"Another Year"

[davidhanners]

I'm supposed to be the "guest artist" at next Sunday's church service (House of Mercy in downtown St. Paul) and since it is New Year's Eve, I thought I'd write an upbeat, positive song about the new year. Then I remembered, "Hey, I don't do upbeat and positive." So here's the tune I wound up writing, and I'll do it next Sunday. It's not perfect, but I like it. I may get rid of the bridge. Haven't made up my mind yet, though.

ANOTHER YEAR
© 2006 by David Hanners

Another year’s gone by, just like you said it will
Now the future’s staring at me like Abe Lincoln on a five-dollar bill
You say "time, it heals all wounds," but time ain’t brought you back
My friends say “look forward,” but there’s comfort in looking back

chorus:
And I’m not what I used to be
For better or worse
I have trouble counting the blessings
On account of the curse

Another year’s gone by; I’m glad to see it go
Every day I stumbled across one more thing that I did not know
Used to be so smart, back when there was a “we”
But I guess I wasn’t smart enough to keep you in love with me

And I’m not what I used to be
For better or worse
I have trouble counting the blessings
On account of the curse

bridge:
Here’s hoping we find one another somewhere down the road
Maybe this year will have been worth it; like you said, “You just never know”

Another year’s gone by and somehow I’m still here
Miles still roll by and I still answer to my fears
Yeah, another year’s gone by, new resolutions to make
Resolutions, promises; ain’t found one I can’t break

And I’m not what I used to be
For better or worse
I have trouble counting the blessings
On account of the curse
Yeah, I have trouble counting the blessings
Because of this curse

[Cornflake]

That's a strong song, David. It's in no danger of being considered upbeat and positive.

Maybe you need the bridge musically but I don't see that it adds to the song lyrically. Any possibility of doing an instrumental bridge?

[Marshall]

Ouch !

(I like the bridge. It shows the guy is still holding out "hope" they'll get back together. That's probably why he's glad to see the year gone. He's waiting for the reunion he knows deep down probably won't ever happen.)

[davidhanners]

Thanks for the input, gents. I go back and forth on the bridge. The hope held out in the bridge is fairly self-delusional (i.e., I sent her a Christmas gift and she sent it back, unopened) and the wording of the bridge may offer hope where in fact there is none. I'd like to stick a little hope in a song filled with despair, but sometimes the silver lining is hard to find because it is simply not there.

Perhaps I can re-gift the gift. Or have a bridge that goes:

Bought you a gift for Christmas; just seemed like the thing to do
Got it back in the mail today, at least it wasn't "postage due"

[davidhanners]

Decided to keep a bridge, but substitute out the old one with a version of the one featured in the previous post. Now it goes:

Got you a gift for Christmas, seemed like the thing to do
You sent it back unopened, at least there was no postage due

I also ditched the last half of the first verse (You say "time heals....") and replaced it with:

They say "time heals all wounds" and maybe that is true
But they don't know what they're talking about; their hearts weren't broken by you

[Marshall]

They say "time heals all wounds." Most times that is true
But they don't know what they're talking about; their hearts weren't broke by you

Just a suggestion. The first change I think sets up the second line better. The broke change is just a syllabic thing that flows better in my head as I read it. But if you hustle through their hearts, then the 2 syllable broken would fit fine.

Is this a country tune ?



( or even:
But they don't know what they're talking about; when it comes to me and you.)

(( Oooh. I like my last suggestion. It leaves the door open to whose responsible for the debacle.))

[davidhanners]

Oh, I think we can close the door on the question of who is responsible for the debacle, Marshall. It was me. At least that's what I've been told....

I like the suggestion about "most times that's true" because I was troubled by the disagreement in that line and the next. Originally, the line agreed that "maybe that's true" but then the next line said "They don't know what they're talking about." Well, maybe it's true or it isn't. But if they don't know what they're talking about, then it ain't maybe true. Or something like that. It still needs work.

I also wound up changing the first couple of lines of the last verse. Now it goes:

Another year's gone by, for some reason I'm still here
Still end my day without you, still wake up with all of my fears

I rehearsed the song last night with Angie, the woman I'm performing it with Sunday at the House of Mercy. She has some great harmony on the chorus. When you're a lousy singer like me, you know when to bring in a ringer....

[davidhanners]

I've done yet another big re-write of the song. This may be the "final" version before the song is debuted tomorrow night. Here's how it stands now:

ANOTHER YEAR
© 2006 by David Hanners

Another year’s gone by, just like you said it will
Now the future’s staring at me like Abe Lincoln on a five-dollar bill
They say "Time heals all wounds," but I don't know that's true
They don't know what they're talking about, their hearts weren't broken by you

chorus:
And I’m not what I used to be
For better or worse
I have trouble counting the blessings
On account of the curse

Another year’s gone by; I’m glad to see it go
Every day I find one more thing I need your forgiveness for
But you say you can't do it, it's just not in your heart
If redemption is a long road, when are we going to start?

And I’m not what I used to be
For better or worse
I have trouble counting the blessings
On account of the curse

bridge:
Got you a gift for Christmas, seemed like the thing to do
You sent it back unopened; at least there was no postage due

Another year’s gone by, for some reason I'm still here
Still go to bed without you, still wake up with all of my fears
Yeah, another year’s gone by, new resolutions to make
Resolutions are like my heart, guess they were meant to break

And I’m not what I used to be
For better or worse
I have trouble counting the blessings
On account of the curse
Yeah, I have trouble counting the blessings
Because of this curse

[Deleted]

Nice work David. I hope we get to hear a recording sometime soon.

[Marshall]

Well done, as always, David. I hope "getting it out" helps you deal with the real situation.


( I like to think of a song as a separate thing unto itself. The best songs have a reality behind them. But they also transcend their reality to connect to a bigger reality that is universal to all human endeaver. . . , or something like that.)

PS - Mark twain said, "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story." (. . . , or something like that.)

[davidhanners]

For better or worse, everything in the song is true. '06 was a lousy year, even worse than '05, and '05 was worse than the year before it. Things are not trending upwards, as they say. (Speaking of "they" saying things, the final two lines of the first verse now read: Time heals all wounds, at least they say that's true/But they don't know what they're talking about, their hearts weren't broken by you.)

And looking at the start of '07, I really don't think it's going to reverse the trend. As I told a former colleague the other day, I'm giving 2007 a couple of months. If things haven't shaped up by then or the silver lining hasn't been revealed, I'm jumpin' the fence.

[Marshall]

"Smile when you say that !"


You be good, now.