I finished a new song. That always feels big to me. I rarely ever – almost never – sit down and say “Today, I will write a song.” Usually, I experience something or come across a thought-provoking piece of scripture or devotional writing. This causes me to mentally devote a stretch of time to a thought, a concept, an idea, a phrase . . . you get the idea. When I have a line or two of lyric stuck in my head, I jot them down in a notebook specifically designated to hold all my “songs in progress.”
Then the actual writing process begins. I revisit the lyric snippet, seek out relevant Scripture to ponder, start crafting possible melodies, play around with chords and their progressions . . . you get the idea. Eventually, a song comes together.
Sometimes, I get all the lyrics in one breathtaking creative burst. I’m almost grateful that doesn’t happen often because it’s emotionally draining! There was even one time (ONLY one time, thank heavens!) when I got the whole song – lyrics, melody, and accompaniment – in less than 30 minutes. Talk about an overwhelming experience! Intense and exhausting.
I tell you all of this in the hope that you’ll understand something. I have a personal connection to each of them. Each one reminds of specific moments or lessons learned. Each song is a reflection of some part of my personal journey. When they are finally complete, there is usually a huge piece of head space that gets cleared out and the next moment of inspiration can move in and take up residence for awhile.
So when I tell you that this new song I just finished won’t move out . . . this is new. Different. Uncharted territory. It wants more time; it wants to occupy my thoughts a bit longer and I have no clue why. I’ve gone back to see if, subconsciously, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the song. Was I maybe, subtly, telling myself it needed to be re-worked? Were there lyrics I wasn’t happy with? Maybe a piece of the melody I think could be better?
Nope.
Every time I sit down and play/sing through it, I’m impacted even more.
Based on past experiences, I should be freed up to move on to another one of the “songs in progress” waiting in my notebook. But I keep dwelling on the concept that first inspired the song. It just keeps spinning through my head, refusing to be ignored or pushed aside. So I thought I’d share it here and see if maybe that helps me to move on to another creative project!
What is this thought-dominating concept you ask? That’s what Part 2 is for. But I’ll leave you with this hint (pay special attention to the bold-faced type!) –
Every good thing is given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ~James 1:17
Hello My Lovelies! 