midnightinchicago
When Elyse decided to create the “Countdown to Midnight” CD, I got that arrogant head on my shoulders again, this time believing myself to be Neil Diamond’s twin brother. With an ego already inflated by the success of my “Late Night in the Borough” song, which is simply a re-shuffling of Elyse’s “Midnight In Chicago” song, I thought I’d try my hand at another song.
This song was to be entitled “Somewhere in Detroit” and unlike “Late Night in the Borough” where Elyse’s songwriter’s hand came down heavily, and “How Do I Begin to Believe” where I helped her write a couple lines, “Somewhere In Detroit” was to be all mine.
Of course Elyse had no idea that this song was going to appear on her album. This was to be a surprise, and because it was going to be such a great song, I thought she would be more than willing to jettison one of her awesome hits off the album to make way for the hit that I was writing.
The inspiration for this song came from the video for Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” where this auto mechanic guy dreams of starting a relationship with a rich customer after he drops her car off at her house.
I thought to myself that I wanted to make my own song about a different guy driving around, mostly directionless, contemplating his life and wondering what he can do to improve it.
Why? Because this is something that guys do.
Springsteen’s guy was “on fire” for a woman, as far as I could see. I wanted to make a guy that fizzling out on life, even though he had all his needs met. There are plenty of songs like Springsteen’s, but this new song would be entirely new and entirely unique.
I thought and thought and thought about what I wanted to write, and poured every drop of sweat I had into the song, crossing out words and entire stanzas and re-writing them numerous times, imagining the music I wanted for it, trying to write sentences that Elyse would be able to sing. And I pictured the money rolling in.
Boy did I.
This whole process took about eight and half minutes.
Well, ok, maybe half an hour, truth be told.
At any rate, with nary a second glance, I proudly e-mailed what I considered to be the finished version to Elyse.
“This guy is absolutely pathetic” she said, after a cursory examination of the lyrics. “Although the song does have potential.” This was in a chat-room conversation to me. (Or maybe it was in an e-mail. I can’t quite recall.) I got some ice cream while she gave the lyrics a re-read. Obviously she would come to her senses after a second reading.
She came to her senses alright…by making me come to mine. ”Somewhere In Detroit” as I originally wrote it, was both pathetic, but salvageable, which is why I want to surprise Elyse on this blog by telling her how thankful I am that the finished song is successful mostly because of her revisions.
Thanks, Dear.
Meanwhile, click HERE to listen to “Somewhere in Detroit” and tell me what YOU think of it.
Co-Creator
