Optimistic Songs

Like other works of art, songs have outlooks or moods. They can be "light" or "dark", optimistic or pessimistic.

Recently I was corresponding with a painter who told me that he could track the restless periods in his life by looking at his paintings. The moods on the canvas reflected the moods of his life, changing in rhythm from agitated to calm and back again.

I suspected I could find that kind of pattern in my body of work too. Yesterday I realized I was right, and I noticed an important twist. For me, the darker the mood, the brighter the song. (I'm sure there are exceptions to this...but there's a trend. I really remember feeling awful, for example, when I wrote "Einstein's Brain" [angry] and "When I Walk I Run" [sad].)

Yesterday I was writing this week's song for CIUT, with two candidates half-written. One had a dark mood, was set in a minor key, and had a serious political intent. Because I was struggling with my own dark mood, I found myself getting bogged down in it. It was striking me as ponderous and difficult and edgy (much like me actually). I put the song aside. But, unlike at other similar times, I didn't automatically think "it's not a good song". I just set it aside and started writing something I wanted to hear instead.

That "something" was very hopeful and optimistic. It's in a major key and is upbeat and affirming. Also, without any conscious intent on my part, the song ended up underlining the work of my friend Carol Kilby at The Gaia Centre in Haliburton, Ontario ("Work Like You Don't Need the Money"). Through the creative process, I made uplifting music that made me feel better and wrote lyrics that pointed me in a healthy direction.

This morning, I checked in with "the other song", thinking that perhaps it wasn't any good. To my surprise, it IS good! (Just as human beings still are, when they're feeling "bad".) Feeling more balanced today, I found I could work with it without being overwhelmed by its darker themes.

Tomorrow's song for Take5 is called "I'm Going to Work Forever", inspired by a story about the end of mandatory retirement at age 65 in Ontario. You can listen to it live tomorrow on Take5 on the Internet, or in Toronto at 89.5 FM.