My Heart & My Head - New Song with Rachelle Reath - January 28, 2012

Like a kid who's just built a really cool model or a sweet Lego skyscraper, I'm usually a little stoked after I write a song. I wrote this one earlier this month and was enjoying playing it.....alone.....in my basement. I felt maybe lyrically it was a tad too sadly self-indulgent for public consumption.  For me, the litmus test is how the song feels when I play it to an audience. There are times when a song I felt pretty good about in the afterglow of penning it, just doesn't fly when I play it live for the first time - falls out of my mouth like a hairball, hangs in the air like a bad smell, is just plain awkward.  Well I played this one the other night at the accordion show and it felt good.   More sweetly melancholic than sadly self-indulgent, enough humour to counter-balance the gloom.  The minor/major semi-tone modulations in the melody, like the Tin Pan Alley dudes used to do, are like candy to me.

My friend and collaborator Rachelle Reath popped by this afternoon and I taught her the song.  We worked out an arrangement, did two and a half takes, and laid it down.  One aim of this exercise is to not get precious, let go, just do it, and that's what we did.  

I met Rachelle a couple of years ago when she sang some backup harmonies on a recording I was working on and we have been playing together in one format or another since.  She is a dedicated and gifted musician who brings a lot of joy to the act of making music and by extension, is a joy to play with.   She is also a patient and talented music teacher - if you're in the Victoria/Sydney area looking for a great violin teacher, let me know, and I'll pass along your contact info!

My Heart & My Head

My heart pumps blood

through my scrambled veins

My heart is like a machine

and machines don't feel pain

My heart, my heart, my heart, my heart

and my head

My head is a vessel of bone

it contains my brain

my brain is like machine

and machines don't feel pain

Machines don't dream

they don't hope 

or aspire

They just do their jobs

that's how they're wired

My head, my head, my head, my head

and my heart

My heart is not a metaphor

for courage, strength, or love

So please do not speak of these things

you know not what you speak of

My heart is a muscle

a muscle that is strong

If you write a song about a muscle

will anyone sing along

My heart, my heart, my heart, my heart

oh my heart

My heart, my heart, my heart, my heart

oh my heart