Lyrics fail

I just realised that I have a severe case of lyrics fail.

Not one case, but many cases of lyrics fail.

I know I have a tendency of telling others "please stop saying 'there lies the problem' over and over again" because many problems can be easily resolved. But for this, I have no choice but to go ahead with it. Here lies the problem - I can write songs, but I find it rather difficult to write lyrics. Especially in French. A good friend of mine went through my best song, Le Paradoxe and found the lyrics to be incomprehensible. If that can happen to my best song, imagine the rest ! I yearn to touch the hearts of people but if no one can understand the hidden meaning behind these songs, then I have to bid an early farewell to success...

Also, I started writing in French in 2006. My second French song, Le Paradoxe, came in 2007. It's now 2009. How long more is it going to take me to write as well as Zazie and Pascal Obispo ? Years, perhaps ? I can't have this happening. If they started like me, then what they're doing now deserves applause. But I reckon that they wouldn't have started like me. They're francophones, after all, and I'm just a...... plain lousy KL kid with almost five years of French.

I'm on the verge of despair. One more lyrics fail and I won't be able to hold these tears back anymore. Help me.

French-speakers and those of you who are curious to find out what Thierry and I talked about with regards to the lyrics, click here.

Nous sommes tous enfants - version 1

Tiens mes mains, ouvre la voie
Parce que toi et moi, nous devons marcher ensemble

Lève le cœur, ouvre les yeux
Ce monde ne serait rien sans toi et toi, sans moi

REFRAIN:
Nous sommes tous enfants
Habitants de ce monde entier
Êtres purs de lumière
Nous sommes solidaires
Nous voyons pas l’échiquier
Où on est débout
Car nous sommes tous enfants
Habitants de ce monde entier
Donne-nous de l’espoir
La paix pour la race humaine
Liberté pour nous, les enfants
Parce qu’on l’est tous

Entends mes cris, je n’suis pas aimé
Dois-je t’émouvoir ainsi avec mes pleurs ?
(au refrain)

TRANSLATION :

Hold my hands, open the way # Because you and me, we have to walk together ##

Raise your heart, open your eyes # This world would be nothing without you, and you without me ##

CHORUS : We are all children # Citizens of this whole world # Pure beings of light # We are together # We don't see the chessboard (I'll explain this later) # On which we stand # We are all children # Citizens of this whole world # Give us hope # Peace for the human race # Freedom for us children # Because we all are

Hear my cries, I am not loved # Do I have to move you like this with my tears/cries ? ## (repeat chorus)

Now, this is the prototype of a text I was thinking of submitting for the Chansons sans Frontières (Songs Without Borders) songwriting competition. The theme for this comp is "A world of children" - text has to have three "couplets", as they put it - that's why my verses have two lines - and a refrain. The entire text has to be in French.

See, one of Fabienne Ricordel’s subordinates (I’d say) sent me the rules and regulations – I was in her mailing list. And immediately when I saw them, I got intrigued. I got intrigued to the point that immediately after reading that rules sheet, I came up with a tune in my mind. You’ll hear it maybe… some twenty posts after this, perhaps ?

I came up with the AMR draft some few days ago. Will be showing it to DK on Thursday. Had a long chat with him on Yahoo ! Messenger yesterday and he dolefully told me he wasn’t good as a lyricist – but he could offer some pointers. See, the rules specifically mentioned a proper mélange of “children’s rights” – which I haven’t explained sufficiently. I’m keeping the chorus. That’s already good, I see. But I’ll have to change the couplets.

Now, on to the chorus – here are a few reasons why some parts of the text should be like they already are :

1. « Nous voyons pas l’échiquier où on est débout »

I wanted to shed some light on the fact that children are colour-blind – figuratively, of course. They don’t care about one’s skin colour – all that matters is that they’re together, playing with each other. They don’t cast dispersions on anyone. For them, black or white, they are precious in each other’s sight.

Now, we take the allusion of a chessboard. It’s black, it’s white, and it’s got black and white pieces fighting against each other to see who will win. And that is the situation today. There’s a struggle between ethnicity, no matter how subtle it is. We fail to take the example of the children we once were – physically, of course.

2. « Nous sommes tous enfants, habitants de ce monde entier, êtres purs de lumière… Parce qu’on l’est tous »

These lines say it all – we are all children ! And we are all denizens of this world.

I got the inspiration for these lines from Wordsworth’s “Ode : Intimations of Immortality” which I did for my AS Literature. The lines I have written echo Wordsworth’s lines :

“The Child is father of the Man,
And I could wish my days to be,
Bound each to each by natural piety.”

Wordsworth and Coleridge both support the Platonic theory that children, when they are physically developing, they are spiritually well-rounded and they have that celestial light within them (thus the line “pure beings of light” in the song) – they can see things which we “adults”, in our vain reasoning, cannot see. When we grow up, and learn to cherish the customs of our ancestors/elders, we mature physically and mentally, but not spiritually – our faith is not childlike, but rather underdeveloped as it were – see, all that happens in this world would not have happened if we weren’t just “children” in our faith.

So, the conclusion : we are all children, no matter what our age.

After I change the three couplets, I will put the updated text up. But I’m thinking of keeping the original text : no matter what happens, whether I win or lose, whether I get the Prix Axians or not, I’m thinking of putting this song into one of my future albums. I hope to do so. This is one set of lyrics I truly cherish.

Chant d'ennemi

I saw hope in your blue eyes
A hope that filled the skies
And I sympathised
I wished you’d lead me on
That hope was long gone

You took my love for none
And not only mine
But the rest of ours’---
Now don’t come and say you’re sorry
For I need not worry
About you

CHORUS :
You
Away from my sight
Leave now if you will
I don’t wanna see your smile
It’s nothing to me
Don’t tell me what you’re doing
‘Cause I don’t even care
Don’t tell me what you’re thinking
‘Cause I’ll soon be gone
Never to return
I’m through saving you
Don’t ever call me baby
For you are my pain
Don’t ever think of writing to me
‘Cause I know you through and through
Goodbye

I gave you all my love
Prayed for blessings from above
And nothing less
You took away my all
And not a single bit of kindness
Ever came from you
(repeat chorus)


The original MIDI file for this one was "J'apprends" (some of you might've heard it - it's the one with piano and pizzicato strings, and in some cases I might've told you to play it faster on Play Speed Settings), and it was partly influenced by Yoko Shimomura's rendition of Roxas' theme from Kingdom Hearts II - in the sense that most of the chords were used in "Chant d'ennemi".

For those of you whom I have poured everything out to, I believe you know who this song is for. This song needs no introductions. If sung with pure emotion, it should be powerful enough to repel them for the rest of our lives.

Oh, and mind the French title - it means "Enemy's chant". See, I just couldn't find any other title for this one.

P.S. I can't believe it, Microsoft Word didn't put any red lines under Yoko Shimomura's name - so they actually do know her !

Pas de recette

For some reason or other, I seem to be musically active today !
So here's another set of lyrics, perhaps a French spinoff from my previous interpretation of Pasquale's short animated sequence "No Recipe" :

On commencerait
À nous satisfaire
Pas de recette
Un repas
Pour l’unité
On rajoute le monde
Et toutes ses couleurs
Pas de recette
Et pas d’assiette
Éternité

On continuerait
À nous satisfaire
On va le servir
Parvenir
À tout remplir
On rajoute l’amour
Et toutes ses douleurs
Pas de recette
Et pas d’assiette
Infinité

C’est une sûreté
De tout satisfaire
Pas de recette
Un repas
Pour l’unité
On rajoute la paix
Encore sa chaleur !
Pas de recette
Et pas d’assiette
C’est une sûreté

Et pour finir
On rajouterait
Un peu de tout
Un peu de toi
Un peu de moi

Translation (a break between the first line and the next is indicated by #) :

We'd start # To satisfy us (all) # No recipe # A meal # For unity # We add in the world # And all its colours # No recipe # No plate # Eternity

We'd continue # To satisfy us (all) # We will serve it # Manage # To fill all # We add in love # And all its pain # No recipe # No plate # Infinity

It's a surety # (That we'll) satisfy all # No recipe # A meal # For unity # We add in peace # And again, its warmth # No recipe # No plate # It's a surety

And to end # We'd add in # A little bit of all # A little bit of you # A little bit of me

I put in the original English text here (click to view) but I realised that for the music I had in mind for my interpretation of No Recipe, the syllables needed to be stressed at the end and not at the beginning. This is highly impossible for English. So I had to rewrite the song in French. Imagine : Instead of a line which goes like "No RE-ci-pe" there's a line which goes "Pas de re-CE-tte". I don't know, I somehow had that weird feeling that the English version of these lyrics may not be used - and I guess I won't be using it. I'm still gonna keep it on troisnyx* officiel, though - in case some of you have already taken a look at it and don't wanna let it go.

Well, for those of you who have been faithfully listening to my AMR files, I'll try release a demo version of this one soon.

I came up with the last four lines first, then I slowly came up with the rest.

Leaving (a post for Claudia)

This is now

I'm leaving
Never to see this place again
I'm leaving home
I'm bound to call somewhere else my hiding place
I'm leaving home

REFRAIN:
Take our final steps together
And we'll part ways
To start anew is hard
Because I won't have you...
Take our final steps together
And we'll part ways
It's all been beautiful but
I'm leaving
This wonderful place behind

I'm leaving
Will I e'er see what I want to see ?
Just let it come
I'm breaking those who loved me all this while
I'm leaving home
(repeat refrain)

Written in honour of a friend, ex-schoolmate and sister in Christ, Claudia Appaduray, who'll soon be emigrating. I didn't wanna change the title because... ultimately, the post and the lyrics are all about leaving.

Claudia, I'm gonna miss you lots. I miss the time we had in primary school choir, the time you came over to my place with the carollers some two years ago... well, there're several experiences which don't come to mind but I cherish all of them. Keep in touch. And who knows, if I do make it big someday, perhaps, I will meet you.

Wait. I got an idea !

I'm putting this post under "Lyrics" because this pertains to one set of lyrics which I've written.

Remember just a few posts earlier I was talking about Narin's film ?

I know how to turn it from a melodramatic short into a stunning music video. I was thinking of making it the video for "Puis qu'en oubli" especially when it had something gotta do with wings to fly, leaving the troubled lover, and whatnot ? Yes, fine, I know, the video is being copyrighted by Narin but when the time comes, I can always ask her for permission to edit and use this video.

Or, I can get permission from Narin, put the video up, ask Pasquale to see it, and see if he can come with something of the same feel. Oh, I've gotta include my singing clips too so they can be alternated.

But before I can even think of doing this.......

# I must be established in my recordings.
# I must get a choir.
# I must master the drums. Because the middle section of "Puis qu'en oubli" (right after the chorus is being repeated for the second time) there's a part where I intended to have really fast, heavy-metal-like drums. That too, to add on to the agony.
# A copy of the video must come to Narin's hands before the video is itself submitted.

No Recipe (Experimental lyrics)

Let’s start with today

I’m gonna make a meal that really satisfies me
No recipe
No wannabe
Just you and me

And the world outside
Along with its colours
No recipe
No wannabe
Insanity

Let me flame the mixture thrice
Add in rice
Some ice
For twice the price
Let me flame the mixture with love
So shall I shove
Into a thousand and above

I’m gonna make a meal that really satisfies me
No recipe
Infinity
For you and me

SLOW RAP:
Jars of respect, tolerance, ounces of love
Grains of eternity, sweetness of the sun
This meal is by far not yet really done
Let’s add more things and make it fun
Flakes of guidance aplenty from up above
Flavour of life, get it all mixed together
Heat it up and turn it over and so we’ll never
Have to see us go hungry again, ever
Let’s start with today

There’s just one more thing left to do
No residue
Just add a lil’
Of me and you

And guess where the idea for this came from ?




Pasquale's short film "No Recipe".

Since these are experimental lyrics, I don't think the entire set of lyrics will apply if this is ever turned into a soundtrack of sorts. Some parts may be taken out. Then again, I got the crazy idea of writing these lyrics after watching a weird, random film about cooking.

The message behind this set of lyrics is such - people are going hungry - not everyone is physically hungry but we are in dire need of food for the soul. By letting everyone relish in a completely satisfying meal (comprising respect, acceptance of differences, tolerance, love and whatnot !), the whole world won't have to go hungry again. I quoted several lines from the short film "No Recipe" hoping that it'd go in sync. And no, the chords and everything haven't been decided, but I know it's gonna begin and end in a minor key.

And I can't believe I wrote the previous set of lyrics 38 minutes ago.
Guess I've started getting my right brain to work today. :)

Penser à ne pas grandir

Voir les étoiles et les nues dans le ciel (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Voir l’arc en ciel après la pluie (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Tout ça met un sourire sur nos visages
Tout ça nous fait penser à n’pas grandir

Sentir l’air frais en dehors (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Sentir, s’éclater, se réjouir (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Moi j’me sens mieux comme on me redonne une vie
Tout ça me fait penser à n’pas grandir… !

REFRAIN :
Penser à ne pas grandir
Raconter le conte de fée
Penser à ne pas grandir
J’ai pas besoin de leur dire si j’veux m’éclater
Qu’on m’dit que j’vis pas réellement
Qu’on m’dit que je suis trop excitée !
Ma vie est éclaircie
Mais je vis au ralenti
(Penser à ne pas grandir…)
(Penser à ne pas grandir…)

Voir les couleurs autour de moi (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Voir mes reflets sur l’eau toute seule (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Tout ça met un sourire sur mon visage
Tout ça me fait penser à n’pas grandir… !
(au refrain)


As always, I’m providing a translation :

Seeing the stars and the clouds in the sky (Thinking of not growing up) # Seeing the rainbow after the rain (Thinking of not growing up # All that puts a smile on our faces # All that makes us think of not growing up

Feeling the fresh air outdoors (Thinking of not growing up) # Feeling, having fun, rejoicing (Thinking of not growing up) # I feel better, as though I've been given a new life # All that makes me think of not growing up

CHORUS : Thinking of not growing up # Telling fairytales # Thinking of not growing up # I've no need to tell them if I wanna have fun # Let them say I'm not living realistically # Let them say I'm too excited ! # My life is cloudy # But I'm living at a slow pace (Thinking of not growing up - twice)

Seeing the colours around me (Thinking of not growing up) # Seeing my reflections on the water all alone (Thinking of not growing up) All that puts a smile on my face # All that makes me think of not growing up [repeat chorus]


This is meant to be a really upbeat theme. And when I say upbeat I don't mean 120 BPM. I mean faster - at least 140 BPM. And because the title literally translates to "Thinking of not growing up", it's gonna have synth effects and kids screaming "Haik !" periodically. Oh yes, and rainbows and stars and everything childlike too. Ohhhhhh, this is my most favourite set of lyrics yet ! In a way, I'm hitting out at all those who think my being eccentric is futile. And I'm not afraid to say it.

Truth be told, I was thinking of working on this song somewhere in March - I already had the idea for the song as well as the key, the look and feel, the chords and the first three lines of the chorus. It's only now that I finally manage to put it in words.

For the look and feel :
Search for this .mp3 file online - Rikku's Theme, by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi, from Final Fantasy X-2. You'll get what kind of speed I'm putting it at, and you'll also understand what kind of synth I'll be using.

Lyric guidelines, anyone ?

Renaye from YouthSays asked for guidelines on writing lyrics. I could only give a few tips due to the limited space. After all, I am still learning. I did not give any promises, but I did say that I would put some tips right here on Rapide Indolore in case there are budding lyricists like me, who are aspiring to write really good songs ! Let's all share the love !

1. There are two approaches to writing lyrics :
- first, find the tune, then write the lyrics. I used to use this approach for Kasih, Le Paradoxe, Images and My Bequests, among others. I had the tunes in mind before actually penning the lyrics down on paper.

- second, write the lyrics before finding the tune. Most of my songs use this method. This is the more preferred method because the lyrics determine the mood of the song, and from the lyrics we can tell whether it is happy or sad, and we can develop the tune, the chords and the necessary effects from there.

However, I do not do any recommendations because I dabble in both methods.

2. Writing lyrics is just like writing poems !
I reckon that many of you know this - there are symmetrical poems (the traditional structure) and asymmetrical poems (more often used in post-Romantic era poetry). Symmetrical poems are the ones whose lines end like this - a-b-a-b, a-b-b-a, a-a-b-b, or even a-a-a-a. There is some form of reflection somewhere. Asymmetrical poems, however, have no definite structure.

Think : for Kasih, I got inspired by that form 2 poem called "Mata Ayah" and for Homage to Wordsworth, well... I did get inspired by "Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" and "Lines Written in Early Spring" - and I wrote in a way which I felt was his style - but truth be told, none of us can ever write as well as Wordsworth could. In comparison, however, writing songs is much more "lenient" in nature than writing poems, shall we say ? - for songs, we can take four approaches - simplistic (with all simple, understandable verbs and shortened forms like gotta, wanna and stuff), poetic, cockney/dialect, or moderate (neither too poetic nor too simplistic). Most songwriters stick with the moderate approach.

3. You could put an existing poem to music.
I did the same with the first section of "Puis qu'en oubli" - the first section is the actual text of a medieval song called "Puis qu'en oubli sui de vous" by Guillaume de Machaut. The original melody was noted in "Music : An Appreciation," Ninth Edition, Roger Kamien, McGraw-Hill International (2008) but I decided not to follow the original because had I done so, the written chorus would be too high for me. Fine, I could train myself, but since it is an adaptation of sorts, the tune may be changed at will !

4. Write about all you can think of !
Consummation, Puis qu'en oubli, Envie d'y croire and My Bequests were written out of sadness, Homage to Wordsworth was written out of awe, Kemerdekaan Sejati, Kasih and Raise Me Up to See Your Eyes were written out of love. If you have a subject in your mind, and you know the flow, why not pen it down for people to have a lasting impression of it ? Experiment with anything and everything. But do note, that if you do intend to sell your stuff in Malaysia, do take note of the things that should not be talked about according to statutes. Whatever is not against the law may be against some parties, and they may take action.

So, anyone up for it ? Think you have a great set of lyrics to share ? Or, have any guidelines to share with me in case I haven't mentioned them ? Leave your comments here.

Envie d'y croire

Si un jour je deviens puissante
J’utiliserai mon pouvoir
Pour mettre fin à tout c’qui est blessant
J’ai envie d’y croire

Si un jour l’air devient propre
Je pourrais tout voir
Respirer des envies rougeâtres
J’ai envie d’y croire

REFRAIN :
Je suis gamine de la rue
Et j’ai envie de croire
Que tout ce que je dois savoir
Ne me dirige pas à un paradis perdu
Pourtant même si le ciel est bleu
La « sagesse » est la stupidité
Et ce monde n’a pas d’immunité
Laisse-moi fermer les yeux

Si un jour je suis insupportable
Je verrai autour de moi
Le monde et sa condition minable
J’ai envie d’y croire

Si un jour la force devient la faiblesse
Je mettrai tout en film noir
La souffrance au nom de « politesse »
J’ai envie d’y croire
(au refrain)

Translation:

If someday I could be strong # I would use my power # To put an end to everything that hurts # I feel like believing it ## If someday the air becomes clean # I can see everything # Breathe in reddish cravings # I feel like believing it ##

CHORUS: I am a street kid # And I feel like believing # That everything I have to know # Isn’t going to lead me to a lost paradise # Then again even if the sky is blue # “Wisdom” is stupidity # And this world hasn’t any immunity # Let me close my eyes

If someday I get insupportable # I would look around me # The world and its dismal condition # I feel like believing it ## If someday strength becomes weakness # I’ll put everything in a film noir # Suffering in the name of politeness # I feel like believing it (repeat chorus)

Whimsical as I tried to be, this turned out to be a lamentation about this world’s unreality. Yeah, I know, this song isn’t whimsical anymore. It’s pathetic. It’s idealistic. That’s how humans are. We make ideals, and because we have our own limitations, all the ideals of this world’s systems – all of them – are not reached. Let’s not go too far: let’s come back to Malaysia. We have the draconian you-know-what. A real pain in the @$$. One moment, you resolve to gather a collective voice of 27 million people or perhaps slightly less, to sign a petition to demand its removal, the next moment, you realise that it’s ultimately in the hands of two people sitting in Cabinet seats. And yes, I went through this situation before. Don’t get me wrong here; I’m speaking as a minor. Yes, I had that ideal.

Heck, even some turn out not to believe in God because they can’t even live their own ideals – they are just confined by their own limitations that they think God has limitations too, and while imagining that God is the perfect person, they put their own limitations on Him, and blame Him for all the chaos in this world – when ultimately, it boils down to our human limitations.

Notice how many systems - or rather, every system in the world has limitations ? The United Nations are there for a noble cause, but then again, a mega-civilisation run by humans has its own limitations. Group 8 has among the greatest limitations anyone can see. No system is perfect, and we can only work towards perfection, that's all.That’s the dismal state of this world. Every verse ends with “J’ai envie d’y croire” – “I feel like believing it” – we feel like believing that ideals can be realised, but as long as human limitation and negative nature impose burdens on us lay people, we can't do much. Pray, perhaps.

Anyways, about the song… I haven’t come up with a tune for it.

Song of Wisdom (Proverbs 8)

NB : whatever is intended to be sung, I’ll mark it in red, otherwise you’ll see yellow text.

REFRAIN :
I will call, I will call, I will shout from the highest mountains
With every reason to be heard
I appeal to you all, everyone, listen to my words now
What I say is for real
I am Wisdom
And I’m better than bling yo, than anything yo
Nothing in this world, not any boy or girl that’ll give you whatcha want yo
So come on over
I am Wisdom
Cause everything I know is what you say NO
And some perverted discretion will take over emotion yo
So come on over

I stand in the place where people would find
The light in times of disgrace
I am truth to the loving and sound mind
Insight in times of need
No place for the proud man, the headstrong man
Nothing they can do can save their skin, man
I help the statesman, I help the noble man
I can give more than just dirty money and cars, man
I love those who love me, look out for me and find me
The Lord knows I’m better than bling and ka-ching
So dja wanna follow me or wake up smilin’ say
Nothing I can do will ever take me away
(repeat refrain)

No one cares to know my existence
I was the first of all
Before the earth and all her resilience
I was standing tall
Yo now I can understand, why when the world began
There’s an inborn joy bringing life to every man
Why every human being has got a light unseen, yo
You don’t expect me to explain why this is gone now, you---
You want a life man, go look for it, man
You want the Lord to smile atcha, now do something, man
Anyone who hates me does not wait at the door for me
And sooner or later he’ll know what he’s in for, man
(repeat refrain)

Finally, another rap song without core subjects including money, drugs or sex. Of course, its predecessor may have been The Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is The Love" but this one is based on a biblical allusion - Proverbs 8. Personally, I haven't heard many biblical rap songs. And so I wonder what the reaction towards this one will be.

It so came to pass that on Wednesday, 2008.09.24, I picked up the Bible once again, and I began to read the book of Proverbs. I was actually quite immersed in it. I read every verse, mouthing every word, and when I came to Chapter 8, an idea struck me. What is this "knowledge" that people are seeking ? Every other rap song I hear on the radio is about bling and making love - and that is so uncool. I began to write this, partially because I got fed up of the junk I heard on the radio, and primarily because I got inspired.

So, for the song itself. It's going to be like any typical rap song except for the musical atmosphere : imagine progressive bass and very sparse beats. (And sorry, no demo for this one until I finish my legal studies.) The red words will be sung while the yellow words will be rapped (preferrably by a male rapper with an ability to switch to ghetto slang easily).

The third of my semi-worship songs, this one came at the spur of the moment. But I am not going to put that tag down because I took the lyrics from biblical text, and they did not come from my head in the form of a PowerPoint-made image. And it isn't the type of song we'd want to sing in weekly mass, either. I mean, them old fogies wouldn't condone it - after seeing the era of hardcore rap (with all those expletives) and nu-rap (with taboo subjects being brought along with it) !

Le Paradoxe

On voit le désespoir quand la vie commence
La vie est jetée avec toute aisance
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
On connaît l'espace, mais pas notre cœur
On voit des gens avec leur froideur
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui

REFRAIN :
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui, je prie
Seigneur, sauve-nous avant que ce monde est anéanti...

On voit le désespoir dans l'adolescent
Des nanas qui flirtent, des mecs violents
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
On prie pour la justesse, mais il n'y en a pas
On veut la ressentir au moins une fois
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
(au refrain)

On voit le désespoir quand la vie recommence
L'adulte est moins que rien maintenant
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
Les chaises de pouvoir, elles sont occupées
L'on fait rien pour nous aider
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
(au refrain)

Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui, je prie...

As I always would, here I am now, providing the translation :

1. We see despair when life starts # Life is thrown with such ease # Lord save us from today's pain # We know outer space, but not inner space (i.e. the heart) # We see cold-natured people # Lord save us from today's pain ##

REFRAIN : Lord save us from today's pain, I pray # Lord save us before this world is no more... ##

2. We see despair in the teenager # Flirting girls and violent guys # Lord save us from today's pain # We pray for justice, but there isn't any # We want to feel it at least once # Lord save us from today's pain (repeat refrain) ##

3. We see despair when life restarts # The adult is next to nothing now # Lord save us from today's pain # The chairs of power, they are full # And they're doing nothing to help us # Lord save us from today's pain (repeat refrain) ## Lord save us from today's pain, I pray...

I wrote this after reading an article called "Save Us From Ourselves : The Paradox of Our Age" - and it had the exact same ideas as this song. Heck, I took it from there ! I wanted to address the unrealities of today's world, the ruling systems, what man has made of man... Speaking of what man has made of man--- Even Wordsworth supports this theory. Four of his poems actually say something which I later mentioned in this song :

- Lines Written in Early Spring
"Have I not reason to lament # What man has made of man ?"

- Ode (Intimations of Immortality), The Rainbow (My Heart Leaps Up) - both of them contain the same lines :
"The Child is father of the Man, And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety."

- London 1802 (To Milton)
"Milton ! thou should'st be living at this hour, # England hath need of thee, she is a fen # Of stagnant waters, altar, sword and pen..."

So, I figured, why not write ? After all, I would not want these thoughts to be unheard. And then again, I am writing to the whole world in general.

(the following grey text is an additional note posted on 2008.12.17)

Want to hear the AMR file ?

To be honest, I've no idea how to put it up online, and then again, I'm only gonna pass it to a limited number of people (say, ten ?). The file in my hard disk has blunders at the chorus (I didn't get the lyrics right and my tongue got all twisted). Anyway, if you're eager to listen to it, drop your comments here. Or, you can drop them here.

(the following blue text is an additional note posted on 2009.01.29)

I finally learned how to convert AMR to MP3. I used WavePad. Jolynn was the one who taught me. Anyway. It still has its watery, blur AMR quality, even after all the noise-reducing effects I threw in, so let's just say that it was intentional, ya ? Now that it's in MP3, I can allow you all to listen to my draft. So, yes, please listen - and give me your comments - they'd be very much appreciated. =)

Consummation

Snow falls

The store's about to close

And I've no idea what the future holds

Every day

I wish things were better

But now it's only clear that she will go...

And so I ask of you, Lord

Grant me this prayer

Let me give a gift this Christmas

To my beloved in heaven

And so I ask of you, Lord

I don't want to despair

Momma's going to see you tonight

Please make everything alright

Snow falls

I wonder where they're going

With smiles all o'er their faces

I defy

And tonight

Two people will be crying

'Cause the voice that I love so much

I gotta kiss her goodbye

And so I ask of you, Lord

Grant me this prayer

Let me give a gift this Christmas

A poor soul like me

And so I ask of you, Lord

Forgive the man who killed her

Momma's going to see you tonight

Please make everything alright

Fine, so the story behind these lyrics is familiar. But honestly, you might be wondering why I'm talking about Christmas and gifts. The actual main idea is the sadness the family experiences when the person who killed one of the members... is a drunk driver. And still high on alcohol, we wonder if he even realised what he did.

And please, My Bequests and Consummation do not have the same central idea. Both are equally melancholic and macabre, but one concerns illness while the other concerns drunk driving. Don't get confused, please.

A friend, Daniel C, once asked me whether I wrote this for mom. At that time she was already showing signs of getting better, and she was in the normal neurological ward. I had no idea that she would fall victim to occult and apathetic doctors - until the 27th of August, when she died. Imagine : the time frame for this sequence of happenings is very short. Daniel C, let me rephrase what I said earlier : I am going to dedicate this song to mom.

If you want to get more look and feel :

>Watch The Christmas Shoes on the Hallmark Channel this December. It might be aired earlier, who knows ? Just watch it. You'll weep. No, honestly, you'll weep. I wept.

I wish you could love me

Can you believe it ? This is a song too !

I thought of having to go through the extra effort to put it in verse, after creating this image on PowerPoint.... when I realised, maybe only this would do for the title. I then thought, "why not place these lines randomly in an anguishing bass line and keys, echo the lines, reverse the lines, do anything with them ?" That's pure experimentation and I want to attempt it at least once. After all, there's no harm trying. Mylène Farmer once did something close to this, but only used three lines in her single “Mylène is Calling.” As for me, I'm using the entire lot of words. I'm going to call this genre "spur-of-the-moment songs".

Raise Me Up to See Your Eyes

Raise me up to see your eyes
Feels like I’m in paradise
Under the clear blue skies…
When you tell me you’re mine, the feeling is sublime

You’re the one, I love you so
But I can’t make a promise though
It pains me to see you go…
When you need me I’ll be there, to lift you up into the air

CHORUS :
Got my feet on the ground, have my head in the clouds
From thinking of the times you’re gonna be around
Take this flight and look back at our life in time
Can you realise how long it took us to flee
From the illusions of hell

Raise me up to let me see
That there’s someone who needs me
I know now that it’s for real…
This heart I give to you, this love so pure and true…
(repeat chorus)
I wanted to do a cheery love song somewhere around last year. And so I began my efforts to get people to support me. It all started when I posted a topic on the YourSpins forums (FYI, YourSpins is a place where anyone and everyone can remix songs), with the title "Original Song Project" - I began with the line "Raise me up to see your eyes," and slowly, everyone intervened and soon enough, my YourSpins friends were filling in the gaps, line by line. To every person, one line, or so I put it - there were some people who contributed more than one line. So this one isn't entirely my work. The completion of the lyrics took three weeks. And I had 70 responses altogether ! It was the hottest topic of 2007, as I can remember. Seriously, I wonder what happened to this topic in the forum. Locked, perhaps - because I can't find it anymore.

Writing those lyrics was fun. I remember one of my YourSpins friends, Amira, wrote on that discussion board - she was supposed to contribute to the second verse, and she did. But one day, out of lack of inspiration, this was what she wrote for the second verse (I actually remember it vividly), with that lackadaisical attitude :

"Raise me up to let me see
Buy some ice-cream for me
I'm hungry. I want something sweet.
The house is empty. I'm talking nonsense."

LOL. I miss the 2007 batch. Now I understand why social networking in a totally new place can get so.... um... impersonal.

Untitled (Homage to Wordsworth)

The sun is breaking through the morning sky
The different shades of blue which I espy
Wake me up to feel your presence
In the dew which rests upon the leaves
The flowers with their splashing colours grow
Around the little grove

REFRAIN :
Woe to the hands that took it all away
The denizens of darkness are going astray
O Wordsworth, when I behold your words
Shall I lament the erring human mind
Or partake in the flow, unkind ?

When the day is over I behold
The orange skies with hues of red and gold
With stories never told
At sundown, where little lights abode
The moon bears witness to undying love
As couples pledge to prove
(repeat refrain)

Show’rs of blessings fall from up above
I relish in its every drop of love
Knowing that you still live on
And while the rain brings life to all that lives
He heralds it with drumming from the sky
And flashing veins of light
(repeat refrain)

You might be wondering why I'm into Wordsworth all of a sudden. Thing is, I read almost half of Wordsworth's anthology during Literature class. And I'm one of those people who actually fell in love with his poetry. I may not be able to write as well as Wordsworth, but I can address the cause ! Truth be told, if he were here today, the entire Malaysia would've gone green !!

If you want to get an idea of the look and feel :
> Plain White T's, Hey There Delilah. Not that I am taking its style entirely... but the riffs at the begininng might prove useful......

Images

Un souffle de couleur, un esprit de douceur
Un coup d’immunité, une chance pour se prouver
Un souffle de puissance, un moment pris par chance
Tout est dessiné, eh…

Un cœur qui bat très fort, un jour près de la mort
Une passion si immense, un temps pour que je pense
Une lettre que j’écris, un avion atterri
Tout est dessiné, eh…

REFRAIN :
Maintenant je dessinerai des nouvelles ailes pour me libérer
Ressentir les coups du vent pour bien voler
Ce qui est fait sur les feuilles semble si réel
J’serais en haut comme un oiseau au ciel
C’est éternel
(Un souffle de couleur, un esprit de douceur
Un coup d’immunité, une chance pour se prouver)

Je vois, autour de moi, le monde, perdu la foi
Le monde est enchaîné, toutefois c’est le péché
Faut un seul coup d’état pour enlever les draps
Tout est dessiné, eh…

Un désillusionnement, un « pour ces gens seulement »
Un esprit qui décolle, libéré de toutes les folles---
Une croyance inchangeable, un moment formidable
Tout est dessiné, eh...
(au refrain)

As always, since I know there ain’t many French-speakers out there, I’d provide a translation :

One wave of colour, one spirit of grace # One blow of immunity, one chance to prove oneself # One wave of power, one moment taken by chance # All is drawn, eh ## One hard-thumping heart, one day near death # One very immense passion, one period for me to think # One letter that I write, one airplane landed # All is drawn, eh ##

CHORUS : Now I will draw new wings to free me # Feel the strain of the wind once again to fly well # What is drawn on the sheets (of paper) seem real # I’ll be high up like a bird in the sky # It’s eternal # (And then you have the first two lines of the first verse repeating in delayed mode)

I see around me, the world has lost faith # The world is enchained, all the time by sin # It only takes one coup d’état to change the drapes (i.e. political colours) # All is drawn, eh ## One disillusionment, one “for these guys only” # One spirit taking off, free from these crazy people # One unchangeable belief, one formidable moment # All is drawn, eh ##

I had the tune for this song last year itself. I only came up with the lyrics somewhere in April. It was after seeing a fan-drawn picture of Naminé (voiced by Brittany Snow, Kingdom Hearts II) sketching stuff on a notebook that I came up with the idea for this song. For non-gamers and those who don’t know Kingdom Hearts that well, Naminé is that girl who manipulates memories through her sketches.

There are so many things these days that can be put on canvas, or turned into art – political turmoil, economic scandals, familial breakdown, success stories, boredom – as Shakespeare puts it, “All the world’s a stage, our life is a play and we are the actors.” Thus being the case, I put every single scenario I could think of into “Images,” and well, yeah.

As for how this would sound like ? Imagine…… a trance song (Ayumi Hamasaki – Above and Beyond) with a musical motif from Akon ft. Eminem’s “Smack That.” (Okay, I know I just made some of you blur. You’ll probably understand once I put it in audio. In the meantime, just go and listen to those two songs and see whether you get what I mean.)