Hey, FA. I'm back with a song from 50/90, the summertime counterpart of February Album Writing Month.
This song is the result of a 'skirmish', a songwriting challenge in which participants are given one hour in which to write a song based on a given prompt. The prompt for this particular skirmish was 'Take an old, embarrassing song you wrote years ago, tell us about it, and write the sequel'. I chose a song from 1992 called "If I Could"-- a love song for my then-girlfriend, describing all the things that I would do for her, "if I could". Given how that relationship turned out, it seemed only appropriate (and a little bit funny) that the sequel should be called... "I Could Not".
I decided to go with a completely different sound for the new song, although it recycles a melody from the 1992 original, and also takes some of its lyrics and puts a twist on them. For instance, the last line of the 1992 song is "I will stay with you forever", and the first line of the sequel is "It turns out forever didn't last very long". I wrote it in about 45 minutes (a rarity for me), and at first, I wasn't really crazy about it. The way I heard it in my head, I felt like it sounded too much like a rejected Creed song (not a fan lol). But after letting it sit uncompleted for a couple of months, I finally got around to finishing a recording during the last couple of weeks of 50/90, and by that time I had warmed up to it a lot more.
If anyone's interested in comparing this to the original, I uploaded "If I Could" to FA 17(!) years ago. Be forewarned, this is a cheesy recording from 1992. It's very lo-fi, and was partially recorded using a floor model keyboard in a department store, with a portable tape recorder that I snuck in. You can even occasionally hear people making announcements over the PA system in the background lol. Good times, good times.
"I Could Not" (4:47)
Written July 10, 2023
Recorded July-September 2023
It turns out forever didn't last very long
You walked away from me, and gave me back your song
And you might have dodged a bullet, I'll admit that it's true
But I wonder if anyone else has ever written a song for you?
I tried to stop the world, but it just kept turning to spite me
I tried to love you, but all you did was fight me
And now these painful memories are all that I've got
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
Our paths diverged, and we went our separate ways
But even now, I still have those lonesome days
When I can't help but imagine what might have been
If I'd have only been the man that you needed then
I tried to ease your pain, but what good was it for
I tried to dry your tears, but only brought on more
And now these broken memories are all that I've got
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I know that you moved on, got married and had kids
I'll bet I barely cross your mind, and it wouldn't matter if I did
I'm sure for you, those days are a thousand miles away
But for me, it might as well be yesterday, yesterday
And I still don't understand this world that we live in
It feels like I've wasted every chance that I've ever been given
And now missed opportunities are all that I've got
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I tried to be happy, but I could not
This song is the result of a 'skirmish', a songwriting challenge in which participants are given one hour in which to write a song based on a given prompt. The prompt for this particular skirmish was 'Take an old, embarrassing song you wrote years ago, tell us about it, and write the sequel'. I chose a song from 1992 called "If I Could"-- a love song for my then-girlfriend, describing all the things that I would do for her, "if I could". Given how that relationship turned out, it seemed only appropriate (and a little bit funny) that the sequel should be called... "I Could Not".
I decided to go with a completely different sound for the new song, although it recycles a melody from the 1992 original, and also takes some of its lyrics and puts a twist on them. For instance, the last line of the 1992 song is "I will stay with you forever", and the first line of the sequel is "It turns out forever didn't last very long". I wrote it in about 45 minutes (a rarity for me), and at first, I wasn't really crazy about it. The way I heard it in my head, I felt like it sounded too much like a rejected Creed song (not a fan lol). But after letting it sit uncompleted for a couple of months, I finally got around to finishing a recording during the last couple of weeks of 50/90, and by that time I had warmed up to it a lot more.
If anyone's interested in comparing this to the original, I uploaded "If I Could" to FA 17(!) years ago. Be forewarned, this is a cheesy recording from 1992. It's very lo-fi, and was partially recorded using a floor model keyboard in a department store, with a portable tape recorder that I snuck in. You can even occasionally hear people making announcements over the PA system in the background lol. Good times, good times.
"I Could Not" (4:47)
Written July 10, 2023
Recorded July-September 2023
It turns out forever didn't last very long
You walked away from me, and gave me back your song
And you might have dodged a bullet, I'll admit that it's true
But I wonder if anyone else has ever written a song for you?
I tried to stop the world, but it just kept turning to spite me
I tried to love you, but all you did was fight me
And now these painful memories are all that I've got
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
Our paths diverged, and we went our separate ways
But even now, I still have those lonesome days
When I can't help but imagine what might have been
If I'd have only been the man that you needed then
I tried to ease your pain, but what good was it for
I tried to dry your tears, but only brought on more
And now these broken memories are all that I've got
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I know that you moved on, got married and had kids
I'll bet I barely cross your mind, and it wouldn't matter if I did
I'm sure for you, those days are a thousand miles away
But for me, it might as well be yesterday, yesterday
And I still don't understand this world that we live in
It feels like I've wasted every chance that I've ever been given
And now missed opportunities are all that I've got
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I tried to make you happy, but I could not
I tried to be happy, but I could not
Category Music / Rock
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 120 x 120px
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