Because the next Songcraft session is just two days away, I decided to start doing some homework and start writing a song!
For some reason, I write songs ten times more easily on the guitar than on the piano (which is the instrument I actually prefer)…but anyway, I was busy strumming away on my acoustic guitar and came up with this little number in about 40 minutes, lyrics and all.
I’d be the first to admit it sounds rather Bob Dylan-ish. (Not that I’d dare compare my songs to his standards, but I just feel that it has that Bob Dylan “feel”.)
I guess at the end of the day, I’m still very much inclined towards 60’s music as well as folk music (which is, naturally, from the 60’s as well). There’s just something about the spirit of the 60’s that I like - the unadulterated melodies, the meaningful lyrics, the simplicity, the spontaneity, the whole “feel” to the music.
Anyway, for this song I decided to pay a little more attention to the lyrics, since the melody was a pretty simple one (basically just verses, no bridge or chorus).
The lyrics were partly inspired by this great, great Washington Post article I read a few months ago about Joshua Bell (the world-renowned classical violinist), who one day experimented with playing his violin in a Washington DC subway station during morning rush hour, pretending to be just a normal busker, to see what the outcome would be like. And guess what?!? Hardly anyone stopped to notice him!
On another level, this song “But Nobody Stops To Hear” is also talking about how we seldom take the time to stop and smell the roses anymore.
Enjoy!
But Nobody Stops To Hear
Music & Lyrics by Jeremy Yew
G Bm
See the mannequins on the sidewalks
G D
As the hour of nine looms near
G Bm
See them hurry see them scurry
C D
See them glance at their wrists in fear
G C
And the old man’s guitar keeps playing and playing
Bm D
But nobody stops to hear
G Bm
See the mannequins on the sidewalks
C D G
As the hour of nine looms near
Listen Johnny, are you listening
Can you listen and hear the sound
Of the music the man is playing
But he’s nowhere to be found
And the old man’s guitar keeps playing and playing
But nobody stops to hear
Listen Johnny, are you listening
Can you listen and hear the sound
Tell me what it is you wish for
Tell me what it is you seek
So we’re fighting for the gold I’m told
But then nobody dares to speak
And the old man’s guitar keeps playing and playing
But nobody stops to hear
Tell me what it is you wish for
Tell me what it is you seek
Very, very meaningful lyrics. The melody has a melancholic feel. True, there’s an “Irish pub song” feel to the chorus but that’s one of my favourite part. Now that I’ve thought about it somemore, it’s not the “rowdy pub” feel but really the “Irish” sounding melody that reminds me of “Greensleeves”. That’s where the melancholic part comes. I’d sing it a little slower, if I were to do a cover.