In My Life

Here are the sound clips of the 3 songs I nervously presented at last night’s Songcraft songwriting session.

(Oh by the way, the session last night was a blast! But more on that another time.)

In each clip, I’ve included not only the song itself, but also the before & after bits to let you hear what actually went on “behind the scenes”.

I think you will find these bits rather amusing!

I’m actually quite proud (in the satisfied sense, not the arrogant sense) of my 3 presented songs last night, though I know that I’m definitely not a good performer or singer. I don’t think I’ve ever written 3 full songs in my life, nor presented them. And if not for this Songcraft session, I would never have written them.

I just hope that those whom I presented to last night were able to appreciate my songs and the work that I put into them.

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1) Two Hearts Are Broken Up This Time
(A song about breaking up)

Music & lyrics by Jeremy Yew

Said you were leaving first thing tomorrow
I said “what about us”?
Saw all our gladness turned into sorrow
Baby tell me why all the fuss?

Now you’re going away, and you’re happy now
Why can’t we be talking it over?
First you said you would stay, but now you’re breaking the vow
Tell me could it really be over?

Chorus:
Two hearts are broken up this time
Knowing what we’ve been through
Two hearts are broken yours and mine
So why can’t you see it, what is the matter with you?

All of our good times, now but a memory
Do they all mean nothing to you?
Can’t you see how much you mean to me
Maybe we could start over new?

If we could only take some time
If we could only take some time to learn a little more

I think the bit where I introduce the song at the beginning of the clip says it all, really.

(Note my disclaimer in the clip that this song is not reflective of my real-life experiences, haha!)

I felt I performed this first song pretty badly, cos maybe my voice wasn’t warmed up properly yet, and I was struggling to reach the high notes (high for me, at least). And I was pretty nervous too.

So overall I wasn’t too pleased with how I sung it.

(But hey, for this session we’re supposed to focus on the song, not the singer right?)

Anyway, after the song, Michael mentioned that this song reminded him of something Lobo would sing.

Some people also later mentioned to me that this song was pretty catchy, so that was really encouraging!

…

2) At My Window
(A very lame attempt at writing a Simon & Garfunkel type of song)

Music & lyrics by Jeremy Yew

Rain falls gently as it comes to my window
Reflect the warmest haze of the lazy summer day
The pitter patter falls as it echoes and the winds blow
All is dark and gloomy on this quiet month of May

She calls silently as I watch from my window
Her face so warm and tender, soft is her hair
Wait now lonely heart, now gently as we go
We give no words but then a glance is all we share

The lonely memories linger on at my window
Tell all the stories of the days that have gone by
Oh bring, oh bring me back to the place only we know
That very place that I could never say goodbye

Clouds roll gently by as the sun shines through my window
All is brightness all is lightness once again
The rain is over as I watch from my window
The sunlight glimmers but still the memories remain

This is the “60’s Music” song which I was supposed to present tonight.

Of my 3 songs last night, I had the best feeling about this one. Sometimes you can just tell. I think. (I’m not sure if my gut feeling was accurate though.)

But anyway, I felt this one was well-delivered (by my very low standards) and I was really proud of this song. Both the melody and the lyrics too! 

As I mentioned in the clip, the lyrics seem really poetic but actually it was more like a mishmash of cheem words all thrown into one pot, haha!

It’s funny, I think I actually came up with the entire melody to this song in about 5 minutes whilst jamming on my guitar one night. But the lyrics took much longer. A few days at least. All the rhyming and the poetic images and all that took quite a bit of time to sort out and polish up.

Note the funny bit at the end of the clip where Ivan and Betty offer to add some “harmonies” to the song! Couldn’t hear much but I think one of the lines actually turned up pretty nicely.

I think this is the closest I’ve ever got to sounding like Simon & Garfunkel. Not that I’ve written that many songs in my life though.

Upon hearing the clip, I felt the tempo which I took for this song was a bit too fast. Maybe it was due to adrenalin or something.

And I kept messing up the chords to the last line of each verse!!!

…

3) Maybe It’s The Way You Love Me
(A song about the joys of marriage, written by a guy who’s never been married)

Music & lyrics by Jeremy Yew

Maybe it’s the way you hold me
When we’re walking on through the night
Maybe it’s the way you greet me
When I’m comin’ home late at night
Maybe it’s the way you laugh at me
When I’m trying to say I’m right
Maybe it’s the way you love me
The way you love me tight

Now that we’re living together, everyday is like brand new
Maybe I could be dreaming, could this be really you

Maybe it’s the way you meet me
At the doorway when it’s late at night
Maybe it’s the way you treat me
When the things don’t always turn out right
Maybe it’s the way you believe in me
When we’re tryin’ to see the light
Maybe it’s the way you love me
The way you love me tight

Ok, this last song was a piano song.

It’s supposed to be a song which a wife would sing to her husband, or vice versa.

Towards the end of the clip I explain how I got my inspiration for this song…which is basically from the song “I Love The Way You Love Me” (Boyzone did a version of it), cos that song kinda lists down all the things the singer loves about his lover, so I also wanted to write a song which kinda listed down all the reason which the singer would think about when she wonders why she loves her spouse so much.

I remember sitting at my piano one night, and just starting with the line “maybe it’s the way you hold me…” and letting my fingers run on their own, and before I knew it, this melody appeared! Really cool.

This clip also comes complete with my aborted first attempt.

And my aborted second attempt (after which I decided to transpose 1/2 step up).

And how I kept botching up the “middle 8″.

And also my half-successful attempt at an interlude-cum-solo.

Ivan mentioned that it reminded him of the song from “Greatest American Hero”. He also commented that the lyrics seem rather polished, which was really encouraging!

Hui Leng also mentioned to me that she particularly liked the line “Maybe it’s the way you meet me at the doorway when it’s late at night”.  

…

Overall, I have to say that presenting your own songs is a very nerve-wrecking, vulnerable and yet cathartic experience all rolled into one.

You bare your soul to others, and yet you are unsure of how your song will be received.

But it’s a really fantastic experience when people come up to you and tell you that they like your song, and that it touches them.

To me, that’s what songwriting is all about.