a co-ed at a soda shop. 

We wrote and recorded this sucker in a little under 2 hours. It's light and breezy, but it was exactly the kind of song I needed today.

Day 22: The Golden Catch (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 22: The Golden Catch

By Aprylisa Snyder & David Coile

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025

Lyrics:

Early each morn

My soul rises from sleep

To sail out to the bay

Throw my net o'er the deep

The knots and the lines

Like fingers are crossed

Hunting the catch

I so dearly lost

I cast out my net

Cast it far, cast it wide

To see just what I might fetch

Rumors and legends

Lost treasures and dead ends

My quest for the golden catch

A pull on the net

And the deep water strong

Oh, my fortune is made

But I could be wrong

Between hope and doubt

My strength wants to be free

From this tug of war

With this bottomless sea

I cast out my net

Cast it far, cast it wide

To see just what I might fetch

Rumors and legends

Lost treasures and dead ends

My quest for the golden catch

I once had a love that was pure and golden

She silently slipped from my grasp

Her light beckons me from the ocean's horizon

My sweet bonnie mermaid lass

I open my net

To find fool's gold

And objects lost

In the sea

There are trinkets and tangles

And seaweed

No treasure to find

Or to keep

I'll go back to the land

And its shadows

And lay my heart gently to sleep 

And when the sun beckons

My soul to rise

Return to my quest in the deep

I cast out my net

Cast it far, cast it wide

To see just what I might fetch

Rumors and legends

Lost treasures and dead ends

My quest for the golden catch

***

Details:

Big lesson to be learned from this writing session: always record a quick voice memo when you've figured out a section. We had basically written the whole thing, but when we went to record it, we had forgotten the verse melody, or maybe the chord progression. What happened was that we went to work on the bridge, which had a different progression and melody, and failed to retain the exact verse music. This was frustrating and Aprylisa decided to stop at that point, and I took the song home to try to salvage it. 

Aside from that, the writing session went very well. Aprylisa hasn't co-written before, but I've helped her out with some of the songs she's written on her own. I appreciated this session because Aprylisa started off the way I usually do with co-writes-- she asked a lot of questions to zero in on the theme of the song and to develop a palette of ideas to draw from.

When we first got together, we decided we didn't want to write about politics, even though it had been on both of our minds. Instead, we talked about the ins and outs of networking in creative work and other types of business. That led us to the image of casting a net, and it eventually evolved into more of a metaphor about searching for a true love. 

We talked about the overall structure of the song and what each section would be trying to say, then I came up with the chord progression and Aprylisa wrote most of the lyrics. The only exception being that I wrote the lyrics for the chorus. I think it's interesting to compare our writing styles, because I can rhyme, but Aprylisa's verse lyrics are much more poetic and beautiful. But I think it all comes together. 

Once I got home, I reconstructed the verse melody as well as I could, and I think I got close to the original, but this song is ripe for a substantial revision the next time we get together. 

Day 21: Coffee Date With The Devil (Song-a-day January)

Day 21: Coffee Date With The Devil 

By Karen Finch & David Coile 

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025 

Lyrics: 

My friends say "stay away 

"He's from the other side 

"He doesn't think like you 

"He will eat you alive" 

But I see you mowing grass 

Playing with your family 

You're taking out the trash 

You wear your pants the same as me 

Cream and sugar 

Our cups are full 

How about 

A coffee date with the devil? 

I wave and you wave back 

We both retreat inside 

We never seem to talk 

It often makes me wonder why 

I really don't know you 

You really don't know me 

Why don't we get together? 

Find out where we can agree 

Cream and sugar 

Our cups are full 

How about 

A coffee date with the devil? 

I don't like your politics 

Some things between us just don't mix 

The world's in chaos, let's bridge the divide 

And keep the peace where we reside 

How about a coffee date 

How about a coffee date 

What about a coffee date With the devil? 

*** 

I think this is the 6th song I've written with Karen Finch, but this one went a different direction. We started off talking about politics, because it's hard not to these days. Most of the songs we've written have involved romantic relationships in some fashion, but we decided to figure out what a Karen Finch protest song would sound like. 

It may not be fashionable right now, but Karen and I both lean toward trying to find common ground with the people we disagree with. There's a lot of ideological self-segregation going on right now, and I worry that if we all huddle in our distinct political corners, we'll lose sight of our common humanity; I worry that it would make things worse. I don't know if it's ultimately the right tactic, but that's my disposition. 

When it comes to the nuts and bolts, Karen and I are pretty even co-writers. We both work on lyrics, chords and melody, and I really enjoy our collaborations. Karen and I are very different performance-wise, so I decided to defer to her on guitar and singing, and it was fun to break out the hand drum!

Day 20: As The Crow Flies (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 20: As The Crow Flies 

By Helen Peterson & David Coile 

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025 

Lyrics: 

Driving down the road 

Thought I was going home 

Just left work for the day 

Sick of feeling needed 

Leaves me feeling depleted 

You know there's got to be a different way 

Free of all the obstacles 

No one tells me where to go 

I want to follow open skies 

As the crow flies 

I remember at 18 

Searching for what life means 

Taking a turn where the asphalt ends 

The reservoir was on my right 

Above me shined the Northern Lights 

I didn't know what I didn't know then 

Free of all the obstacles 

No one told me where to go 

I went to follow open skies 

As the crow flies 

Sometimes I have second thoughts 

Of chances taken and others left behind 

But sometimes I find that getting lost 

Is just the thing I need to ease my weary mind 

Roll in the driveway, back at home 

Cat in the window, lights are on 

Long shadows lead me to the door 

After dinner, I brush my teeth 

Say my prayers, lay me down to sleep 

And in my dreams I begin to soar 

Free of all the obstacles 

No one tells me where to go 

I want to follow open skies 

As the crow flies 

*** 

Details: 

Helen and I rescheduled our co-writing session twice before settling on this snowy January day, with temperature in the single digits. I drove over to her place and my trunk was frozen stuck, so I couldn't bring in my music stand (it's still in the trunk). 

Helen didn't have much experience co-writing, but I told her my preferred process, which is to start from scratch and pull ideas from our conversation. Helen really likes to write road songs, so we started from that idea, and I basically interviewed her about why and what she gets out of driving around. Personally, I don't get much out of driving except on rare occasions-- it's just a way to get form here to there. But we ended up exchanging a variety of driving tales and the song started taking shape. 

We spent about 3 hours writing the song, but doing this after work, Helen wanted to wrap up for the day. We were just a few lines short, so I ended up finishing the last couple lines on my own, with the caveat that they're fair game for getting cut come the revision. I wish we had finished early enough to have gotten Helen on camera-- she has a wonderfully nuanced and powerful guitar technique that would have enhanced this song quite a bit. Plus, harmonizing with her would be fun. But we'll just have to make another video sometime. 

It was great fun getting to know Helen better and learn about her writing process! I'm looking forward to developing this song with her. 

Day 17: High Standards (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 17: High Standards
By Chad Mathis & David Coile

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025

Lyrics:

Happy hour on another Tuesday
Pimpin' some tunes for a couple bucks
Cigarette haze and the smell of whiskey
It's all worth it if she's shows up

She'll be wearing
A pom pom beanine, a dirty martini
She always wears her wavy hair down
Sittin' at the bar, back to the band
Please, won't you turn around

Set break comes and I rush to find her
Tell me where did everybody go?
Got 10 minutes to the top of the hour
Bartender, here's who I'm looking for

She's wearing
A pom pom beanie, dirty martini
She always wears her wavy hair down
She sat at the bar, back to the band
Where can she be found?

He said, "she's got high standards
"Buddy, here's the score
"If you play it right
"She'll keep coming back for more"

Last call comes and the tables' clearing
Closing time, empty all your cups
Gotta get paid, gotta find the owner
Tap on the shoulder and I look up

To see
A pom pom beanie, dirty martini
She has her wavy hair down
The girl from the bar come back to the band
Before I could make a sound

She said she has "high standards
"And I've seen your band around
"Now I'll see you this weekend
"Let me write my number down."

***

Details:

Chad Mathis plays in a bunch of bands around town, but he doesn't do much songwriting. That's often the best kind of person to co-write with, because experienced players always have a song in them; they just may not know it yet.

Chad whipped us up a yummy dinner to start with, and we had a good chat before moving into his music room. I know Chad mostly as a bassist, but he's actually a multi-instrumentalist with a degree in sound production. The last couple co-writes were mostly me handling the music chores while the other person worked mostly on lyrics, but we swapped roles here, with Chad cranking out the basic song structure pretty quickly. Chad has an overarching theme that he's set for this year which has to do with movement, so the music was supposed to capture a sense of moving from one state to another.

Lyrically, we talked about some crummy gigs and how they ended up going well by the end. We started off listing fine details about setting up for a gig, but things didn't get rolling until we decided the narrator was waiting for a woman that was coming to the show.

We realized after the second chorus that we set up a scenario where the bartender must be saying something. We play acted the scene a couple times to figure out exactly what the bartender would say, then made it musical. It actually took us in a surprising direction-- we weren't planning for the girl at the bar to be the owner, but that's what is implied by the final lyric.

Anyway, this was a fun collaboration, and it was great to get to know Chad a bit better.

Day 16: Ten Dollar Words (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 16: Ten Dollar Words
By Anna Yale French & David Coile

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025

Lyrics:

If you ask me how I'm doing
Then I'll say I'm fine
Not what I'm thinkiing
But when I try to speak my mind
My train of thought
Ends up being a tangled thread
Like a Gordian knot goes
The lexicon in my head

Wracking my brain for something simple to say
Ten dollar words keep on getting in the way

When I was young
I would sit there for hours on end
Perusing the volumes of
My favorite paper friends
When I was talking to people
They'd wince and cringe
My outsized words put me
Out on the social fringe

Wracking my brain for something simple to say
Ten dollar words keep on getting in the way

When I grew older
I found that my literacy
Brought me attention from
Like minded company
They'd ask me questions
When I sounded outre
My tribe of odd ones
All seemed to like me this way

I don't have to search for a simpler way
Ten dollar words are forever here to stay
Ten dollar words no longer getting in the way

***
Details:

I try to get all my friend groups involved with this song-a-day project, even my non-songwriter friends. I've worked with Anna before on comedy projects (like my "Very Scary with Gerry McCreary" podcast, and a short Halloween film called "Knock Knock"), and she had expressed interest in being involved in one of my music projects. So we veered a bit theatrical with this tune.

I asked Anna what her favorite musical styles were, and she said that she likes a broad range, from medieval music to rap, and so I said "Hey! Let's do a medieval rap song!" We dropped the rap part fairly quickly, but my guitar arrangement was an attempt to adapt some medieval style chords; or, at least, the plucking style.

The song is actually fairly autobiographical. Anna grew up reading a lot of books and has a huge vocabulary as a result. I think I have a reasonably sized vocabulary, but she stumps me all the time. The problem is that sometimes people feel like they're being condescended to if you use big words around them, even if you're just speaking naturally from your perspective.

It was fun to hang out with Anna and work in a new artistic medium with her!

Day 14: Heat Check (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 14: Heat Check (My Fingers Are So Cold)
By Peggy Kay and David Coile

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025

Lyrics:

Standing at the door
Hey! Don't look away
Oh, you're talking on the phone
My fingers are so cold!

Come out here
Let's have a chat
I have three jackets on
My fingers are so cold!

How many times do I have to ask?
You're just a yes man to shut me up
You've got no follow through
This doesn't have to be a fight
Just let me sing my song
This is a heat check!

Been asking for weeks
When the trees still had leaves
Now it's 10 degrees
My fingers are so cold!

"I'll put in a request"
That's what you always say
Nothing ever gets done
How can you be so cold?

How many times do I have to ask?
You're just a yes man to shut me up
You've got no follow through
This doesn't have to be a fight
Just let me sing my song
This is a heat check!

That thermostat is in a box
Behind many doors and many locks
You have no control, no authority
Just give me the keys-- this is my destiny!

You have been told
My fingers are so cold!
You have been told
My fingers are so cold!

How many times do I have to ask?
You're just a yes man to shut me up
You've got no follow through
This doesn't have to be a fight
Just let me sing my song
This is a heat check!
This is a heat check!

***

Details:

Peggy and I met at Song School last summer, and for the last several months, she's been giving me some diet and fitness coaching in exchange for some music coaching from me. I've given her support and feedback for songs she's been writing, but this is the first time we've actually written a song together.

Turns out Peggy and I are both fans of Ani DiFranco, so we tried to capture her aggressive vibe. The verse guitar part was my attempt at doing DiFranco's percussive style of guitar playing, though I can't hold a candle to her. The rest of the guitar arrangement was simply trying to provide variation without killing the energy.

Earlier in the day, Peggy had had a confrontation with one of her bosses over the temperature at her workplace. A lot of us know how frustrating it can be to adjust the thermostat in large buildings-- it can get downright absurd. As Peggy was describing things, I felt like a lot of what she was saying could make catchy song lyrics, so we went that direction.

This song was super fun to write, and we rolled it out pretty quickly, too. Peggy writes a lot of unique and very catchy songs, so I'm happy to now have one of my songs as part of her repertoire.

Day 13: The Big Show (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 13: The Big Show
By Andy Ard and David Coile

Part of my daily songwriting project for January 2025

Lyrics:

Good evening folks, I hope you will enjoy the show
I’ll be performing until it’s time to go
The bar is open, won’t you make yourself at home
Whether you’re with friends or you've come alone

Now we’re together and you’re off the hook
Enjoy the moment, give the menu a look
You don’t need to pay attention to me
I want you to feel that you’re in the place to be

No matter what you do, it’s gonna be fine
Swaying in your chair or a Conga line
There’s no other place that you need to go
You’re in the front row of the big show

It’s always nice to see you, I’m glad that you’re here
Go see Katie at the bar if you’d like another beer
Give us a sign if you like the song
If you feel the rhythm maybe dance along

Your satisfaction is the only ticket price
If you dropped a fiver, that’d be oh so very nice
There’s no other place that you need to go
You’re in the front row of the big show

Thank you for listening, it means a lot
I’ll always give you everything I’ve got
I hope you’ve really had a ball
In our little concert hall

I must be going now, you’ve been so fine
I’d love to see you all again sometime
Of all the places that you could go
You came right here to the big show

And everything you do is gonna be fine
Swaying in your seat or in a Conga line
Remember, everywhere you go
You’re the star of the big show

***

Details:

I know Andy Ard through my friend John Bunzli. In fact, it was at a John Bunzli show that we talked about co-writing. When we got together, Andy had a lot of interesting stories and insights about performing, and one thing that came up in our conversation was how to gently prod the audience into giving you their full attention. That seemed like a fine topic for a song!

We also stumbled onto our mutual love of the Kinks. I'm most familiar with the Kinks' 60s releases, but Andy knows about their entire catalog. Anyway, the bouncy music hall feel of a Ray Davies penned tune played a role in musical direction we came up with.

We discussed extensively the basic construction of the song and what it was supposed to communicate, but the process mostly ended up being Andy writing the words and me working out the guitar part.

Andy wasn't able to hang around long enough to perform the song with me, and the melody is more in his key than mine-- if I performed it solo, I'd probably drop the key a bit. But whatever the case, this was a fun song that I can't imagine writing if it wasn't for Andy. I'm looking forward to working this one out as the year progresses.

2024 Co-Writer Showcase!

Here's the full video of the my 2024 Co-Writer Showcase. What an amazing show! It's an honor and a pleasure to be part of such a creative, collaborative and supportive musical community.

Big thanks to BricksRetail and Miss Krissy's Bistro for hosting this labor of love, and I'm so grateful for my guests, Jay Stott, John Bunzli, Joel Terrell, Jordan Bass, Sarah Marie Echsner, Riley Ann, Theresa Brodzinski, Valerie Bhat, Tim Ostdiek, BJRobinsonMusic, Karen Horan, Antonio Lopez, Edee Gail, Todd Hawkins, Nancy M. Farmer, Barry Osborne, Dan Harris, Jason Allen, Peter Lacis, Teresa Storch, SteelvocalKaren, Robby Layton and Matt Cardenas! Plus a shout out to Mark Andersen with CampMarco for recording such a stellar video

And, of course, huge thanks to all the folks who came out to see the show, including my dad! It was a very special evening. Please keep supporting local music!

December 8th Co-writer Extravaganza!!!

I've written with some of the very best songwriters in the Denver-Boulder-Fort Collins area, and on December 8th, we're going to be playing those tunes!

The full Dave Coile Array (Robby Layton, Trish Applegate-Loetz, Jason Allen, Matt Cardenas) will be there, with performances by Teresa Storch, Kevin dooley, Tim Ostdiek, T Brodzinski, Jay Stott, Finn O'Sullivan, Barry Osborne, Karen Horan, John Bunzli, SteelvocalKaren, Valerie Bhat, BJRobinsonMusic, Sarah Marie Echsner, Nancy M. Farmer, Todd Hawkins, and more!

Don't miss this eclectic celebration of Colorado songwriting! At BricksRetail and presented by Dave Coile's Musical Extravaganza and Herons Haunt Presents...

I got interviewed!

I got interviewed by Jake Douglass of Practicing Musician! We cover a broad range of topics in just over an hour, but it was a total blast! Check it out...

Song-a-day January Recap!

Song-a-day January Playlist

Song-a-day January is my favorite recurring project, and this year's edition was just as much fun as the last! Big thanks to my collaborators, Jordan Bass, Theresa Brodzinski, Edee Gail, Robby Layton, Joel Terrell, Cheyenne Dane, Karen Finch, Todd Hawkins, HL Howells, Karen Horan and Leah Casper, for sharing their talents with me. Everybody has a slightly different process, and I learned something from each of them. 

And huge thanks to all of you who listened to some or all of the songs!

If you haven't told me already, I'd love to know which songs really stood out to you. It's always a surprise to see which songs move people. Often times the ones that mean the most to me don't register, but then I toss something off and it really moves people. I've attached a link to the YouTube playlist, which makes it easy to listen to the tunes again or for the first time. 

I plan to keep working on these and other songs from previous writing projects as the year progresses, so be on the look out for more polished versions.


Thanks again, everybody!

Day 29: Have You Had Enough? (with Leah Casper)

 

Day 29: Have You Had Enough? (with Leah Casper)

Part of my song-a-day writing project for January 2024

Lyrics:
Plant a seed and grow the branches
Let it rip and roll
Take a sip of murky water
Watch the undertow

Stress fracture on a femur
Keep it lifting up
ATP through the fibers
Has it had a enough?

Has it had enough?
Has it had enough?
Oh, has it had enough?

Perfect image visualized
Hidden Mise en scene
Take a picture, heads up, asshole
You stuck your dick in it

Your twisted timelines will unravel
Working off the cuff
Cortisol through the bloodline
Have you had enough?

Has it had enough?
Has it had enough?
Oh, has it had enough?

***

Details: I worked a little bit with Leah just before the pandemic and haven't really followed up until now (aside from covering one of her songs "Alright" in the Summer of 2020-- you can find it on YouTube).

Leah reserved a space at The Music District in Fort Collins. OMG, it is aMAZing!!!! It's a huge building with tons of recording spaces for bands and other meeting rooms. We were in a sizable performance hall.

Leah had been listening to Tool lately, so that was on her mind. I don't know Tool that well, except that they were Ian Mackaye's follow-up project to Minor Threat, and that they had been part of the D.C. hardcore scene.

Anyway, Leah had suggested a cool process: we each wrote short words, phrases and sentences on a sheet of paper, then tore them off the page and mixed them up. We each chose a few of the scraps of paper and used them to guide where we went with the song. I can't remember the prompts, exactly, but it took us places.

Leah has more of a free association process, whereas I like to talk about specific meanings and how they fit into the parts of the song. I think we reached a relative balance with what we came up with.

We were running out of time with the room reservation, so we had to make some quick choices, like not including a bridge or a third verse. But the moodiness of the song may be enough.

Day 27: A Little Left Of Heaven (with Karen Horan)

 

Day 27: A Little Left Of Heaven (with Karen Horan)

Part of my song-a-day writing project for January 2024

Lyrics:

I let her go a year ago
Couldn't hold her anyhow
A restless heart is a slippery one
That can't be tied down

She saw the world in colors
But numbers were my thing
I kept the ledger balanced
She brought the mystery

A decorated envelope
Perfumed with her scent
An open invitation to

A little left of heaven
A little left of heaven
A little left of heaven
Come join me
In my creation

I thought it all was frivolous
She left with my regrets
I thought her lost forever
But I held on to her address

A cottage through a forest clearing
Wildflowers, flowing creek
The vastness of the cosmos
As far as you can see

A little left of heaven
A little left of heaven
A little left of heaven
Come join me
In my creation

My ledger was unbalanced
Each day became more grey
My frozen heart could only thaw
If I dropped my rigid ways

I had your invitation
With it's colorful bouquet
What would happen if I joined you now
And told you I had changed?

A decorated envelope
Perfumed with her scent
An open invitation

A little left of heaven
A little left of heaven
A little left of heaven
Come join me
In my creation

***

Details:

This was Karen's first co-write! She had a quote in mind from Robert Plant; when asked to describe Jimmy Page and his guitar playing, Plant apparently said that Page is "a little left of heaven". And that's what we decided to work with.

We came up with the chord progression for the verse and pre-chorus first, before we had any words. Then when stumbled on the chord progression for the chorus and the words "A little left of heaven" fit perfectly. It was the words around that nugget that took some work.

Karen likes to do something I often do, which is mumble sing until more coherent words form. That's really great for co-writing, because your partner starts hearing the ghost of lyrics, too. Once we got a few words down, we developed a whole story about someone inviting an ex- to her new, somewhat non-traditional home.

Karen and I really worked at each line in this song, and I think our sensibilities supported each other pretty well. We were running a bit short on time when we finished up, so we had to make some quick choices. But I really like what we came up with! I look forward to working on it with her some more.

Day 23: Dog Stars (with H)

 

Day 23: Dog Stars (with HL Howells)

Part of my song-a-day writing project for January 2024

Lyrics:

Dog Star
1/23/24 – David Coile & H. Howells ��

Narrator:
This is a story about breaking free,
Sneaking out of the maze of domestication.
Sidewalks, and leashes, and having to heel
Working for morsels, being tempted to steal
Fences are looming on every side
Buildings eclipse our view of the sky

Dog:
Nose to the ground, leash dragging behind
Eyes closed / Ears closed / All the world comes through my nose
Follow this scent to where it goes
Sneaking, seeking, no one knows
What I know, I know, I can find

Narrator:
And so our hero follows the nose,
Leaving behind the familiar skyline
Spurred onward by the earthy fecal scent of the doings of unknown beings gone before,
Their hooves and claws have scarred the earth, revealing the score
Fallen bones, rules unknown
Flesh rotting off of those who never make it home

Dog:
Coolness descends, night’s digging in
Fingers of darkness bleed through my flesh, beneath my skin
Pick up the pace, to flee this place
The branches crack, the sky goes black
The blinding light of lightning strikes
I’m the bulls-eye for the sky to aim
All around me turns to flame

Dog: (Bridge)
Mind makes revoultions
Heart makes dissolutions
There is no solution
Pray for absolution
Can’t escape the mystery
Falling down from these trees
Into burning embers
Lose all that I remember
All . . . my . . . howls . . . break free . . .
My . . . soul . . . wails . . . please, please, please

Narrator: (Bridge)
Certain all is lost, doesn’t hear the coming whisper of the rain
Waves of rain / Quench the fire / as quickly as I came
Tears from the sky / wash clean the eyes
Heavens break open
And the clouds free, squealing,
Tails between their legs

Dog: (Coda)
Water pours from my nose / puddles flood my toes
Understanding ringing / dripping from my lips
My life has been spared / I’m no longer scared
But I lost my purchase / on my one wish
This is not my forest / Can’t pretend to own it
She took mercy on me / I do not deserve it
Can’t escape the beauty / Finally see the beauty
- In owning nothing / Everything is singing

Narrator: (Coda)
And so our hero lays down to rest
Vanquished by the knowledge that nothing is ours
And all victory is an illusion
But each of us, from the soggy forest floor,
Can see the stars . . .and the darkness

***

I got to our writing session a bit late, even though I actually showed up early and thought I had time to get a car wash... but I was wrong.

H is and I had talked before about songwriting on my Raw Songwriting podcast, but I got to experience her process first hand here. One thing I knew was that I wanted to write something using one of the latin rhythms she favors. She educated me about a couple of them, but we decided to with the Guapango rhythm. She said she wanted me to do some talk singing (to which I suggested we could have a narrator), which she's heard me a do a bit of. So that's what we started off with.

H had brought up the idea of not having to own something in order for it to be yours, which I thought was a beautiful concept, so that's what we decided to focus on. I can't remember how we got around to the dog metaphor, but I know that I pushed for more of an extended metaphor-- H would normally toggle back and forth between metaphor and directly personal. For me, metaphor IS personal, though maybe not direct.

H has a fascinating process. She basically thinks in poetry. When I'm writing by myself, I worry about being way too straight-forward with my lyrics, to the point that I'll do a first draft then go back over them to find a better way to make them interesting. But as we were discussing the story and message of the song, she would take whatever plain thing I said and made it beautiful.

She also has a non-linear way of writing it all down. She was writing on multiple pages and then numbering them to determine what order they were supposed to go. She also would brainstorm some words, then reorganize them based on if they were appropriate for major or minor chords, the various sections, rhythms. It was fascinating, but very different than my own process-- I had a hard time keeping up!

I'd say that H did most of the actual writing, and my input was more in the conceptualization and organization of the story and parts of the song. H is a force of nature, and it was super fun to work with her on this tune!

Day 22: 7 Steps (with Todd Hawkins)

 

Day 22: 7 Steps (with Todd Hawkins)

Part of my song-a-day writing project for January 2024

Lyrics:

There's something wrong
I can smell it in the air
I can hear it in your groans
I can see you're in despair

Your breath is short
You got shallow aspirations
What's causing you to choke?
Do you need more respiration?

Don't panic; What happened?
Let's review your situation
We'll find you some relief
Some new alleviation
These 7 steps will help you
To ease your aggravation

Check the scene
Is it safe for us to be here?
Is there any risk
Or are we out of danger?

Are you hot? Are you cold?
Are you numb or are you dizzy?
We can always call for help
And hope they're not too busy

Don't panic; What happened?
Let's review your situation
We'll find you some relief
Some new alleviation
These 7 steps will help you
To ease your aggravation

Now you can breathe again
Now you can be free again
Now you can relax

Don't panic; What happened?
Let's review your situation
We'll find you some relief
Some new alleviation
These 7 steps will help you
To ease your aggravation

Now you can breathe again
Now you can be free again
Now you can relax

***

Details: Todd came over with an electric guitar and amp and said he was in the mood for grunge or some straight-forward rock and roll. He also mentioned that he just took a CPR class. Anyway, that was enough to get us started.

I'm a big fan of what I call "jargon songs". I like to look at a glossary on a certain topic, pick out all the terms that have double meanings, then try to construct a song with them. Todd and I have written three other songs together, and we've tried this technique before. So we looked up CPR and First Aid terms, as well as the steps you follow when performing CPR (that's where we got 7 steps). We decided to keep the specifics of the emergency hidden-- was this a physical or an emotional crisis?

It was fun working with an electric guitar, and I always enjoy writing with Todd. Though that last couple songs seem to send me into the upper registers-- it's tough for me to hit those notes!

Day 21: Euphonious (with Karen Finch)

 

Day 21: Euphonious (with Karen Finch)

Part of my song-a-day writing project for January 2024.

Lyrics:

They say I have a voice for radio
And a face to match
But if you knew me
You'd know I had too many
Eggs to hatch

I'm an opportunistic
Don't go ballistic
Snatch and run kind of guy
If you got the cash
I got something here
I know you want to buy

I can get you to dance
Get you out of your pants
With a voice like honey
Talk you out of your money
And have you begging for more

I'm an opportunistic
Don't go ballistic
Snatch and run kind of guy
If you got the cash
I got something here
I know you want to buy

With a silvery tongue
I strike the unsuspecting
With my Ponzi-scheme prattling
I leave their minds a-rattling
And walk away with their net worth

I'm an opportunistic
Don't go ballistic
Snatch and run kind of guy
If you got the cash
I got something here
I know you want to buy

***

Details:

I had just come from a birthday party and Karen had just come from a jam session; we both were pretty tired as we put this together.

Someone at the birthday party had said that I had a radio voice. I've gotten that a lot over the years, and though it's meant as a compliment, I've never felt compelled to start a radio show (though I do host a podcast, which is almost the same thing!). Karen was worried that she may have fallen for some sort of pandemic related scam. Anyway, we decided to merge the topics into a character study about a con man with a smooth voice.

We worked out the lyrics first, then Karen figured out the chord progression on the guitar. It came out much quicker than I was expecting. We had written several verses and just realized we had enough to constitute a song. Recording it didn't involve too many takes, either.

I think this is the fifth song I've written with Karen, and it's always a fun time.