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Soundcloud: What it takes
YouTube: What it takes
Soundcloud: Original Band-in-a-Box .MGU _BRITPOP.STY

I realise not everyone wants to read this - TLDR!

DEVELOPMENT
The importance of smiling. Just a small thing, but it can help people who are struggling - letting them know there are others who are for them and not against them. Back when I worked in a school, all staff were encouraged to smile and say 'hi' to all students because it might make all the difference to a student struggling with mental health, bullying, or domestic issues. So this is all about the power of humans making a difference - no matter how small. The video starts with crowds - smiles - pensive smiles ... reflecting the mood swings we each can experience. There is something very captivating about seeing people's faces up close. This song was a definite attempt lyrically to write a song that takes a positive outlook 'to make the whole world smile again'. Being a natural pessimist, I've had to work my whole adult life to cultivate a positive attitude and I can now say that it comes naturally to me.

I've lost track of when I wrote this song exactly, but I think in 2022 or 2023? The chord progression for verses and chorus came first, followed by lyrics, with the bridge chords and lyrics added later. Many times, I start with a blank BIAB chord sheet, plug in a major or minor chord depending on how I'm feeling, then go 'style shopping'. Often, the style might give me an idea. I'm pretty sure that is how this one started. Usually, I start with a chord progression, then melody, then see where that takes me. On the recording, I played all instruments except the drums, with some rudimentary keys in the choruses based on the _BRITPOP style (see Soundcloud link to original .MGU from BIAB). I wrote the verse chord progression specifically using the minor iv chord which I can be accused of over-using: the progression goes E - G#m - D - A - F#m - Am. I will often use borrowed chords in my songs.

Just recently, I decided the song was recorded too slow and needed a harmony in the chorus. Unfortunately, I lost access to the original mix in Cakewalk Sonar in what I refer to as my 'great Cakewalk core suite plug-in conspiracy' of February 2026. In this remix, I imported the mp3 into Reaper, sped up by 5 BPM and added a harmony line to the chorus.

RECORDING
Style is _MESSIN.STY (Messin Around Funky Blues). I initially dabbled with the idea of using _BRITPOP.STY, but as I had used that style twice before, I decided not to overplay a good thing. I have attached a link to the export from BIAB using that style.

RealTracks in style: 2260:Bass, Electric, FunkyGroove60s Ev 100
RealTracks in style: 1998:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm JazzFunkGroovin Ev16 110
RealTracks in style: 3245:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm FunkyBluesSol ev16 090
RealDrums in Song:FunkRock^01-a:Closed Hat , b:Open Hat

Me:
Main vocal - triple tracked but with 2 and 3 panned L and R with subdued volume
Harmony vocal on the chorus
Bass
Rhythm guitars x 2
Lead guitar arpeggio in the bridge
Acoustic piano in choruses using LABS 'Acoustic Grand' virtual instrument
Mixed originally in Cakewalk by Bandlab and tweaked in Reaper using the Cakewalk mp3.

LYRICS
It’s probably best that you don’t study these lyrics too closely – they’re not 'cohesive'. The main message of the song is best understood by viewing the YouTube video. I've attached a chordsheet.

VERSE 1
Will I have what it takes to make the whole world smile again?
Please won’t you join me, or support me?

VERSE 2
This place is prone to mistakes, but them’s the breaks – I’ll give it a try
It won’t destroy me, or send me under…

CHORUS 1
Grounded through my own noise, I come up for air and I’m lucid as hell
If only I could hear my own words, they’d give me the wind to fill my own sail

VERSE 3
The cut and the thrust – it’s all bluster and dust, and I’m looking it in the eye
To see who blinks first - it won’t be me

VERSE 4
The ghosts they follow me through forests and hallways, I don’t look sideways at them
They think they have the power, but they aren’t…

CHORUS 2
Grounded through my own earth, I have no illusions, I have no myths
Determined to drive this thing through, I’m steadfast in heart, determined in mind

BRIDGE
Will it take me anywhere? Am I lost? I don’t care.
Taking steps is more than half the fun
What will I find? I don’t know. Never will if I don’t go
I’ll write back and tell you when I’m done

VERSE 5
Will I have what it takes to make the whole world smile again?
Please won’t you join me - for another round?

This is a good song, Andrew. The lyrics were ingenuous, which I found appealing. I liked both the verse and chorus, and the musicianship was fine. Good work, you're quite the prolific one!

Andrew,

Great song and vocals. Excellent guitars and a nice crisp mix. Enjoyed the video as well.

You're making some good music these days!

Bob

The sound of your song reminds of the British band from the end of the 1960s, like the Move. Sweet song. I can't give feedback of the lyrics, because English is not my native tanguage.

Another cool one, Andrew. Nice vocals and playing throughout. Especially ike your guitar fills/riffs. You made the right dynamic choice to add harmonies to the chorus. That's a wild bridge and it works perfectly. Craftily crafted and a fun listen...pop perfetion!

I always read your description, mostly because I'm fascinated by musicians who have a coherent method. Something for me to emulate for sure.

Hi Rob! I am so used to hearing ‘disingenuous’, I had to look up the meaning of ‘ingenious’ - thank you! To quote Elliott Smith regarding how prolific I am, ‘Bottle up and explode’ is an apt label - like many here on the forum, I had a lot of pent up creativity which BIAB allowed me to release, realise, and grow. Of my forum posts since being a member, 50% are historic songs recorded or remixed, and the other 50% are newly written. This song was written in 2022/23 and is a remix.
Thanks for listening!

Hi Bob! Yes, I am pretty pleased with my rhythm guitar style and lead fills on this song - the bridge worked out far better than I had imagined. Thank you for your comment on my music - I’m enjoying myself!
Andrew

Hi Esa! I am a deep listener of The Move / ELO / Wizzard / Roy Wood, so maybe there is a little of that coming out in my style? Probably.
Thanks for listening!
Andrew

Hi Ron! Likewise, I read most introductions and most comments of many posts. It is very interesting to understand what writers are intending and what listeners are hearing. We have contrasted our approaches in the Songwriting forum, and I am impressed at your ability to take another’s lyrics and render them to music while being true to them, whereas my songs are generally music first then lyrics. I have learned a lot both explicitly and implicitly through threads on this forum.
Thanks for listening and your support! Love your work!
Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I'm surprised you see yourself as a natural pessimist! From my eyes, you always exude positivity to others, which I always put down to being a man of faith. You must disguise it well or lock it away when we get together……which leads me to thinking, what does he really feel about me!! (Kidding). Me, on the other hand, generally I can’t hide my negativity, what you see is the way I am. What’s that Beatle lyric “wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door, who is it for?” But it’s not difficult to be pessimistic at the moment…..

Enough chit-chat! Another good song that has a Neil Finn quality at the chorus and bridge. Nice lead arpeggio at the bridge. Oh to be so prolific!

Bloming acronyms, f e w nt t eek n lters I w b k os! I s a z! ….what does TLDR stand for?

Too Long Don’t Read

Naturally pessimistic, but I’ve trained myself to look for and speak positively. I’m now a positive person - I’m glad you’re seeing that in action.

Andrew

Andrew, super guitar work and vocal
The lyrics took it over the top for me; we need more smiles and laughter these days
Super mix
IMHO this is your best one to date

Hi Andrew,

The song and the vocals really give off a 60s vibe. Very well done!
I watched your YouTube video and actually started laughing right away at what you were doing; getting all those gloomy people to smile!
And you put a really fun text to it. How do you come to that?

Enjoyable song, that's for sure!
Hans

Andrew

I love guitar driven tunes like this one! You have a lot of clever little changes going on in the melody and chord structure! The chorus section really grabbed my attention. You also did an amazing job with the bass work! Lovely little Beatles/Stones sounding track!

Thanks, TB

Thank you Mario - yes, I think the theme is important. Personally, I'm not sure about lines like 'Grounded through my own noise, I come up for air and I’m lucid as hell'. I think that writing was stream-of-consciousness writing (if I recall correctly), but I liked the way it and other lines like it sounded, so I just went with the flow.

Thanks Hans - I like how the video reinforces the main point. There's something cool about looking at people's faces. Regarding the lyrics, there are a few key lines, like 'Will I have what it takes to make the whole world smile again?' while other lines are a bit oblique, as described in my reply to Mario above. I don't mind lyrics that skirt around the topic or are vague.

Thanks Torrey! Guitar driven songs are my default. I'll sometimes use keys, but that is usually just for effect. I'm not a keyboard player. Being a rhythm guitarist, I quite enjoy slightly syncopated strum styles and there's a bit of that in this guitar work. Regarding the bass, I am self-taught and can do enough to get by. I have a bit of imposter syndrome when it comes to bass because I really only have a handful of tricks/patterns that I reapply each time, and that's what I did here - but it worked so I'm happy.

Thank you all for listening and commenting!

Andrew

I didn't find the lyrics un- or in-cohesive at all, Andrew (*oddly neither uncohesive or incohesive are words!), plus it's great hearing positive vibes. I listened to the BRITPOP and I thought it had a way better rhythm section.

Thanks Chay! I love the _BRITPOP.STY style, having used it twice before on these songs ‘While my coffee goes cold’ and ‘In paradise when you smile’ , but I did mimic the style in the chorus of this song.
Thanks for listening!
Andrew

Hullo Andrew.
The original BIAB recording is the cleanest sound to my ears.
The trouble with mp3's is that they don't copy well and copies of copies lose more and more of the original sound and more mud gets added. Wav. files copy clean.

You have all the basics for a decent song so it's worth starting again from scratch if you have the stomach for it. I also lost files when I changed my computer and swapped from Sonar to Cubase and had to redo them.

Vic

Oh, man, sounds like your channeling my mom. She was always touting the importance of the smil. SHe had a rather large collecion of songs with "smiles." She would've enjoyed this one as much as i do. When you have a song as good as this, it doesn't much matter what style it's presented in,

Andrew,

"Will I have what it takes to make the whole world smile again?"

Without question.

Very catchy.
Enjoyed.

fj

Hi Vic! I don’t think I want to start from scratch – I’m not sure I could repeat my original creativity. But … doing some recent conversions from old CakewalkBB to Reaper on other songs, I reckon I can resurrect the wav files of the recorded tracks, so I’m going to give that a whirl.
Thanks for listening!
Thanks Marty! It’s amazing the wisdom that past generations held and passed on. While you and I haven’t ever met face-to-face or spoken, I reckon your mom’s influence is even reflected in the way you write and respond to others’ posts. Regarding what our parents think, and to borrow a quote from the M. Night Shyamalan movie ‘Signs’ (scene in car with Toni Collette), “Everyday”.
Andrew
Thanks Floyd! My aim is always to write songs that are catchy – I guess that’s the aim of all of us.
Thanks for listening!
Andrew

Hi Andrew, good vocal, and nice hearing you play some of the instruments.

Catchy song, and it made me smile, so I guess you do have what it takes

Well done and well sung. We're keeping a smile on our faces!
Laurent