Something to Die For .................written in 2009 by Herb Hartley & Patricia Bishop

for the veterans who gave some or all for our freedoms. I salute you.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=7870761

Thanks

Herb,

Great job - very good song and story. Thanks for posting.

Bob

Perfect for today

Hi Herb,

good story and good song.
You played the steel, didn't you?

Guenter

Thanks.....

I'd have to look back at the project file to see what I'm playing exactly, but I'm 100% sure it wasn't the steel.... most likely only the acoustic guitar and vocals.

I know the steel, bass, drums, and dobro are real band tracks.

Well, Herb !

I can connect with all
your sentiments and values
although I am a city boy !
Very nice song, professionally
produced !:))

Cheers
Dani

Herb,

A good write. A lot of nice chunks of imagery. A very positive message.
Up until the point that you killed him off. That's unfortunate. It was being so positive - and could have continued being. Just an opinion, of course.

floyd

Salute!

Herb, Perfect song for today and a great way to give thanks to all those in uniform that serve our country. Thanks to them and to you. Tom

Hi, Herb.

Well written and produced - the craft in how the story built comes through.

But... For me, the death seemed disconnected from the dreams that were "to die for", which was a bit jarring. Despite the final chorus, it felt like a senseless death in the desert, not someone fighting for dreams.

Maybe that's the nature of the beast - it's a tough write, and you're done a nice job of it.

Herb,

Such a bittersweet song. Sudden death is unfortunately the sad reality of too many of our brave young men/women fighting for those dreams.

Nice song in honor of our vets. Good production too.

Great production and vocal Herb

A little behind the scenes on the writing of this.

Yeah... we really did go round and round debating that whole "kill him off" in the end thing.... It wasn't an easy decision to make.

You may have heard me talk about bridges in songs in other discussions here..... stating that they need to add some new perspective or viewpoint to the song....or they are essentially useless.

This song is a perfect example of what a bridge in a song is for....what it's supposed to do. Up to the point where the bridge starts, the song has you thinking one way...with the major chords in the music and the imagery in the lyrics of the good old days...life is good.... everything has happy endings....

Then comes the minor chords and the plot twist in the bridge.... it now puts the entire song in a slightly different perspective. Until the last line, you're not exactly sure he died, although you suspect it. And then the last line does confirm it. It switched the song from light to a bit darker with just a few words.

While we did debate that in the writing.... we went back and forth at least 8 times on this lyric, we decided to show that war is hell and people die for the things they believe in.... so the title/hook went from the cultural expression which is used lightly.... that dress is.... "to die for" to the beliefs and people we love are "something to die for"....

Much of the lyric ideas did come from my past.... Pat contributed some of the better lines in the song as well.... The one that stands out is "memories made forever, of one more day together" .. yeah that was Pat's line.

Anyway... thanks to all who listened to this song....

Nice reminder that Nov 11 is not just a holiday. If not for these sacrifices we wouldn't be on this great forum today.

I don't get to log in and listen as often as I'd like but I'm glad I looked back at page two and found this one!

Much enjoyed...

Herb,
Thanks for writing and posting such a wonderful song and tribute to our vets. As are several folks on the forum, I'm served my time in uniform. It warms my heart to hear people express their patriotism.
I wrote a song on Veteran's Day this year but don't have it done yet. I post it as soon as I'm able.
Anyway, Thanks for sharing such a well written and performed song.
Sincerely,
SD

Thanks....