Songwriting: The Coward and The Fool - how it was written and keeping track of creative ideas
From a video note to completed song
From rough idea to finished tune
Saturday I recorded an acoustic video performance of a new song, The Coward and The Fool. I have that performance embedded below. I like the song a lot… beyond the normal, “my latest song is my favorite” perspective common to most songwriters, the song has received amazing and positive feedback from the people I’ve sent early renditions to.
In the video I include a short cell phone video snippet that Deb took on April 10th, 2021. I often take short videos of song ideas so I can recall them at a later date. While I include that video in my longer explanation, I also uploaded it as a separate video and have embedded it below as well.
I explain that I’m sort of a dick as Deb was not shooting video of what I wanted - my hands on the fretboard - but instead was working to frame me in the shot.
When I create these short recordings, they are more a note - like a scribble in a notepad - that I use later to remind me of the idea.
But I didn’t explain that properly to Deb. She handled my somewhat snarky sarcasm with her normal calm. And then she makes a cameo at the end - which causes us both to start laughing. I think it’s kind of cute… right?
In any case, the videos are posted for your review below. The short snippet, my full explanation, and then the performance of, The Coward and The Fool.
Enjoy
A cell phone “note”: April 10, 2022
How the song was written
I look a little ”shiny” in the video. I had just applied sunscreen.