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Lyrics looking for a musical partner!

“Hope in Troubled Times Waltz” (a song for troubled times)

A song for troubled times has been emerging for me, for a while.

Quite the surprise, it came in a 6/8 time signature!

But that’s how this one shaped up, so very ’30’s and ’40’s musicals kind of lilt and feel to it! But I think that makes some sense – the 1930’s and ’40’s were a really tough period across the world, and people were singing and dancing, just to feel better.

…and I love a waltz-y 6/8 to lift my spirits!

Here it is! As always I would love to collaborate on a melody. 🙂 I’ve superscripted the beats on the 1 and 4 count to (hopefully) convey the feel of the piece.

"Hope in Troubled Times Waltz"

(Intro, freestyle)

Has the world gone mad? 
How did things get so bad?
Turmoil, destruction, dismay...
Watch what you say, 
words fan the flames, 
there's hell to pay.

Where to go? Where to turn? 
Where can I find some peace?

(verse 1)

You've got to 
1sweep away the 4lies to dawn the 
1truth, you 4see, and the 
1big-gest lie of 4all is there's 
1you apart from 4me. It sounds cli-
1che to hear me 4say "We're all 
1one, we're all 4love." Suppose it's
1true, what if it's 4true? How would I 
1feel, as 4love?

(chorus)
1 2Laugh-3ter 4 5Rap-6ture, 1 2Joy 3 4 5 6 
1  2Al-3ways 4 5sun-6shine's 1 2glow 3 4 5
The light in
1me, the light in 4you, breath-taking-
1ly glor-i-4ous. Past all the
1faults, past all the 4fears, we are 
1Love

(verse 2)
My role is
1clear, it's why I'm 4here, it's not to 
1preach or to 4judge. Look past the
1noise, pull back the 4veil, and I'll 
1see light and 4love. I bless these
1days, they show the 4way to what's a-
1bid-ing-ly 4true, "Find peace with-
1in, the change you 4seek starts with 
1you."

(repeat chorus)

Hope you can frame your own perspective from my thoughts – cheers to better days!

Categories
Lyrics looking for a musical partner!

“Mirror Mirror” (a song about relationships)

Well, this one is a departure from the norm! 🙂

Understanding this life experience is a consuming passion for me. In this song about relationships, I tried to explore all those aspects or ourselves we may not want to see, and “magically” someone shows up with those exact challenges. This is a “philosopical” piece, about life and relationships.

"Mirror Mirror"

Sipping this cocktail
Equal parts of loneliness and chaos
Garnished with
Meaningless hustling and wanderlust

Our circles collide
A classic tale of opposites, we're ice and fire
My dark side
Alive in eyes that swallow up the stories and
                                          lies

(Pre-chorus)

Mirror mirror on the wall
Are we really any different after all?

(Chorus)
Dance with me, all the world's a stage
Dance with me, row the boat it's just a dream
We'll write a book, a true love story
We'll sing a song of love and glory

We'll dance with life, we'll dream our dreams
I'll play you, you play me
Categories
Lyrics looking for a musical partner!

“The Sun is Just a Smile Away”

I owe this topline to my husband! I was working on an exercise with a short, 16 bar progression, and what came to me over and over was “Every thing is going to be all right.” I mentioned it to him, he smiled politely and said something like, ‘It’s nice, but a little cliche, don’t you think?’

A challenge (and of course he was absolutely right)! As we were walking along the beach on a partly cloudy day, with the sun peeking in and out, the line “The Sun is Just a Smile Away” came to me.

From there, I worked up some verses and a chorus – does a melody come through for you? I’d love to collaborate!

The Sun is Just a Smile Away
(Verse)
Standing at the door I look out
Storm clouds rolling by
Looking back I see you, that pout
Worry in your eyes.
It's crazy, the chaos, confusion
Raining forever
It feels like it's just more illusion
When we're together.


(Chorus)
I can't see
Past this veil of rain,
But with you, with me,
The sun is just a smile away.
This mindscrew world
Might roar and rage
But with you, with me,
The sun is just a smile away.

If you’ve ever felt the madness start to overwhelm you, and then realized if you have love, you have it all, I hope you can identify with the lyrics. 🙂

Categories
Lyrics looking for a musical partner!

“It Matters”

The butterfly effect as the basis for my lyrics, "It Matters."

The subject, how thoughts, words and deeds influence everything, has been on my mind for a long time. I love the example popularized as “the butterfly effect” – a line of inquiry in chaos theory about how small changes in the initial state might cause extreme outcomes in future states. (Movie buffs, I read the line came from the 1990 movie, “Havana,” with Robert Redford as a gambling math whiz — “a butterfly can flutter its wings over a flower in China and cause a hurricane in the Caribbean.” Now, chaos theory goes into a deep dive about the mathematics of fractals and the nature of cause and effect, which is useful for computer modeling, but not very poetic 🙂 )

So, a line about “a butterfly can trigger a hurricane” floated around in my head for a long time, before it got connected to my beliefs that no thought, no words, no deeds take place in a vacuum – everything affects all, so to speak, and here’s the result.

I would love to partner with a musician and put this piece out there – if it speaks to you, message me on FB or email me! (I hear it in my head as a latin beat, but, I’m wide open to genius!)

It Matters (by Jesse Prex, first published 6th day of January, 2019)

(verse 1)

A loving touch,
A helping hand,
A tender word to a friend or your lover
Sends out a spark
Ignites a heart
We’re all lifted when we lift one another

(prechorus 1)

If a butterfly can trigger a hurricane
How much more powerful are we in this game?

(chorus)

What we do,
It matters
What we say, what we think
It matters
A smile can launch a ripple ‘cross the universe
What we say and think and do
It matters

(verse 2)

That weary vet
That stressed-out mom
All those whose hearts are burdened with unease
Send them some love
Bless them with peace
We’re all lifted when we lift up the least.

(pre-chorus 2)

If the seashore fades or grows by each grain of sand
We’re much more powerful than we understand

(chorus)

What we do,
It matters
What we say, what we think
It matters
A smile can launch a ripple ‘cross the universe
What we say and think and do
It matters

(end)

Wishing all many blessings!