To date, I have written 44 songs that I can remember. There were a couple of others I wrote in my early twenties, but they are probably better forgotten. However, of the 44 I laid as my own, I’m pretty pleased with them.
There are a lot of things I may not be very good at, but I’ve always been a good wordsmith. Some people can take a bunch of boards and build a house, or a bunch of colors and make a painting. I take words and tell a story, and I think it’s probably what I’m best at, which is why I offer custom poetry on the spot.
Writing a song is a bit more challenging because you have to consider the elements of verse, chorus, bridge, and such while poems don’t have those limitations. So a song takes a bit longer to write. A good part of that is finding out what the song is about. For me, the music usually comes first when writing a song, then I record myself playing the melody with a lot of “la la la”, and then I listen to that on a loop ad nauseum until I figure out the hook. Then I sit down and figure out which words fit with the melody.
Because I’m only staying in Cullowhee, North Carolina for a night, and because it’s not technically a city, I won’t be writing a song here on this trip. Currently, I’m making sure I remember enough of the lyrics I’ve written for my show tomorrow night at The Empty Glass in Charleston, West Virginia. However, my friends Adam and Regina invited me back, and I can’t wait to see this place in October.
Anyway, these are the songs I’ve written so far. I should have over fifty by the time I sit on this deck again.
- Another World Is Out There
- Are You Searching Too?
- Breathe
- Broken
- Captain Facebook
- Dear Mona Lisa
- Every Little Thing
- Feel
- Forgive Me
- From What Is To What If
- God Bless, America
- Happy
- I Can’t Wait To See You Go
- I Don’t Know Yet
- I Hope That You Have A Nice Day
- If Anybody Asks
- If Only
- I’ll Try
- I’m Just Getting Started
- Keep It Simple, Stupid
- Let It Flow
- Let’s Try This Again
- Live, Learn, Laugh, and Love
- Long Crawl
- Lookin’ At Me
- Lost As Me
- Mrs. Green
- Mystery
- 9/11/01
- Not an Option
- On the Road
- One People
- Reveal It In Me
- Rise More Than Fall
- Song for the People
- Steve
- Sweet Leaf Serenade
- Today
- The Beginning of the End
- The Game
- The Prodigal’s Lament
- The People That Made Me
- Venery
- Why Did I Chase You Away?
You can listen to most of these songs here on my website. Possible titles for upcoming songs include “Every Scar Has A Story” and “I Could Write A Book About All The Things I Don’t Know”.