[DOWNLOAD LINK TO SONG IS NEAR BOTTOM OF POST]

Today I had some free time on my hands, and there was no-one around, so I sat down and made my third attempt at making something out of "New Song 1", which came before (by about 5 minutes) Fishing For Crabs With Lumberjacks. In the end I got there, but I went through about three different versions, each getting more and more complex, before ending up with something I'm not 100% happy with, but hey, I'm just glad I did something with it.

Initially the song simply started as a four-chord "oldies" progression with the odd break here and there (which by this final version, I only have one of, near the middle) on acoustic guitar and vocals. I felt like it needed something more however and so I reached for my tuning pipe which sounds like a harmonica but is a lot easier to play (even though it isn't an instrument, I have used it as such before). However, because it's limited to five different pitches, I couldn't quite get a harmony or melody line going quite right. So I thought "what the hell" and grabbed the harmonica which I've been meaning to learn properly for a while now but still haven't got around to it. Luckily, both the harmonica and my song happened to be in the same key (C), so I simply improvised some stuff for ten minutes and then took the best parts in mixing. So yeah, this is my first song with live harmonica, and I couldn't now imagine the song without it.

There's also some piano, bass and drums in there, which makes "Moth" quite a bit more complex than Lumberjacks, and that's not even taking into account the various harmonies and counter-melodies used here. As I say, I don't think it came out quite as perfect as I'd hoped, but there's something grand about the thing that I really like, even if it does sound a little underwhelming vocally.

Again, I'd say without a doubt, the vocals here are the weakest link, and sure, I could have put more work into them, but it's not like I'm recording something professional here--these are just demos and rough layouts for songs that I might pick up in the future should I ever get a chance to record something properly. THEN, I'd really stress over the details and make sure things were perfect, but for now, this will certainly do.

Lyrically, the song is about a guy, who falls in love with a celebrity, film-star or just someone really popular. I tried to make it pretty open-ended in terms of interpretation, but the general idea is that this person is made to feel like a moth, dwarfed by both the person and the feelings that overwhelm them when around that person. Of course, the love will forever be unrequited because of the circumstances of the two people, but the moth doesn't care and repeatedly flies into the light knowing of the consequences from past experience or what have you. It's a little hard to fully explain, which is why I wrote a song for it, but as I say, I tried to make it open to interpretation, because even I didn't fully realise what I had written 'till long after I had recorded the vocal track.

Okay, enough babble for now. This will probably be the last song for a while seeing as I have no batteries for my recorder, am totally skint and have other projects that need finishing, but never say never.

Song #188, CAT: F26D42
MOTH (5:29)
9 TRACKS: Piano, 2 Acoustic Guitars (E Standard), Harmonica (C), 2 Vocals, Acoustic Bass (E Standard), Percussion, Keyboard
C MAJOR / 60BPM / 4/4 TIME

DOWNLOAD HERE: http://www.invocus.net/susurruskarma/demos00/188moth.mp3
Right Click to save, left click to stream online.

LYRICS:
} I've seen your face like a million others do,
} I've seen you wandering the way that you do.
} But you don't see me, I guess that's how it is;
} The simple tragedy of the moth that was burnt to a crisp.
} And there's nothing new to what I have say,
} A thousand times I've been here and the sights are all the same.
} Blind in love, blind in light left alone to die.
} Lost in a train of thought.
} Broken down tracks that I put together just to find a quicker way to get straight to your heart.
} So I've learned to count all the pennies that I could save.
} Oh, my pockets are inside out but I'm gunna buy your ticket anyway.
} But you don't see me, I guess that's how it is;
} The simple tragedy of the moth that was burnt to a crisp.