Ian: Yes, the Christmas message IS all about loving one another.

Noel: I had to think about that for a minute to understand what you were saying. I agree. The hardest thing for most song writers is to write a second verse that is better, more dynamic, and lively than the first. Writing a good first verse is relatively easy.... it's that second one that kicks everybody's butt.

I'm not patting myself on the back (too much) but one thing I have found is that my best songs and best ideas are generally collaborations with other writers. There's a lot to be said for having another person with a different POV to bounce the ideas back and forth. The more experience both parties have in writing, the better the results will be. A simple case of the sum being greater then the individual parts.

We actually looked at that from the negative to positive viewpoint. I don't, I don't, I don't, to... I do..... Once the switch was made from negative to positive, a whole new world of possibility opened for writing and the second verse was mostly written with the positive viewpoint in mind.

In addition to writing with D. Martin... the song came from his idea but it really changed from the first draft which does not resemble the finished tune very much. I worked with several professional songwriters at the Nashville Songwriters Assoc to critique the song..... structure, ideas, etc. They offered no writing input just advice.... maybe you should look at this, explore that idea, or drop that verse and this verse, combine these 2 things into one, and get to the chorus faster here. That sort of thing. The advice they offered took this from it's original almost 5 minute song with 4 verses, chorus, and a bridge, down to what you just heard.

You often hear me speak here about the need to rewrite a song when I critique someone else's songs..... I don't tell people to do things that I don't do myself. The secret to writing a good song is to rewrite it. Most people will not do that. Most are stuck with the notion that the first draft is the absolute best and they, nor anyone else is gonna mess with their perfect baby. Truth is.... there are very few.... very few song writers who can set down to write and the first draft is flawless and becomes a hit or a timeless classic. Sure it happens, but for most writers, it's a process of editing, adding, deleting, rearranging, and hard work to refine a song to the point where it is better than average. Of course, the more one writes the easier it becomes to get nearer the target at the beginning. You can't write 3 songs a year and expect to advance very much... it has to be an ongoing process... something you do on a regular basis. I have notebooks and now computer files filled with ideas started but not finished.

Enough on that.

I'm glad you liked the song. And I appreciate the in depth analysis of the verses. I just bought a new book on crafting better lyrics and have started to browse it before I settle in to read and digest the content of the author.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.