Feb 2022 piano live singer-songwriter folk
MM: Stephen's lyrics here were too irresistable not to come back and play with on this one. It definitely has a chaotic/organic feel that had to be played live rather than constrained to the confines of a sequencer in a DAW or a metronome. I'm REALLY happy with the end result.
It doesn't start and end with you
You're here and then you're gone
But the earth that turns around you
Will continue turning on
The world that you perceive lives on
Outside your troubled head
The chicken flies the greatest distance after it is dead
Perhaps you'll build a legacy
From your success to fail
Your epitaph no legend
But a cautionary tale
Your name a word of warning
In the wryest whisper said
The chicken flies the greatest distance after it is dead
BRUDGE
Oh, the world will chop and change you
Strip your skin and steal your bones
Take a big old bite out of you
Through its little undertones
And everything is permanent
In life, it can't be reasoned
Your actions might outlive you
Even if you're highly seasoned
You're one more turning cog
In an incredible machine
A single winsome daisy
In an endless field of green
A stitch of boldest colour
In the greatest flag unfurled
A life in search of meaning
Meaning little to a world
Which just might not be done with you
When all is done and said
The chicken flies the greatest distance after it is dead
Yes, the chicken flies the greatest distance after it is dead
@oswlek Mar 2022
Absolutely terrific. I'm usually a music first listener, but the words were so charming and witty that they made me reflexively smile and chuckle several times.
That doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the music, though. You do an terrific job of featuring the lyric, and then letting the song breathe and mature at its own pace. Another wonderfully frenetic bridge (I love the typo of "brudge" and hope it is intentional). The lack of a grid is definitely the right choice, a lot of magic would be lost if this piece were more regimented.
Well done!
@richaaaay Mar 2022
Definitely thought provoking. “A life in search of meaning, Meaning little to a world.” So relatable and true. Interesting musical performance with the long pauses and various change ups…
@nancyrost Mar 2022
The combination of quirky and thought-provoking is well-handled in the demo here. The pause at the penultimate line is perfect.
@siebass Mar 2022
Lol, the chicken flies the greatest distance after it is dead, very poignant and hilarious. I enjoyed the speeding and slowing in the pace to fit with the vocal delivery and add weight. Great collab, great wordplay on the seasoning, ha ha. Enjoyed the pace build in the bridge as well.
@bobbyjovalentine Feb 2022
This is fantastic, i love it so much. It's worthy of a broadway musical. Tone wise, great job stephen with the lyrics, excellent altogether.
@stephenwordsmith Feb 2022
A very insightful choice to give us the 'live' experience. This is all so whimsical and off-the-cuff that the spontaneous energy gives the song some real drive.
It also allowed you to take ownership of the song, so much so that I was able to disassociate myself from having written it and experience the song as if for the first time. It kept me on an emotional eternal triangle between 'heh', 'deep' and '...whut?', which was, ultimately, what I was hoping to inspire.
It's interesting that so much of the feedback on the original lyric said that it was depressing. I tried to see it through that lens but could never get past 'disillusioning' at best. Surely a song with such a stoned-zen-koan lyrical hook couldn't be that lachrymose. In any event, your treatment is the treatment I thought the lyrics deserved and were best served by. Love the build-up of the intensity in the final verse.
@gardeningangel1 Feb 2022
Wonderful realization of these brilliant lyrics. The musical changes are exciting. Feels like a slightly morbid school play. Chaotic good fun.
@jackketch Feb 2022
I think this is a great little song and thought so even before I realised it was a colloboration. The lyrics and arrangement was really striking to me.