Rooftops

This should be a very quick post - but I did want to put up a new one, since I haven't in a while -  because (a) I'm about to catch a flight, and (b) I want to breeze through this song and the next one I will post.  And apparently, brevity will quickly have the song become a distant memory.  (And if you could see how quickly my fingers are flying across this keyboard, you would have no need to doubt my dedication to being quick about this.)  I don't really like this one so much, but I did (somewhat) at the time I was writing it, so there it is.

I think I kind of like the concept, far more than I do the execution of it.  You know what I mean?

This song was inspired (however tangentially) by my second favourite film of all time.  And when I first came up with the idea, I had originally intended to stay a bit more closely to the concept of the film, especially one of the earlier scenes.  Somewhere in the various guises this song has taken since that time, it has taken on a new meaning, a new significance that is more personal than it is voyeuristic. 

In the end, it turned out to be a more difficult song to write, actually.  I had the hardest time figuring out where I wanted to go with it, what I wanted to say, after coming up with the idea.  I had the last two lines of each verse (the same lines) written in mid-January, but something about that just made it impossible to continue - maybe it's because "below" is a surprisingly difficult word with which to rhyme things, or maybe because I was hesitant to write about a romance because I felt like I couldn't come up with new ways to talk about love.  It was all "moon and June," so to speak, and fanciful, and I didn't want it to come across that way.  I wanted a serious, yet ephemeral, kind of tone to the lyrics.  That's why it took me so long to get some words down - and when I did, I'd cross them all out again, because it was infantile.  And if there was one thing I didn't want, it was for "Rooftops" to be infantile.

And so I strayed away from what I had originally wanted, and became disheartened with the whole song endeavour, putting it away in favour of other lyrics (forthcoming, I promise you).   And the further I got from it, the less feeling I had about the song, and about the circumstance that inspired it.  I was only brought back to brainstorming with a furious purpose for this song when I concentrated on listening to the soundtrack of the aforementioned film.  And specifically, one song called "This Time."  And suddenly, I knew the words I wanted, and they came.

I'm still not emotionally invested, or crazy, about the song.  There's a detachment there for me, but maybe you don't feel it.  I'd like that.

And I like the idea of throwing one's problems over the side of a building and just having an evening of being careless and carefree and weightless.  It's falling in love for the night, and for the memory.  There's a balance, I think, between ethereality and concreteness that floats through the song, enough to make it substantial without making it too consequential.  There's also some sort of collusion of the natural world with the human world, in the song, to make the subjects seem so important, and yet so small at the same time.  I don't know, I'm probably analysing it too much.

At any rate, it does repeat the word "here" enough.

Rooftops

the way the wind blows through here makes it sound like a symphony

won't you come to me, won't you come to me?

high above the ordinary streets, the sky is so close

and we can be weightless the whole night through

there's a guitar man playing in the park below

but I'd rather be, I'd rather be on this rooftop with you

CHORUS:

let's take all our worries and drop them over the side

we'll watch them fall, and then we can leave them behind

away from the people, near enough to the stars

let's stay on this rooftop, up here in the dark

you look so good here, above the shining lights of the city

won't you sing to me, won't you sing to me?

if tonight is all you and I have, let's make this time glow

take me for a ride on the wings of a tune

there's a guitar man playing in the park below

but I'd rather be, I'd rather be on this rooftop with you

CHORUS:

let's take all our worries and drop them over the side

we'll watch them fall, and then we can leave them behind

away from the people, near enough to the stars

let's stay on this rooftop, up here in the dark

BRIDGE:

everything is simpler, here

love is love and your eyes are clear

I wish we could stay forever, away from reality

won't you think of me, won't you think of me?

this is the night we'll remember when the world's beneath snow

the night only we had the greatest view

there's a guitar man playing in the park below

but I'd rather be, I'd rather be on this rooftop with you

CHORUS:

let's take all our worries and drop them over the side

we'll watch them fall, and then we can leave them behind

away from the people, near enough to the stars

let's stay on this rooftop, up here in the dark

CHORUS 2:

let's take all our troubles and throw them over the side

we'll watch them fall, and then we can leave them behind

far from the people, halfway to the stars

let's stay on this rooftop, and give in to our hearts... (end)

Ugh.  My poor computer.

I know the rhyme scheme of the verses (AABCBC) is a bit of a strange one, but I think it works.  Let me know what you think!

And Yalina, I love that you're commenting (please don't delete what you write!)!  Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, and I'm glad that you're finding something worthwhile as you visit my little blog.  I agree about "Nobody Does it Better" - that was always my favourite Bond song, before I heard "All Time High," I have to admit.  And "Skyfall" has suddenly become an instant classic, too.  Again, thank you for taking the time to reply to my (somewhat rambling, at times) posts.

Off to fly across the country.  I may post another one ("How It Feels") later tonight, depending on what time my jet lag subsides.  If not, then definitely at some point during the weekend.

Much love, and thank you for the musik,

Just Another Ordinary Girl

I've been sitting, watching life pass from the sidelines.