All that you have is your soul (Tracy Chapman).

Sunday 5 June 2005

This Week's Song: Togetherness

I don't remember what inspired me to start composing music. I know that I had a lot of my mind (some things never change) but I still can't remember what go me going.

I had been playing the piano since I was six years old and I used to lose myself for hours, playing song after song, knowing full well that I should have been doing some studying instead. This was a better world for me to be in, as my school records were not, how shall we put it, too encouraging.

Anyway, it was January 1985 and I sat down at the piano. A song had been buzzing around in my head and I knew I hadn't heard it before. Could it be an original piece of music? (if there is such a thing). I started tinkling and after a while, I had the music in place. I then worked a little on the lyrics and "Togetherness" was born.

It was no great shakes back then and it isn't exactly "Bohemian Rhapsody" now, but I felt that I had something. I was seventeen years old and my first composition couldn't be anything but a love song (despite the fact that I had never been in love, but that didn't seem too important at the time).

"The world was made for us together....
Night by night,
I see you in my dre-ee-eams
But you know now that we're toge-e-ther
That smile on your face always beams"

I can't remember the lyrics for the second verse, but the chorus went like this:

You and me
Me and you
They and us
You and them....

We'll be alright!

Side by side,
We will conquer,
The whole together
All through the night!

You and me,
Me and you,
You and me,
Me and you...

We'll be-ee alright
As long as the sun will keep
We'll be shining bright!"


And so on.

Ok, it wasn't exactly going to set the musical world alight, but it didn't make too embarrassing an entry to my canon (I'm still quite partial to it today). I recorded it on the piano and left it at that.

For my birthday that year, I was given a synthesiser and I immediately set to playing and recording the songs, using the integrated drum machine. In those days, I wasn't particularly keen on my singing voice (not that I'm so hot on it now, but I'm less self conscious...ah age!), so my first songs were all recorded on the synth and this is the version you have here.

I thought it would be nice to change the pace a little, as the first few songs I've uploaded have been pretty serious and heavy. So here, you have my first song, unashamedly pop and pretty simple....enjoy!