No matter what we write there is a bit of us in the story. A song is a very short book, story, or piece of life and the singer has to be an actor who can act out the story for us. They have to understand the lyrics and all the hidden meanings. The song is like a short movie that betrays a great deal in a few minutes.
A writer can write about anything but to make it real he or she has to dig into their own feelings and experiences and like the gunfighter, or person in love, put some of themselves into the story. "An October Day" is about two people searching for someone. He sees her in a park one day and he knows she is the one for him. He doesn't want her to get away so he he searches for a way to start a conversation only to find they are searching for the same thing. Through the day they talk about themselves and discover just how much they have in common. By the end of the day they've fallen in love. This is a simple Demo recording of the song, "An October Day". |
"Streets of Laredo" is about an old gunfighter at the end of his life. The song tells us that people simply don't change very much. He's old and has to face another gunfight. There are no choices yet if he had the chance to change his life he wouldn't. The chorus or hook in the song says..
"And the lines in his face are a map to the places he's been and if he could he'd do it all over again". I went on line searching for an image to use on this page and came across this photo of Ernest Hemmingway and, I think" he illustrates in this modern age pretty much what the life of the gunfighter was like in the 1800s'. |
The more you feel the more you can write. Last year a friend sent a story, by email, that really touched me. I asked who wrote it and he didn't know. I wanted to convert the story into song lyrics and create a melody but I needed to shorten the story, re-arrange it and create the chorus [or hook] . The problem is I don't know who wrote it and I couldn't find the writer. I decided to write the song with unknown as a co-writer. It's called "The Christmas List" ,
This is a song about a father who finds a Christmas list on the floor of his little girls room. "A Little Child Shall Lead Them"The Christmas List by Ernie Hatton and Unknown
Country Ballad December 15, 2010 Snowflakes softly falling Upon your window they play, Your blankets snug around you, Into sleep you drift away. I bend to gently kiss you, when I see that on the floor, there's a letter neatly written I wonder who it's for. It started just as always with the toys seen on TV, A new watch for your mother and a winter coat for me. Chorus "And a little child shall lead them," was whispered in my ear As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve while Santa Claus was here. But as my eyes read on I could see that deep inside there were many things you wished for that your loving heart would hide. You saw a family on the news who had lost their house that day, "Dear Santa, send them just one thing, a place where they can stay." "And Santa, those extra cookies that I left you with your treat, Could you take them to the children who have nothing else to eat." Chorus "And a little child shall lead them," was whispered in my ear As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve while Santa Claus was here. "And as you fly your reindeer on this night of Jesus' birth, Could your magic bring to everyone goodwill and peace on earth"? "There's one last thing before you go, so grateful I would be, If you'd smile at Baby Jesus in the manger by our tree." I pulled the letter close to me I felt it melt my heart. Those tiny hands had written what no other could impart. Chorus "And a little child shall lead them," was whispered in my ear As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve while Santa Claus was here. Repeat the last verse and Chorus with a slight change in the melody Snowflakes softly falling Upon your window they play, Your blankets snug around you, Into sleep you drift away. I pulled the letter close to me I felt it melt my heart. Those tiny hands had written what no other could impart. "And a little child shall lead them," was whispered in my ear As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve while Santa Claus……… was here. |
"This Dream is Mine" is about someone who has been struggling to fulfill their dream. It is a story anyone can relate to. It is not about an artist or an actor but about anyone who wants to accomplish something and finally the opportunity comes along and they grab it and hold onto it.
No one is going to take it away. This is a good recording of the song, but it's still looking for a home. "This Dream is Mine" A perfect example of how you have to dig deep into your own soul is the difference between the song "Streets of Laredo" and "The Christmas List". You have to identify with both. You have to understand the Gunfighter and the Father of a little girl.
"Why does anyone keep on writing? I don't know other than to express their feelings in a myriad of ways through fictitious people". The song "Christmas is Kinda Nice" has an interesting story. When I first started to write lyrics a middle age gentleman came to my house with a tape and said that he sounded a lot like Bing Cosby. I listened and he did remind me of Bing Crosby. I had already decided that I would write one song for my family each year for Christmas and the title "Christmas is Kinda Nice" came to me before any other lyrics. I decided to record two songs and give an older woman her dream by including one of her songs. I also thought that the vocal might bring back some of the feelings of the standard Christmas songs like "White Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland". The other song was titled "Santa Land". This song was important to me because it gave two people their dream. One had a song recorded and the other became a vocalist on a record and it was paid for by us. The songs did very well locally but that was as far as I could go with the record. By this time the stations knew me and they liked the songs but they never made it out of Central Florida, however, I had my first family Christmas song. Maybe someday this song will find a home as well.
"Seasons of My Life" This was the first song to make it out of Central Florida on EMI Records. It was produced by Paul Anka and arranged by Don Costa [Who arranged My Way]. Thanks to a wonderful singer/artist, Sandy Contella, the song was part of an album and the B side of a Paul Anka single. The original title was "All the Seasons of my Life". On the album it appeared as "Seasons". David Foster also aranged some of the songs on that album. The first recording done in our studio is on page one of this site. When time allows and with permission of EMI and the artist I'll add the Don Costa version. Sandy Contella also was the artist/singer on the demo recordings of "An October Day", "Make Love to You", "Written on my Mind", "Our Day" and others. I recorded "Seasons of my Life" first with another singer. A great singer, but it just wasn't what I wanted. I met Sandy through a friend who I had mentioned that the song did not have the feel that I wanted. He introduced me to Sandy and he understood what I wanted. The feeling he put into the song was perfect. He understood what I was trying to convey and it was perfect. London Newspaper article click here. Don Costa arranged, among other great hits. "My Way" and "New York, New York" for Frank Sinatra. He was also a great songwriter and wrote a song called "Someone to Love" with his daughter Nancy. [also on Sandy Contella's Album]
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