Background:
For the last two years (2023, 2024) I attended a songwriting camp hosted by the most excellent Rhett Miller of Old 97s.
Year one featured Charles Thompson (Frank Black of the Pixies/Black Francis for those unaware), Rachael Yamagata, Michael Casey, and the most excellent Dave Hill with whom I got to play on stage in his act – because I had my bass with me. I met a ton of folks and when many of them said they’d be back for year two… I was in.
This year Rhett featured Ryan Miller of Guster, Jaime Wyatt, once again Mr Dave Hill from Showbusiness (and yes, I got to play with him again), and Old 97s guitarist Ken Bethea. Had a couple of great conversations with Ken. As an aside my wife and I went to see Old 97s just three days after the camp ended and we got to meet Murray Hammond (bass for Old 97s) and had another great chat with Ken.
Jeff, one of the campers wanted to do a song, each year, with a full band. Who’s the guy with the bass? That’s right - yours truly. The song we did this year, by Jeff’s band Soutbank, was Can’t Say Why. You can find it on the streaming sites and I recommend you do. The recorded version features (ready for the tie in?) Ken Bethea. Jeff is close with Old 97s. So this year in addition to playing with International Superstar Mr Dave Hill, I got to play on stage with Ken. Magic.
After camp ended Jeff proposed we all do a songwriting challenge. Opt in and you’ll write a song a week based on a word/prompt provided by other folks in the group. Jeff gave the first prompt; bittersweet.
Each week you’re asked to give constructive feedback on at least three other songs. I’m intimidated, but I jumped in. A song a week? Can I really do that? I’m going to write some hot garbage. I know it. I’m going to use some phrases that just won’t be ready in a week…
But isn’t that the point? Get something out there. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to exist. Out of this might come a song or two I can later refine and have something I’m really proud of.
Back to the prompt; this was a tough one for me as Bittersweet was one of my very favorite songs in my former band Jupiter 2. We never played it live but it was on the band’s one and only studio effort (I was not the bass player in the band at that time, but that’s another story for another day). I did finally play bass on it in front of a crowd, during a celebration of life for our songwriter/guitarist Bob Ford a few months ago. How was I going to write a song with that word so prominently featured in a song I had firmly planted in my brain, and still with a raw nerve around the passing of my friend.
Day 1; work the word into a line or four. Expand the concept. Try to work out the lyrics. This is my general process; I write the lyrics first. Not always, but most often. When I got a reasonable couple of verses and a chorus together I started working it into a structure.
Day 2; holy shit… it came together. You know not great, but there’s something there.
Day 3; edit, edit, edit
Day 4; dammit I hate this line and that line. Fix “that” line, can’t figure out “this” line. I’m going to camp this weekend and need to try to get a demo recorded today.
Day 5; still some lines in here I don’t care for but… Ok, more editing.
Day 6-8; I'll probably let it sit and may try to go back and edit before I do a final pass on the words before I have to record it and put it out there.
Instrumentation is my Hummingbird and my Gretsch with a Bigsby pedal.
And that’s the story of how I started to try and write a song a week. Stay tuned…
Link to the song
Lyrics
and the love she gave me
was like tendrils of bittersweet
organic and lovely
until they wrapped around my feet
they climbed and suffocated
me in their prickly heat
oh, that bittersweet
love came on like a ball of fire
with nothing to gauge it by
we went full speed; wire to wire
immersed so deeply
in our desire
we had nothing to gauge it by
it became a dumpster fire
and the love she gave me
was like tendrils of bittersweet
organic and lovely
until they wrapped around my feet
they climbed and suffocated
me in their prickly heat
oh, that bittersweet
Prune away
the ties that bind
cut away
with tears in my eyes
burn away
all that was entwined
fade away
leave it all behind
and the love she gave me
was like tendrils of bittersweet
organic and lovely
until they wrapped around my feet
they climbed and suffocated
me in their prickly heat
oh, that bittersweet