Soundcloud - Running out of options
Youtube - Running out of options A mock video of me trying to write a song in my 'music cave'.

I set out to write a reggae-style song inspired by ‘Rude’ by Magic!. I wondered if BIAB had a style like this, and of course, it did. As a writer, I usually start with music, so the lyrics came later. Over the years, I’ve kept a book of song ideas—phrases or titles that might inspire. The phrase ‘running out of options’ was in my book. I often write chords and melody simultaneously in BIAB, then sing and play it on guitar humanise the song—as I did here. The lyrics follow the familiar theme of writing about songwriting and creative scarcity, and to be transparent, I was assisted by ideas from Copilot (AI) as described below.

Instead of backing vocals, I experimented with doubling the main vocal on certain chorus lines, which I think worked well. I used a general MIDI tuba to lead into each bar of the chorus. The percussion RealDrums tracks added nice effects I’ll call ‘industrial reggae’—not sure if that’s a thing, but that’s how it sounds to me. The ‘interlude’ section was a happy accident: in BIAB, I let a chord play out for several bars after the chorus, and it inspired a new progression. The spoken words over the interlude and outro were the final addition. I like the idea of using my natural speaking voice to reinforce the song’s concept and let listeners hear the real me—normally hidden behind the singing. There’s more of me and my music cave in the Youtube video.

****** SONG SUMMARY *************
Style is _RUDE.STY (Rude Electro Reggae)

RealTracks in style: 3571:Bass, Electric, Reggae16thsAB Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 4012:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ModPopDistortedSwellsHeld 65
RealTracks in style: 3607:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ReggaeSlow16thsChop Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 2703:Synth, Rhythm CloudRapHighOrgan Ev16 075
RealDrums in Song: ElecClickPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecCrashPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecHiHatPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecHiHatPinkRoomBusy
RealDrums in Song: ElecKickPinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecSnarePinkRoom
RealDrums in Song: ElecHiHatRolls
RealDrums in Song: ElecSnareRollBar2End
RealDrums in style:ReggaeQuarterKickWesPerc^1-a:Sidestick, Hihat , b:Snare, Hihat
GMI 59 Tuba
Recorded, arranged and mixed in Reaper.
I didn’t play any instruments!
*******************

LYRICS
I asked Copilot AI to provide me ideas for ‘running out of options’, and I have marked those ideas I used verbatim (*) or those I word-smithed (+) i.e. much of it. All music composition is by me.

INTRO

VERSE 1
I’m screaming in the silence, and I don’t hear a sound (+)
Every road I tried just led me here (+)
If there’s nothing left to try, (+) have I exhausted all ideas?
Maybe some storms weren’t meant to clear (*)

CHORUS
I was running out options. One breath, one strum, I’m still moving on (+)
Even ashes hold the memory of the flame (*)
It wasn’t the answer, but it led me to one (*)
Learning to give each note a name (+)

VERSE 2
A stranger, no memory, no chord or word becomes the life- line (+)
I stopped singing when the reverb mix was dry (+)
The outro was the start of the end (+) - it was going nowhere and so was I
My guitar became my most despised

CHORUS
I was running out options. Guitar tuned; I stood up; that’s enough to-day
I found a heartbeat in the quiet (+)
Still here, still trying, still me; (*) the dead end gave me time to turn around (+)
The sound of my voice was a welcome friend

INTERLUDE
I’ve got nothing
This isn’t working
That’s no good
Right. Where to next?

CHORUS
I was running out options. Nothing left to lose meant I found life (+)
I’ve been bent, not buried – made it through the night (+)
The lack made me softer not smaller, but I learned to dance in the fog (+)
A crack in the wall - see the morning light (+)

OUTRO

Regards,
Andrew D
Adelaide, Sth Aust
Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/SQE4btVvNVkLq74e9
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andrewoftheantipodes