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Murph

By Murph
in Gibson Acoustic

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Jinder

Jinder

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Thanks Murph!

 

I wrote this after my grandmother and my then-wife’s grandmother both passed away on the same day, back in 2011. My grandmother and I were very close, she taught me to play piano and sing when I was really young, starting at around 5 years of age. She was a fantastic musician and really ignited my passion for music, which has been a lifelong obsession for me.

 

Sadly my ex wife only met her paternal grandmother a week before she passed away, due to the usual stupidity of family politics and ancient grudges and so forth, she could have visited her as an adult but was waiting for a moment which came way too late, much to her regret...that’s where the song came from. I don’t play it much live anymore, but Liam Bradley’s drumming on this version still makes me smile, such a great player!

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Jinder

Jinder

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Thanks Sal and Dan! Your kind words really mean a lot.

 

For topical purposes, the guitar on this is a 2010 L-00 Blues King, recorded with an AKG C1000S pencil condenser and a Rode NT1A large diaphragm condenser. That guitar was so easy to record! It’s on a lot of the album that this song is from.

 

Bass is a £17 eBay special, a Lindo as I recall. It was a factory reject due to a twist in the neck. I planed the neck straight, sorted it with meaty frets and flatwounds and turned it into a useable thing. The pickup was super low output and sounded really sweet and thunky through a valve pre and the Joe Meek front end compressor I was using at the time. Sadly after a few years the neck twist developed to the point of unuseability, so put it back on eBay as spares or repair, and sold it for £43 more than I paid for it!

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Jinder

Jinder

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Thanks so much, all! I really appreciate the kind words, you’ll make me bashful at this rate!!

 

EA, the best book i’ve ever read on the craft is “Songwriters On Songwriting”, a collection of interviews with a huge selection of the greats who all delve into their preferred methods. Really enlightening and often hilarious read.

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blindboygrunt

blindboygrunt

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Jinder bashful 😂😂

 

 

I’ve read a few articles / pages / biographies trying to discover the muse for writing songs to no avail

And not one top songwriter I know has said they couldn’t do it until they read a certain book

I think it’s in some or it isn’t ...

 

I’d say the hurdle needed to get across is your own self criticism . Am beginning to think that some just are confident in what they’re doing .

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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Thanks so much, all! I really appreciate the kind words, you’ll make me bashful at this rate!!

 

EA, the best book i’ve ever read on the craft is “Songwriters On Songwriting”, a collection of interviews with a huge selection of the greats who all delve into their preferred methods. Really enlightening and often hilarious read.

 

Thanks Jinder, Ill look into it. Are there any drinks that I could consume that also improves talent ?

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Jinder

Jinder

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Jinder bashful 😂😂

 

 

I’ve read a few articles / pages / biographies trying to discover the muse for writing songs to no avail

And not one top songwriter I know has said they couldn’t do it until they read a certain book

I think it’s in some or it isn’t ...

 

I’d say the hurdle needed to get across is your own self criticism . Am beginning to think that some just are confident in what they’re doing .

 

I agree that the answer isn’t in a book...but it’s really interesting to see how others do it. I’ve got no formula, I’ve written lyrics first, music first, arse first and all together. I love writing in the studio, in that cocooned environment where you can’t tell if it’s night or day...but plenty of songs I’ve written in between changing a nappy or cooking the kids’ dinners. Whenever and wherever it comes is fine by me!

 

The self confidence vs internal critic thing is a huge factor, I agree. Music and writing are the only things I’ve ever been half decent at...I realised early on in life that I would have to pull something out of the bag to offset my general ineptitude, and decided to try to make it music.

 

Because of my bordering-on-obsessive approach to music, I’ve always had belief that I was doing it as well as I possibly could (which hasn’t always mean that it’s any good!), which gave me a sense of confidence.

 

I’ve always loved songsmiths and aspired to write something musical from a really early age-I always viewed it as the ultimate concise storytelling medium, and I love to tell stories. The problem is, a story on its own is a hard sell, so wrapping it in melody and prosody and presenting it as a song is a bit like wrapping a dog’s worming tablet in a slice of ham. Much more enjoyable for all concerned!

 

Drink wise, I’m limited more and more as I nudge towards the pointy end of my approaching forties, as booze tends to exacerbate the black dog and can put me out of action for days on end at times. In my twenties I drank red wine, usually Rioja or Malbec, with a passion-both are a lyricist’s wine. Late twenties I moved on to Islay single malts, mainly Laphroiag or Caol Ila. Absolute nectar and I adore the stuff. Pusser’s Rum or Lambs Navy was a favourite too, but all of those have been sidelined, sadly.

 

One drink I can still consume in quantity and feel no ill effects, though, is Gin. Martin Miller Icelandic Gin is my favourite, or Bathtub Old Tom. With a wedge of lime and a dash of Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, that slips down a treat and usually results in some sort of musical activity. Not quite as romantic and Gauguinesque as a fine red, but needs must!

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Lars68

Lars68

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I find songwriting the ultimate artistic expression. A well performed song with good melody and lyrics is a movie and novel combined into one. I wrote my first song four years ago, at age forty six, and I wish I had started earlier. There is so much to learn. I know I will never be a good guitar player or a singer, but I still have hope to one one day find the stars aligning above me, and a really good song will come to me. At least I know I will keep trying. I am really looking forward to getting deeper into writing songs. I'd like to explore more styles, maybe find out if I perhaps can find a voice that is uniqely my own (not thinking of minor key drone songs, at slow bpm, with depressing lyrics, sung mostly out of tune [biggrin] ), and not just a mixed copy of various artists whose music I have obsessivley consumed over the years. This hobby is a true friend to find comfort along with, and keep at my side while continuing life's strangely entertaining journey.

 

Jinder, you and others on this forum show how it is done. I thank you for the lesson and try to absorb as much as I can.

 

Lars

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