I Wrote a Song in My First Song Writing Class

 I Wrote a Complete Song in My First Songwriting Class

I never knew I had it in me, until I wrote a poem years ago about the Fire at Alexandra Palace. It had a chorus, and was very repetative, and people at my poetry group said it had the makings of a good song, and I ought to get it set to music. Of course I never did, and it languished as an unrecognized lyric.



However, a few days ago a friend asked me if I would like to go to a free songwriting class at our local library, and, ever-curious, I went.


First we were asked to do some physical loosening up exercises as a prelude to singing a song.  I was a bit disconcerted, as I consider myself as being useless at singing - one of the reasons I never bothered to continue guitar lessons was because it didn't seem much good if I couldn't sing along to my own strumming.
Anyway, I did the arms above head and down to the ground, wriggle around, blow through your lips like a sperm whale and so forth.


Then we were given an explanation writing a simple song using AAA format. This is, basically, three similar verses or stanzas, no chorus, no complications.


We were shown a song by Bette Midler, "The Rose", which was in this AAA form. Then we sang it, reading the words from the song sheet.  A bit tricky for me really, as I didn't know the tune. However it was pretty easy to pick up, and, although I merely droned without proper singing, I didn't disgrace myself more than averagely.


Then we talked a bit about travelling and were asked to write something ourselves, in class, something personal, maybe about a journey, using some rhymes.


The man next to me (whose name shall not be revealed here) is already a seasoned musician and song writer, but he said he couldn't possibly write something there and then, and preferred to write something at night.  That left five of us, including our teacher, ready to get writing. 


I had something down on paper quick as a flash. I'm used to doing this in poetry group (which I no longer attend) and at home - you get something down in writing, anything, and then you can always go back and polish it up - indeed revision is an essential part of writing poetry.


The man who wasn't writing was chattering away, and said something about throwing a line. This got incorporated into my poem. I was only marginally bothered by this diversion, but my friend, who is also in the poetry group, was well put off, and asked him to desist, as she couldn't concentrate.


I wrote quickly, and finished quarter of an hour before everyone else. Surprisingly, I was the only person to write a complete poem, the others having varying success. Inspiration just came without much head-scratching.  One man could only think of  two lines, another wrote a lot of very existential philosophical stuff, which was clearly going to be the best one of all once he found the words to finish it off, and my friend and the teacher wrote competently but needed to take their pieces home and do work on them.


So that was a good experience.  I managed to find suitable rhymes, and although one or two of the rhymes were rubbish and had to be revised at home, I was reasonably happy with the result. This is what I wrote:

                Travelling to Dover

      As I travelled on the train one rainy morning

      Tired and wet, I couldn’t stop my yawning

      Looked up and saw what surely was a warning

      Hooded eyes that set my heart a-warming

      I turned away and stared into the mist

      But all the while I held a secret wish

      That I’d put out a line and catch this fish

      And he’d be mine forever on a dish

      He moved to sit by me and I moved over

      I sensed that one day soon he’d be my lover

      And give me hell because he was a rover.

           I caught him as the train pulled in to Dover

© Diana Grant                       16^th November 2011

Snow - by Orhan Pamuk

This book is about a poet, Ka, who is also an investigative journalist. He is stranded in a snowbound small town for an eventful few days to learn about the mysterious suicides of young women who have been obliged under the laws of Secular Turkey to remove their veils. The book is poetic, dreamy, atmospheric, exciting, political, and very informative about the ideological cross-currents in modern Turkey.

I was captivated right from the start by the sheer poetry and competence of the writing, which shone through the sensitive translation by Maureen Feely.

There is a love story interwoven with a tale of political unrest, and an exploration of the contrasting attitudes of secular society in Turkey and Muslim fundamentalists, culminating in violent action.

The viewpoints of the characters are revealed sympathetically and non-judgmentally, giving an insight into the problems of the warring factions in modern Turkey, which, under the auspices of Ataturk, became a secular state in the 1920's.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1ibpk

London, My London

London is full of surprising nooks and crannies - I love it

Quirky and interesting places in London if you want to go sightseeing, wonderful architecture. Photos of places to see in London - some you will recognize, and others you may be encouraged to visit after you have seen what I have to show you. There is also a Poll, a Quiz About London and a poem, "Subway", written by me.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a151fp

London, My London

This is where I have lived for fifty years, and I know the obvious sights to see, and also some things slightly off the beaten track. This is my webpage about London as I see it, with lots of photos, a quiz, a poll, a poem a couple of videos about a less well-known museum, and some artwork by Claire Benoit, whom I have just mentioned in my last Amplify post.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a151fp

Bulgaria -Black Sea Coast

Bulgaria - spectacular scenery, lush vegetation, sea, mountains and wildlife
If you want to holiday somewhere different, Bulgaria is a very pleasant surprise, sitting on the Black Sea, with a long sandy coastline, stunning beaches and picturesque bays.despite a lot of construction work with a recent influx of foreigners buying up property, the country remains largely untouched and unvisited by overseas tourists.

This is what it's like

.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a14qj4

Local Sights of North London: Muswell Hill, Wood Green,Hornsey and Highgate

Here are some Photo's of local architecture and scenery in North London

This is the view of Canary Wharf seen

from the Top of Hillfield Park Road

standing in Muswell Hill Broadway, N10

Eclipse over Rhodes Avenue,

                                                       Wood Green, N22

                                                             London Mennonite Library,
                                                                        Highgate N6
   Sewage Pumping Station,
                                                         Hornsey, N8

Did you ever wonder what was behind the locked wooden gate in Rhodes Avenue N22 with a sign on it saying "Danger", belonging to the Electricity Board?

To me it was one of life's unsolved mysteries for decades, and then a year ago it was unlocked for the first time in years, for maintenance purposes, and I nipped along and took a photo.  It made me so happy!

  Snow in Durnsford Road Park, looking
 out towards Durnsford Road, N22

    

Snow on the totem pole at Rhodes

Avenue Primary School, Wood Green N22

Helicopter circling to take off from - would you believe it - Muswell Hill Golf Course N22

(you can see the Club House in the background).  Very odd, and quite exceptional

 Bust of Oliver Tambo ANC Leader

who lived in Muswell Hill

You'll find it outside Alexandra Park School and

Rhodes Avenue Primary School

in Durnsford Road Park, Wood Green, London N22




Here's a Song, Muswell Hill Billy, by The Kinks, who used to live just up the road from me