Nothing Left - 01/31/22 07:02 PM
Nothing Left
Like a leaf that keeps holding on
You won't let me go
But you know
Our time has come and gone (Time is gone)
Last night the swallows filled the sky (Last night / Filled the sky)
I saw them flying by, so high (Flying by / So high)
Heading somewhere past here (Somewhere / Past here)
Cold winds are blowing
You knew I'd be going
Nothing left between us anymore (Nothing left / No more)
Nothing left for us to say
It's all been said now
Nothing left to say except goodbye
Nothing we can do to stop our hearts from breaking
It's time to fly
You know that I'll remember (I'll remember you)
Always remember
But now I've got to go out on my own (Go alone / All alone)
All alone
It's the end (End / It's the end)
I've loved these days we spent together (I've loved each day)
But nothing lasts forever (Forever)
Since love is gone
We can't hold on
Love is gone
Where it goes, I'll follow
Hoping in tomorrow
Hoping we'll find better days
Some way
(Chorus Repeats)
Instruments:
Bass, Electric, NashvilleRadioPopPushAB Ev 110
Bass, Electric FunkHalfNotePulseSync Ev16 100
Bass, Electric, ModernDiscoFunkAlex Ev 110
3646:Guitar, Nylon Fingerpicking IndieFolk16ths Ev16 100
3647:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking IndieFolk16ths ev16 100
Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FunkyFolk Ev16 110
913:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothPoppy dry Ev16 090
Addictive Drums: Fairfax Vol. 2
SynthsizerV: Solaria AI, Eleanor Forte AI
Effects Chain:
Master Buss: Ozone Imager 2, Greg Wells MixCentric, Lurssen Mastering Console
Melody Vocals: Greg Wells VoiceCentric, LX480 Essential
Harmony Vocals: Greg Wells VoiceCentric, LX480 Essential
Guitars: EZ Mix (Acoustic Guitar)
Drums: CLA Drums
Guitar: EZ Mix (Acoustic Guitar)
Piano: Finisher Retro (Suitcase Panner), Trackspacer
Bass: EZ Mix (Bass4), ReaEQ (low pass, low shelf)
Short Blah
The mix (and some of the lyrics) is still a work in progress, and there are some "La la la"s that I should probably replace with real lyrics at some point.
Note: I slightly extended the ending.
Comments of all sorts are encouraged!
Longer Blah Blah Blahbitty Blah
The song is based on the demo style _KNACKS. What got my attention in the demo was the use of the VII7b5 and the III7 - chords I don't use that often. As usual, I rewrote the existing chords and put more major7th chords in the chorus.
I exported the tracks as well as a backing track, which I imported SynthesizerV, where I worked out a melody. I decided to use the Solaria voice, since I hadn't worked with it much.
It didn't take too long to come up with a melody, but I went back a rewrote the chorus to be a bit more "snappy" and more "chorus-y" than my usual chorus.
For the next couple weeks, I struggled to come up with some lyrics, with no success. I tried hanging a bunch of different lyrics on the melody, but none seemed like a good fit.
I finally settled for (yet another) breaking up and walking away song.
It was still a long slog - as I complained to my kids, I'm not sure why it's so much work to string a bunch of cliches together.
Usually, by the time I get done with the first verse, I have a fairly good idea what the song's key idea is, and can write the chorus to that. But in this case, I got all the verses done, and there didn't still didn't seem to be a strong idea that summed up the attitude of the song.
Which is - ironically enough - how I ended up with the chorus.
Once I got the lyrics worked out, I added the harmony. I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about actually doing the work, as I'd already lived with the song for much longer than I'd intended. Since there was still the mixing and sweetening to go - which would likely take another day or two - I figured now wasn't the time to skimp on effort.
But - as usual - I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. It's not really a duet, but I just thought the difference in timbres worked better than having two female voices.
It was pretty clear that some of the instruments were going to need to be replaced. The bass wasn't really adding to the song, so I replaced it with three different BiaB basses - one for the verse, bridge, and chorus.
I liked the drums that came with the style on the chorus, but I didn't think it fit well with the verses. I couldn't find a BiaB style, so I tried editing the track. That didn't work at all.
I tried out a couple of my UJAM drumkits, mostly looking for something a bit more "contemporary" sounding. I ended up using the MIDI from the Deep drumkit, but swapped the drum out for the Addictive Drum Fairfax Vol 2. kit. I edited them a bit, reducing the hihats. My son finessed the chorus.
I was going to add some drum fills, but I'm not sure they're needed. I miss the cymbal crashes, though, and will probably add them in.
I didn't do a whole lot of editing on the vocals this time around. I did tweak the lyrics and placement of the notes so it would flow a bit better. I managed to get the word "baby" removed from the lyric by holding a different syllable, so that's a win. I also took out "dear", despite some misgivings.
The song feels a bit short, but I don't think adding an instrumental or bridge is really necessary. There's no introduction or ending to the song, but I think it fits the theme to have it end the way it does. Feel free to disagree.
As noted above, feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading this far.
Like a leaf that keeps holding on
You won't let me go
But you know
Our time has come and gone (Time is gone)
Last night the swallows filled the sky (Last night / Filled the sky)
I saw them flying by, so high (Flying by / So high)
Heading somewhere past here (Somewhere / Past here)
Cold winds are blowing
You knew I'd be going
Nothing left between us anymore (Nothing left / No more)
Nothing left for us to say
It's all been said now
Nothing left to say except goodbye
Nothing we can do to stop our hearts from breaking
It's time to fly
You know that I'll remember (I'll remember you)
Always remember
But now I've got to go out on my own (Go alone / All alone)
All alone
It's the end (End / It's the end)
I've loved these days we spent together (I've loved each day)
But nothing lasts forever (Forever)
Since love is gone
We can't hold on
Love is gone
Where it goes, I'll follow
Hoping in tomorrow
Hoping we'll find better days
Some way
(Chorus Repeats)
Instruments:
Bass, Electric, NashvilleRadioPopPushAB Ev 110
Bass, Electric FunkHalfNotePulseSync Ev16 100
Bass, Electric, ModernDiscoFunkAlex Ev 110
3646:Guitar, Nylon Fingerpicking IndieFolk16ths Ev16 100
3647:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking IndieFolk16ths ev16 100
Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FunkyFolk Ev16 110
913:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothPoppy dry Ev16 090
Addictive Drums: Fairfax Vol. 2
SynthsizerV: Solaria AI, Eleanor Forte AI
Effects Chain:
Master Buss: Ozone Imager 2, Greg Wells MixCentric, Lurssen Mastering Console
Melody Vocals: Greg Wells VoiceCentric, LX480 Essential
Harmony Vocals: Greg Wells VoiceCentric, LX480 Essential
Guitars: EZ Mix (Acoustic Guitar)
Drums: CLA Drums
Guitar: EZ Mix (Acoustic Guitar)
Piano: Finisher Retro (Suitcase Panner), Trackspacer
Bass: EZ Mix (Bass4), ReaEQ (low pass, low shelf)
Short Blah
The mix (and some of the lyrics) is still a work in progress, and there are some "La la la"s that I should probably replace with real lyrics at some point.
Note: I slightly extended the ending.
Comments of all sorts are encouraged!
Longer Blah Blah Blahbitty Blah
The song is based on the demo style _KNACKS. What got my attention in the demo was the use of the VII7b5 and the III7 - chords I don't use that often. As usual, I rewrote the existing chords and put more major7th chords in the chorus.
I exported the tracks as well as a backing track, which I imported SynthesizerV, where I worked out a melody. I decided to use the Solaria voice, since I hadn't worked with it much.
It didn't take too long to come up with a melody, but I went back a rewrote the chorus to be a bit more "snappy" and more "chorus-y" than my usual chorus.
For the next couple weeks, I struggled to come up with some lyrics, with no success. I tried hanging a bunch of different lyrics on the melody, but none seemed like a good fit.
I finally settled for (yet another) breaking up and walking away song.
It was still a long slog - as I complained to my kids, I'm not sure why it's so much work to string a bunch of cliches together.
Usually, by the time I get done with the first verse, I have a fairly good idea what the song's key idea is, and can write the chorus to that. But in this case, I got all the verses done, and there didn't still didn't seem to be a strong idea that summed up the attitude of the song.
Which is - ironically enough - how I ended up with the chorus.
Once I got the lyrics worked out, I added the harmony. I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about actually doing the work, as I'd already lived with the song for much longer than I'd intended. Since there was still the mixing and sweetening to go - which would likely take another day or two - I figured now wasn't the time to skimp on effort.
But - as usual - I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. It's not really a duet, but I just thought the difference in timbres worked better than having two female voices.
It was pretty clear that some of the instruments were going to need to be replaced. The bass wasn't really adding to the song, so I replaced it with three different BiaB basses - one for the verse, bridge, and chorus.
I liked the drums that came with the style on the chorus, but I didn't think it fit well with the verses. I couldn't find a BiaB style, so I tried editing the track. That didn't work at all.
I tried out a couple of my UJAM drumkits, mostly looking for something a bit more "contemporary" sounding. I ended up using the MIDI from the Deep drumkit, but swapped the drum out for the Addictive Drum Fairfax Vol 2. kit. I edited them a bit, reducing the hihats. My son finessed the chorus.
I was going to add some drum fills, but I'm not sure they're needed. I miss the cymbal crashes, though, and will probably add them in.
I didn't do a whole lot of editing on the vocals this time around. I did tweak the lyrics and placement of the notes so it would flow a bit better. I managed to get the word "baby" removed from the lyric by holding a different syllable, so that's a win. I also took out "dear", despite some misgivings.
The song feels a bit short, but I don't think adding an instrumental or bridge is really necessary. There's no introduction or ending to the song, but I think it fits the theme to have it end the way it does. Feel free to disagree.
As noted above, feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading this far.