And...it's February! Didn't see that coming, did you?
And with February comes all that fun stuff, like Groundhog's Day and the Super Bowl and (every four years) the Olympics. All in all, February is a wonderful month, except for that measly little day called Valentine's Day. I do love it when it's on the weekend, however, because I can do good things for my parents.
Moving on.
There are a few albums that have changed my world. It is the most amazing experience when, for the first time, you press play and everything changes. I hope you've felt it, because it's spectacular. The first album to do this, that I can remember, was in 2006. Within that year, it was the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way that introduced me to the power that a song can have. Their songs, on that album, are basically individual pieces of literature, like chapters in a novel that when pieced together are worthy of anything and everything. That album inspired me to write songs. 2007 introduced me to what was more a compilation, Totally Country, Vol. 6, which is an anthology of the most popular songs of 2005, with Sugarland and Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley and George Strait, Faith Hill and Montgomery Gentry, Lonestar and Blake Shelton, Phil Vassar and Martina McBride, Gary Allan and Kenny Chesney, Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson, the Wreckers and Keith Anderson and Billy Currington. That record introduced me to country music, set the course for me to become a country music freak, because from there, I got all of the Brad Paisley albums, and expanded my collection with artists from that album, which led to me to watch the CMAs that year. And voila, enter the third album to change my life, Taylor Swift by (who else?) Taylor Swift. She sang "Our Song" during the show, and I was hooked. More than anything, "Tied Together With a Smile" defined my life and it was after I had memorised every one of her songs that my own songwriting began to get better. Thankfully, because the first couple of songs were nothing to write home about and are better off left forgotten and lost.
The reason I'm spouting off all of this boring history is because in the last post I mentioned Lady A's Need You Now. I am proud to list this in the same category as the aforementioned albums, because it is unbelievable. My favourite song is the title song, but I do also love "Our Kind of Love" (the intro is just phenomenal) and "Something 'Bout a Woman." Just because I've singled these out specifically doesn't mean that I don't like the others, because they're all sing-along songs that will blow your mind.
Other songs I've gotten into lately are "Giddy on Up," by Laura Bell Bundy, "Beer on the Table," by Josh Thompson, and "My Life Again," by the McClymonts.
And because I've mentioned the Olympics, I should call attention to the fact that both Rascal Flatts and Gloriana are featured on the Team USA soundtrack, and that "Unstoppable" and "The World is Ours Tonight," respectively, are available on iTunes. "The World is Ours Tonight" is one of my new very favourite songs; the harmonies and the syncopation of the chorus are just unbelievable.
You have a treat in store for you today, I've been working on this song for quite some time. The concept hit me, I guess, almost three years ago. It was the Devils-Senators playoff series in 2007 (before the influence of Taylor Swift, mind you!), so the unfinished song I came up with then was all about how "I'm watching you through a screen" and that "it makes me sad / all your dreams are dying." Blah blah blah, I know. Thanks. Come to think of it, I probably still have that sheet of paper that I used to start writing that song. Time to burn it, I suppose.
Anyway, to continue. Then I shelved it, thankfully. Then came last year's playoffs, which were also unfavourable to the Devils, and the hockey World Championships, which featured a loss to Russia for my favourite Devil, who played on Team Canada. And I realised that, no matter how long I hold my breath and no matter how much each fibre of my being is straining for another person to achieve his/her dreams, sometimes it just doesn't happen. Sometimes the odds are too great or that person is too exhausted or the opponent too good or too [fill in the blank]. The spectator can do nothing but watch and cross her fingers. And that, ladies and gentleman, is what the song is about.
How fitting it is for the Olympics, too. I was really rooting for Yevgeni Plushenko, but it just didn't work out for him.
I Want It For You
you've got stars in your eyes and your feet in the air
and I'd do anything to help keep you there
you open your eyes and you can see your dreams
but getting there is not as easy as it seems
so lean on me as much as you have to
'cause everything you want, I want it for you
CHORUS:
I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath
but only you determines what will happen next
and I'll be there when you look in your rearview
'cause all that you want, I want it for you
when you reach the top you gotta take care
the obstacles in your way will be bitterly unfair
they'll try to prevent you from winning the race
but I just want to see the smile on your face
so let me know if there's anything I can do
'cause everything you want, I want it for you
CHORUS:
I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath
but only you determines what will happen next
and I'll be there when you look in your rearview
'cause all that you want, I want it for you
BRIDGE:
now all my dreams I had before don't matter to me anymore
'cause what I know you want so badly means the same to me
so keep working hard, as hard as you have been
so that you can show off that excited grin
you know that you deserve to be there
with stars in your eyes and feet in the air
so lean on me as much as you have to
'cause everything you want, I want it for you
CHORUS:
I'll be crossing my fingers and holding my breath
'cause only you determines what will happen next
but I'll be there when you look in your rearview
'cause all that you want, I want it for you
I'm crossing my fingers and holding my breath
'cause all that you want, I want it for you
So there you have it. Hot off the presses. I also like it, because I think everybody wants to know that there's someone behind them, rooting for them, and there's someone they can lean on when the weight of the world gets a little to much to handle.
What do you think? Does it have the potential to one day be on the Team USA soundtrack (as if)?
Much love, and thank you for the musik!
NBK (BMIL)
