A half-hearted attempt to write a half-decent song from a half-baked idea.
Took a while to figure out what to name it.


HALF

half the time we laughed together
the other half we cried
half the time i loved her
the other half i tried
halfway through this marriage
something went astray
it took a half-ton pickup
to haul her half away

i stare at half a bottle
half drunk, i'm halfway there
i've half a mind to tell you
i only half-way care
but half this heart is broken
so the other half is too
half the time it seems i'm telling
half-lies, the rest half-truths

it's driving me half crazy
i'm off by half a beat
if i was half the man i thought i was
i'd sweep her off her feet
given half a dozen reasons
on my behalf...her heart might dance
i'd tell her i still love her
if given half a chance


The BAND...
RealTracks in song: 1036:Bass, Electric, NorthernRockBallad Ev 065
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2231:Piano, Rhythm 80sPopBallad Ev 085
RealTracks in song: ~1676:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~364:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 065
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2058:Strings, Rhythm CelticAir Ev 085

Hope you enjoy it.
Comments encouraged.
Half at it.

floyd

Accolades? They would fall short. This is great stuff. I had to listen on the old Sennheisers, and this is absolutely gorgeous. Aural nirvana.

You hopeless old romantic, you.

Thanks.


Regards,

Bob

I had halfway convinced myself to give my analysis of this song that in my opinion is one of the more successful commercial sounding productions of your recent forum submissions. But then I figured that more than half of the forum members would likely disagree with my thoughts on the subject. Couple that with the fact I am in total agreement with Bob's (90Db) remarks, (at least if Aural nirvana's meaning is a good thing. I did not take time to look up the meaning.)

It is a gorgeous song and pretty accurately describes my first marriage that was cut in half by divorce and remarriage and and at the end of it, when carbon dated, the half life of 17 years matches with the split between the good years and the not so good years. The one child we produced was half the family we planned.

This is an easy song for me to relate to emotionally. If I had given my analysis, you'd see that I'm on the fence, half on/ half off to whether the lyrics would be considered too cliched --- You have a 50-50 chance there but I'm too emotionally attached to the message to give a balanced assessment - This one is an absolute winner with me.

Charlie

floyd,

Wow! This song overflows with emotional sincerity. It seems to me that 'tears in the beer glass' songs are one of your writing strengths. Each one you've posted on the forum has been a real pleasure to listen to. This is no exception.

The lyrics of "Half" are very, very powerful and resonate with believability. When these words are coupled with your outstanding melody, accompaniment, arrangement and vocals, an incredible listen unfolds. My fingers are stumbling over what to type! It's not a situation that they usually find themselves in.

Perhaps I should drive you through my thoughts as I listened...

Firstly, that second chord of the intro really sets the tone for what is to follow. It's such an excellent choice of sonic mood-lighting. Secondly, the two-bar intro made me open my eyes and pay attention because I was anticipating a third bar of strings. Then, when you started singing with the strings backing, Neil Diamond flashed into my mind. The key, the strings, the lyrics, the backing, the vocal delivery, the phrasing all struck me as reminiscent of Diamond. For this reason, when "Half" was done, I went to Youtube and listened to Neil singing "Love On The Rocks", "Hello Again" and "You Don't Bring Flowers" just to confirm that I wasn't hearing things.

All the above being said, what impressed me most about "Half" is that it seems like you've used just about every possible permutation of how the prefix/suffix/word can be used but it never sounds humorous, trite nor overdone. Just wow! How did you do that??? I counted 23 occurrences of 'half'. That's unbelievable. In addition to this, all those perfect rhymes flow so very smoothly and so conversationally. Prosody shines at all times. Upside down and inside out, this is magnificent lyric writing.

Quite honestly, I'm in awe of what you've presented here. This is not an ordinary song by any stretch of the imagination. Everything about it cries out 'professional', 'commercial appeal', 'international hit'. Seriously!

I'm heading back for another listen.

All the best,
Noel

• a recent song: Just A Little After Midnight

Hi Floyd,

I'm speechless.
Back to another listen.

Guenter

Hello Floyd,

This is a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics and a cool chord progression, especially at the end.
I would have left out the strings in the beginning (for dynamics's sake), and have them entered at the beginning of the second verse or so.

Rob

Hi Floyd.

What can I say, except exceptional. Beautifully crafted in all respects*.

This is definitely film music. I can see the closing credits rolling as I listen to it.

* Well maybe one thing... I would have faded the bass with the strings on that last chord instead of leaving it to run on. Maybe you did that for a reason which I've missed?

ROG.

WOW, WOW, WOW!!! This is absolutely beautiful. There is a cleverness but it enhances instead of obscures the message. Vocal/arrangement/production are tight, clear, and wonderfully emotional. All I can say is .............WOW,WOW,WOW!!! Take care. Greg

Bob...that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me... I appreciate that! (I appreciate all the jabs, too). Aural nirvana! HA! I think you scared Charlie with that....

Hi Floyd. When I first read the lyrics I thought oh yeah half half half not very exciting but when i listened to the song it is beautiful. You bring it very much to life and I think the backing is superb. Another good one. Cheers.

WOW, WOW and WOW!

I wish that I had half of your talent and that's no lie!

This is one outstanding song. You vocal was top notch as always but the lyrics really got to me!

Super song

I love this one. Lyrics are rock solid and professional.
The arrangement is superb.

Beautiful...

Wonderful vocal. With the melody, phrasing and arrangement, this song became a quite beautiful and engaging whole despite all those halves.

Fantastic song, really nice, well done. I wanted it lift at one point, like a different feel of a bridge or something, but that was only me playing along in my head thinking where I would go next.
It's solid, everyone is right. I don't like strings much in things but they give this depth like the movie theme comment indicated.
I also thought of Ronnie Dunn, not comparing or saying that you're doing his "style" I love the guys music and voice, he could power ballad the hell out of this. I hope you know that these are all compliments, please consider me as a writing partner on a project sometime, I would be honored. btw, what's your impression of the new Jason Isbell record, personally I wanted more full band 24 Frames type songs so it's taking awhile to sink in, Speed Trap Town caught my ear.

Kenny

Charlie - I thoroughly enjoyed your review! Thank you...

Has to be one of the best - if not 'the' best - of your vocal performances.

As for the song, it's one of those that makes me smile and shake my head in admiration.

Clever and poignant.

'...on my behalf....' Cha-ching!

Standing ovation:)

floyd, I read the lyrics first. I usually don't do that, but like Richard , I said to myself this can't work. Well you've proven me wrong again ( and I hate that ). This is a spectacular tour de force of how songwriting and performance combine to make the sum greater than the parts. It has a New York feel and I am sure many Brill Building writers would have loved to have a piece of it. The mix, your vocal chops and arrangement skills are on fine display here. Another fine creation to add to your long list of artistic creations. Tom

Outstanding work, floyd!


Most enjoyable.

Encore!

Thanks for the music,
Dan

Noel - I had a feeling that you might enjoy "the write" on this one. Using a word over in subsequent lines can be a great writing device - I do it often... I wanted to see how far I could take it... Thank you for another delightful review! Now I have to go have a listen to some Neil Diamond (I was actually going for an "older" feel than that - Johnny Mathis doing "I've Grown Accustom To Her Face"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7izY6dUmTo )

Hi floyd,

I've just had a listen to Johnny Mathis singing "Accustomed To Her Face". It's excellent!

This might sound strange but even though I'm a huge Mathis fan, I've never once bothered to hear him sing this song. If I knew how to kick myself effectively, I would because I'm definitely the loser with that decision! After listening to the Mathis version, I've actually discovered that I like the song!

I'd better explain...

When I was somewhere around 20 years old, I had a non-singing role in a local amateur production of "My Fair Lady" and the person who was Higgins discovered new (and I think he thought "exciting") ways to interpret this song. The memory of that interpretation has stayed with me for a few decades and coloured my appreciation of the music and the lyrics. The consequence is that whenever I stumbled across it on Youtube, etc., I never bothered clicking on it.

Thank you for enlightening me! I can definitely hear the Mathis/Faith influence in "Half".

Also, after I read Tom's comment above about the Brill Building, it occurred to me that Diamond came to popularity via the Brill Building. That could partly explain why I hear the Diamond influence.



This is the first time that I have read or heard this songwriting tip. After reading it, it was like a hallway full of doors opened into new and unexplored rooms. I can't believe that, after all your lyrics that I've worked my way through, I didn't pick this up. Thank you for today's lesson. I appreciate this little device and have added it to my lyric-writing toolbox.

Regards,
Noel

P.S. I've just listened again. It's probably about the dozenth time. The more I listen, the more I'm convinced that one of this song's arrangement strengths is the lack of drums. Without them, my brain finds it a challenge to isolate the exact tempo: I hear some sections in a slow 4/4 and other sections at twice the speed. For example, when I first heard the song, I heard a 2-bar intro but now I hear a 4-bar intro sometimes and a 2-bar intro sometimes. I suspect that this tempo-variation effect is a great mood enhancer.

• latest song: He's An African Rhino

hi Floyd holy smokes this a great peace wow this one of your best thanks eric

This song is very good. You have a great mix and It proves you don't have to have a drum or percussion backing to make it work. Lyrics will cause someone to re-evaluate what they have now.

Dude, holy #$&*, Time for studio in Nashville, you really hit home short and to the point, radio ready, Miranda is available.......lol. Very, very, very commercial ready, keep up the fantastic writing............Thanks for sharing such an amazing song.

Steve

Guenter, if I can leave you speechless, that is an accomplishment! Thanks for the listen...



Thanks, Rob. I've done enough of those to grow a bit bored doing that again... I wanted something different for this - namely, having strings pads throughout as the main part of the mix (like the link I put in my response to Noel). The bass and a second acoustic come in on the second verse - I felt that was enough for a new dynamic - also with the piano joining in the third verse. Thanks again for the listen and comments...

Thanks, ROG. I did not notice the bass end until you pointed it out - and yes, it needs to fade with the strings.... the MIDI Supertrack Strings don't fade at the end - they cut off abruptly - so whenever I use them, I have to build the ending fade - which is a bit tedious - and by the time I got that right, I neglected to notice that bass note - no doubt, my ears had "tuned it out"... thanks for the heads-up...

Hey Floyd. At least it shows I listened all the way through!

ROG.

Didn't read the other posts.

Nice work. The thing you are consistent with is the quality of your engineering, and I especially like the vocals you produce. Easily in the top 3 on this forum. Nice and clean, sweet EQ..... plain and simple.... good freaking work every time.

Whoa! I read all the lyrics (which were incredible!) first. Then I listened to the song before reading comments. I was thrown like you wouldn't believe! I fell into the rhythm of the lyric and thought it was actually more upbeat!...along the lines of the pawnshop song. WAS I EVER WRONG!...I shall change my signature from "I may be wrong" to "I was SO wrong!"

That being said, solid writing all the way around. I feel pressure for you though. I just always expect "great!"

There something about it that reminds me of the song "If"? Crazy? Anyway...

I do have one small critique if you would like to hear it. I wasn't sure if you were posting as a showing, or looking for comments?

If you would like that to be private, feel free to PM me.

As far as naming it...it will come to you. Give it time. (Sarcasm of course) I love it when you can name a song so simply, and powerfully!

Thank you for the share. It was amazing to witness your work again!

Floyd,
That was really quite awesome.



By the way, great choice to do the tempo nice and slow like you did. I could not imagine it fast, much less half-fast. (couldn't resist the pun as your "half" theme inspired me). Great write and arrangement.

Just adding another excellent.

It's a bit of a cliche around to say "I can hardly add to what's been said" but I'm gonna use it. Tom's mention of the NY feel and ROG's mention of hearing the song as film credits roll really nail it in our opinion. Rarely do strings really work for us but they are a huge part of this production. Couldn't imagine it w/o them. Watching the growth and breadth of your production chops over the last couple of years has been immensely enjoyable and, yes, humbling.

Most stellar mr jane.

J&B

Thanks, Greg. A very nice review in a short space...



Thanks for the listen, Richard...

This is an amazing song, so well performed and produced; just amazing; thanks for sharing!

I more than halfway wish I'd written this. Beautiful.
Rick

Hi Floyd ...

My first post of any kind in about 9 months. And what a way to come back!

It's rare a song with neither a chorus nor a bridge can keep the listener engaged until the end. But this one did. It might be half this and half that ... but it's all great!

Wonderful development of a full lyric around one word ... takes lots of skill to so that effectively. And the musical score was a perfect fit, as was your voice. Greta in every way! Best to you ...

Alan

Thank you, Mario... very nice of you to say...



Appreciate that, Curt...




Thanks, Josie...

Hi Floyd,

what a nice and romantic ballad ! I've really enjoyed the song, but what I really find special is your singing, the voice is warm and goes direct to the heart, and you sing in such a way that you let the song 'breath', I mean, your singing is neither too fast nor too busy, instead it is calm, gently and very enjoyable, really a caress for the soul :-)

If I may add my two cents, I find that there's still place for a solo, a guitar solo or a piano one, after the second verse, so to add more 'spice' to the song.

Best regards,
Sergio

Thanks, Kenny... if you run into Ronnie, don't forget to mention this is waiting for him! HA! The new Isbell album is good - not as good as the last one, but better than most everything else - been listening to it more than anything else... the new Alan Jackson is good. The new Kacey Musgraves is excellent. If you get the chance to see Jason in concert, don't miss it - they put on a great show. We'll talk...




Thanks, Scott.... nice to see someone mention that "behalf"...

Hi Floyd,

Top drawer pro song. One of the best I have listen to on my short time on this site.

Looking forward to more.

Nothing left to say, everyone all ready said it.

Cheers,

Billy

Thanks, Tom...appreciate all those nice things... I do think when you come across a lyric that reads "simple" but turns into a something different when added to music that it can be a surprise - and generally an interesting one...



Thanks, Dan...

Noel - I am pleased that I could "re-introduce" you to Face... it is one of my all-time favorites...

Thanks, Eric - appreciate you stopping in...



Torrey - thanks for that. Appreciate it...



Nice of you to say, Steve...





...and it is always appreciated...



Thanks, Herb.

Caaron - Thanks... "If" - that was such a cool song - haven't heard it in a long time... I actually began this as an up-tempo thing - that might explain why your read put that in your head. Typically a lyric that can work as both slow and fast has an advantage...

I am always open to any critiques - it is good for everyone when someone questions any aspect of the songs or productions that are posted - someone might learn something - so, fire away..any time... if I find it valid, I will likely change things... if I find it lacking for some reason, I will tell you why - can you handle a critique of your critique




Thanks, Patrick. Appreciate it. (isn't about time we hear another from you?)




Thanks for that, Peter...

Thanks, y'all! Always appreciate your comments...



Thanks for listening, Robert...



Thanks for stopping by, Rick...



Alan - just a pleasure to see you back around... hope you an Di are doing well...

I haven't heard me a Floyd Jane tune in a mighty long time (too long!). I have been off doing 50/90 now and haven't done too much BIAB lately.

Excellent writing, you have a way with words, that is for sure. Good music and performance. Great job in just pounding home the use of the title word -- super, duper!

Thanks for the listen, Sergio. This one felt like it should not have a solo...



I certainly appreciate that, Billy...



Thanks, Kevin. Good to see you around..

Floyd,

I've been out of pocket for most of the past 8 months or so. Every time I get the chance to pop back in here, one of the first things I do is look for a song from you. I'm always impressed with your work. And I think this has to be one of your best!

I really like pretty much everything about it. I could hear any number of artists doing this song. But for some reason, I wish I could hear Glen Campbell on this one. But just to be honest with you, this sounds like a Floyd Jane song to me.

Steve

Thanks, Steve... very nice of you to say... always great to see you...

Wonderful write! The lyrics are very well crafted and the production first rate!