PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase If Now Was Then - Robert Cordrey Vocal and Lyrics

This song turned into a very special song for me. This song was born in 2014. I tried different styles, tempo, instruments and nothing worked. So it got put into the folder called maybe later.
The title was added when I was missing some of my friends and the early times in my life when all priorities had to have some kind of fun attached to it.

I discovered the song accidentally when I was looking for another song I had done.

I was recently having an email dialogue with Robert Cordrey and asked if he would be interested to adding a vocal and lyric to one of my instrumentals. I was thrilled when he agreed. He asked me to give him my thoughts when I was originally working on the song and he put together these lyrics. Definitely a bucket list moment for me.

If Now Was Then

a high wire between oceans
holding on at both ends
must have been a beautiful failure
though I didn`t see you fall my friend

you said starlight`s a memory
looking at me inside out
your arm around Oleander
hunter`s moon split the clouds
you sang that song you were writing
called If Now Was Then

I kept your insect in amber
with a question in its eye
the riddle of the gypsy girl
how to live and how to fly

did you burn up on reentry
Oleander found the answer leaving town
in the final moments
the hourglass turns upside down
did you finish that song you were writing
called If Now Was Then
did you finish that song you were writing
called If Now Was Then


I kept your insect in amber
with a question in its eye
the riddle of the gypsy girl
how to live and how to fly

© Robert Cordrey Dec.2017

If Now Was Then

This song uses two different styles:

Style is _PBALCEL.STY (Pop Ballad w/ Cello & Guitars)

RealTracks in style: ~~683:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 1856:Cello, Background PopCountry Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 838:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopBalladClean Ev 085
RealTracks in style: ~703:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Spirited Ev 085
RealDrums in style: NashvilleEven16^5-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

_DELUGE.STY. Deluge Heavy 16ths Rock
Instruments: El.Bass, El.Guitar, El.Guitar, Drums
RD: ROCK16THS^01-a:Closed Hat, Snare, b:Open Hat, Snare :Pat Steward
RT2755: Bass, Electric, RockHeavy16thsDoug Ev16 090 , Doug Elliott
RT2760: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockHeavy16thsHighMurray Ev16 090 , Murray Atkinson
RT2759: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockHeavy16thsLowMurray Ev16 090 , Murray Atkinson
Memo: This even-16 heavy rock Style has a steady rhythm, with two electric guitars, electric bass, and drums.


Guitar Gibson Les Paul R9
Amp Purdy
Effects Maxon 808, Texas Tone Bone OD, Boss CS-2 Compression, Flashback X4 Delay.

Loved the vocal parts that opened the song and liked the guitars where the vocal break started.

I could barely hear the drums, however. If you turned them up a bit, this would be even better.

Very nice work guys!
Loved the power break and solo!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thanks for checking out the song. I appreciate it. Thanks for the suggestion on the drum track. I bumped it up a bit.

That did it! Sounds a lot better!

Scott & Robert

Very nice work. Particularly liked the transition to the heavier section.
An excellent piece of music.

Peter

Thanks for checking out the song. Was a real pleasure having Robert write lyrics for my instrumental.

Scott & Robert,

A very cool sound throughout. Somewhere between The Starship and Genesis. The lyrics fit that perfectly. The vocal, too.

Super guitar work, Scott. Really like the distortion/delay - "just enough".

An excellent listen.

(The vocal gets lost a bit at times, but I couldn't tell if it needed a bump in volume or a bit of EQ to separate it from the guitar bed)

Y'all are doing good stuff together. Enjoyed it.

fj

This is the first time I`ve written lyrics for someone else`s song- and it was fun - kind of freeing, so thanks to Scott for being open to the direction I went!
Floyd; we went back and forth a few times on the vocal levels in the "heavy" section - not an easy balance to achieve.
Thanks to all listeners going for another round of Scott/Robert time travel!

Cool collaboration

some very nice guitar

enjoyed the listen

Kenny

"Scott C" and Mr. Cordrey...

"If Now Was Then" is like a rock fever dream. It rolls in, and then out, like waves caught in a closed loop of rhythmic motion. And then, there's the poetry of the lyrics. They flash their hidden meanings like blinks of an eye at a burning sun. Listening to the song is like staring at a painting until it begins changing and morphing into one scene after another. It's a bit of an hallucinatory experience of words and sound that ends up feeling like it could go on, forever.

Entranced,

LOREN

Yes I agree much better. Thanks for the help on that. It is appreciated..

Scott/Robert, you guys produced a great sounding tune here! Scott, I liked how you moved the song to a heavier rock sound midway and the chord pattern is great! Robert's vocal lends itself well to this type of song! Excellent lyrics as always from you Robert! Thanks, Torrey

Yep, the floyd mentioned Starship vibe is definitely there. Janice mentioned that it felt as though it was from one of the Dunes series.

Forum collabs are a cool way to create a musical synthesis of different ideas and performances - this is a fine example of that.

Great performances and write y'all.

Went down nicely with the morning cup of joe!

J&B

PS: Catchy title/hook

Thanks Peter for checking out the song. I appreciate it.

Nice one guys!

I always like the lyrics Robert writes:

"I kept your insect in amber
with a question in its eye
the riddle of the gypsy girl
how to live and how to fly"

Great line!

I like the transition into the heavy part. Track sounds good, as does your guitar work. Overall a good listen!

I agree with Dave. Some great lines lyrically and guitar wise. I like the repeating guitar signature. Good job to you both, Tom

Thanks Floyd for checking out the song. Thanks also for the comments on the mix. This was new territory for me. This is a real testiment to Robert’s skill as a song writer and vocalist as I had already done the solos for each section of the song. His lyrics and vocal were a perfect fit. Getting the volume blend right between vocal and the guitar playing was very elusive. Look forward to trying this again in the future. Mixing is quite an art in itself.

Loren,
Your review made me smile as I certainly drew on some "halucinatory experience" writing the lyrics!
I appreciate the way you dive right into a song and express your impressions so vividly.

Robert

Thanks Kenny Thanks for checking out the song. Was fun working with Robert