I’ve always thought that songs were interesting metaphors for my beliefs about the phases human beings go through in the process of existence. I’m sure the same kinds of things come up in math and science. God leaves His fingerprints everywhere. But I don’t know a lot about those things. I know about songs.
I believe I have always existed in some form. The matter that makes up my spirit and body has always been out there. It just continues to go through advancing degrees of organization. I believe a song is the same way. Every song consists of musical notes that have always existed.
Even after my body dies, even if it crumbles to dust, I will continue to exist, and I believe that one day I will regain a body in the next life that will never die.
When a song is written, labor takes place. Those spirit melodies come to someone’s mind. That person wrestles with them and organizes them. Eventually a song is created. It is sung or played out loud. It becomes something people can hear, sing, and remember. Sometimes it is written down or recorded. But even if that paper or computer hard drive burns to ashes, that song will never un-exist. It will live on forever. Even after all of us die. You can’t take a favorite necklace with you after you die. You can’t keep your house or your car. But I believe that when you die, you will remember the songs that you cherished. You will be able to sing them forever. You don’t have to have them encased in gold and included in your Egyptian tomb.
All of that may be a bit intense for this blog. But it’s something I’ve always thought about. Songs have always seemed to me to be a lot like people.
I was thinking one day about songs that most people will never know. What must it be like for a song, when few people will ever sing along? Does it affect how good or bad it is? Or are there absolutely stunning songs being written every day that no one will ever hear? If a song were a person, how would it feel?
I realized that at times I know exactly how it would feel.
If a song is written in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? And if so, does it even matter?
I’ve been sharing some of my “homeless songs” on this blog. Songs with no concrete future home on any album or project. One day I realized that I might sometimes feel a little bit like one of those homeless songs, as I keep trying to figure out my purpose in this life. Especially on the toughest days when I’m tempted to doubt myself and the meaning of it all.
I’m going to share with you a song I wrote, called “I Am A Homeless Song.”
Let’s chop down this tree in the deep dark depths of the songwriting forest. Whether it matters or not. And by the way, I think it does matter.
Listen here: I Am A Homeless Song
Disclaimer: This is a demo, and is therefore a little rough. We’re all friends here.