My Best Friend - first song of 2024

And other musical notes

Just before the start of the year I committed to writing at least 1 song per month. On January 30th, I finished a song titled, “My Best Friend”. Unsurprisingly, I wrote for Deb, who, it turns out, is my best friend.

I suppose the title is a bit of a cliché but I’m good with it. The song, the chords, the tone, all simple.

Deb often says to me, “There’s always time for love.”

I was reflecting on how often I fail to heed the simple wisdom of that sentiment.

Even this weekend, where I played a few songs at a fundraiser/awareness-raising event for Partners in Health, to early the next morning going onsite to a client to handle some issues and then to a family Superbowl party, I found myself anxious about my time.

About Partners in Health
PIH is an organization, founded by the late Paul Farmer, that builds medical infrastructure (from the buildings to the medicine to hiring training LOCAL RESIDENTS in medical care) in impoverished areas around the world! Listening to members of the organization talk about their years in Haiti and Sierra Leone I was both inspired and made brutal aware of how fortunate I am and how I know (and do) far too little about (and for) the injustices in the world around me.

On both days, my spinning brain spun into frustration and annoyance that I was NOT spending time recording and mixing my music.

Back to the song: On the morning of January 30th, I was thinking about how often Deb deals with my frenetic impatience. I had been playing around with a simple chord arrangement, so the music was basically written the night before.

I stopped my mental whirl and spin, shut off my computer, and sat with my pen and the songwriting journal that my youngest bought me for several years ago.

I feel as though I captured a moment of calm well enough to convey what I fail to recognize or acknowledge much of the time.

I don’t know when I will get around doing a “true” recording of it, so this morning I plugged the Gibson directly into my recording interface, recorded two guitar tracks, and then sang the vocals twice through and selected what I felt were the most serviceable sections of those two takes.

I hope you enjoy!

I have a couple videos and other news below the lyrics.

Recording

Lyrics

My Best Friend
© 2024 - Matthew Moran
 
VERSE
A little bit slower, we got some time
A little bit sweeter, put your hand in mine
Let’s just talk about things. Almost anything.

Life, we know it, it can toss and spin
Just take a look back, baby, where we been
Seems like it’s been a lot but we’re still here
(chorus)

CHORUS
Sometimes I close my eyes and think about the, “might-have-beens”
If every dream had come to pass, you know, I wouldn’t be where I am
With my best friend

VERSE
It’s morning coffee, it’s start the day
It’s ordinary, it’s just the same
But ain’t that love. Ain’t that everything

All the moments come to pass
Fast and fleeting, baby, they don’t last
Let’s hold today. It’s what we have.
(chorus)

BRIDGE
Mysterious and improbable
The winding paths through time that find us where we are

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Promotion & Playing Out

February 24, 2024 - 5:30pm
Barclays Coffee in Northridge, CA
Facebook Event Page

Here are a couple video shorts (under 1 minute a piece) I posted on YouTube.

1 minute promo for Barclays

Me, recording some electric guitar for The Coward and The Fool

Me, pretending to perform, Marie ;-) (playing to my production)

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I have two new songs in the works. One is in Open A tuning and I’m really liking the sound of it. The other is has a more rock and roll feel to it and I’m excited to see where it goes.

When I know, you’ll know.

Thanks again for joining me on this journey.

With love and gratitude,
Matthew Moran
February 12, 2024