"More On Songwriting"
I've been told that most big hits are love songs,
but like all generalizations,
this is not specific to every case.
And like a lot of rules,
I think they're made for somebody else.
I like to write about other subjects.
For instance, life and death.
Here's an upbeat one
about meeting again in another life...
"WE WALKED THIS ROAD BEFORE."
Look into my eyes
And try to tell me you don't know me.
Think back a hundred years or more.
I don't remember if we laughed or if we cried,
But, I know
We Walked This Road Before.
Five hundred years ago
Did the April grass look greener?
Did we hear the wind outside our door?
Or were we just two passing faces
In dim and distant places?
Oh, I know
We Walked This Road before.
If you should turn and find me staring
In the windows of your mind,
I'm just searching down the dark and dusty corridors of memory
For the worlds we left behind.
A Thousand years ago
Was September just as golden?
Did a seashell hold an ocean's roar?
The breath of life is fleeting,
But, we'll meet again someday,
'cause I know
We Walked This Road Before.
Yeah, I know
We Walked This Road Before.
* * *
This next one is less cheerful,
and a little spooky.
It concerns the guest of honor at his own funeral
calling out to those he's leaving behind.
"CHAPEL HILL."
Don't leave me alone on Chapel Hill
In the silver mist, in the midnight chill.
Oh, the moon is rising and the night is still.
Don't leave me alone on Chapel Hill
They placed the flowers on me, on Chapel Hill.
I'm gonna be so lonely, on Chapel Hill
I wanna live in the sunshine,
and feel the autumn chill.
Don't leave me alone on Chapel Hill
Can't you hear me, mama?
Can't you hear me cry?
Don't walk away, papa
Don't say goodbye.
Don't you know I love you, and I always will?
Don't leave me alone tonight
on Chapel Hill
Oh, I feel so afraid on Chapel Hill,
As the voices fade from Chapel Hill.
And now the service is over, and everything's still.
And I'm all alone on Chapel Hill
Can't you hear me, mama?
Can't you hear me cry?
Don't walk away, papa
Don't say goodbye.
Don't you know I love you, and I always will?
Don't leave me alone tonight on Chapel Hill
* * *
It's stimulating for me as a songwriter
to think outside the industry's box of rules.
They don't all have to be love songs.
Copyright © March 9, 2005, Jack Blanchard. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
"We Walked This Road Before" and "Chapel Hill" © Jack Blanchard (BMI). All rights reserved.
