Question and Answer (Songwriting as Magic 8 Ball)

When I was growing up, a friend had a Magic 8 Ball that offered answers to the perplexing questions of adolescence. It was fun to consult the mysterious oracle and see what it said.  (I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and was reminded of some of the answers: "It is decidedly so" and "reply hazy, try again". I think I got that "hazy" one a lot.)  

I think that our songs act as oracles sometimes.

When we pick up our instrument during a time of questioning, interesting answers will come out.  

They may not be the ones we're expecting. They may not give us step-by-step instructions on how to proceed. But they can help us understand what our intuitive wisdom is trying to tell us. 

We need our "left-brain", logical sides to make decisions...but we also need our dreamy, "right-brain" sides.  Artistic activity kick-starts both sides at once.  This is great news for complicated lives like ours!  

I just realized that over the last few days, I've been using my songwriting as a kind of oracle.  Two different songs emerged in answer to the same question.

The interesting thing is, one song is "better" than the other.  It's much easier to remember and sing.  It's catchier...more likely to stick.  

Ask your songs to answer your questions.  Then listen to what they say.  

Are your songs trying to tell you something?

Over the past week, I've been dealing with the recurrance of lower back problems. They haven't bothered me for several years, but at one point in my life they caused me a lot of pain and limited my activities.

This recent back strain (which seems to be less serious and is healing well) came about completely unexpectedly, with no warning.

Or had it?

I always have a few songs on the go, but most of them will never be finished nor played in public. These drafts tend to be forgotten and eventually discarded.

In the days leading up to my recent back problem, I had been steadily working on a new song called "Get Back to Me". A mildly interesting coincidence...which seems more interesting when I realize that the previous song I'd been working on was called "Gotta Cut Back on That" and another recent song from a few months ago was called "Right Back Where We Started".

Judging from that pattern, it's not surprising that my back issues would recur...that they would, in effect, "Get Back to Me".

Would I be dealing with vision problems if I'd been writing songs called "See You Later" or "Something I Can't See"? Skin ailments for "On the Surface"? Now that I think about it, why hadn't I been writing songs using vision metaphors...or songs relating to breathing, taste, hearing or speech?

Is it possible that my choice of lyrics programmed my illness? Perhaps...but I have another theory.

I think it's more likely that my intuition was speaking to me through my songs-in-progress, to try to get my attention.

I believe my intuition was trying to signal me that my back needed attending to...because that inner wisdom, something I access through songwriting, was more tuned in to my body than my conscious mind was.

With that in mind, I might see my half-written songs a bit differently. I might start watching them for coded messages...viewing them as signposts.

This way of seeing songwriting practice has more in common with dream analysis than it does with approaching songs as products to be marketed or as accomplishments. If we recognize the importance of personal growth and healing, it's a perspective that could be significantly more valuable than any commercially-minded approach, especially over the course of a lifetime of creative work.

If artistic expression has the power to allow inner wisdom to speak to the conscious mind and to the body, we may be able to steer a healthier course for ourselves by simply paying better attention to these "notes" we write ourselves.