I’m now back from Devon, and three days of songwriting with MC.

I am feeling tired, but satisfied, and inspired. I arrived around lunchtime on Monday, and left around lunchtime on Wednesday. For the whole time I was there we wrote… into the evening, only stopping for dinner, and a wind down before bed time, then starting again the next day. A totally immersive experience, as the guitar and laptop were with us for breakfast and lunch as we talked and ate… just in case, you know how it is. 

We encountered obstacles and pushed through. Some songs are worth it. At one point we cheered as we had found the right word for the right line after a couple of hours of trying. There are times to park songs and return later after a cup of tea or a walk or a fortnight in the Algarve, but sometimes pushing through is the thing to do. I don’t really know how to differentiate between the two, but it’s a feeling. We knew we were close.

The whole experience felt like hard work, and it was hard work. Relentless brain engagement and focus are exhausting.

We came away with ten songs on the books, and in the phone. No fancy recording going on here… yet… Five are “finished” which means we have the words, the chords and melody, and a good idea how we want it to sound. These will be revisited at a later date to make studio recordings. Of the other five, a couple have been “parked” as mentioned above, until our next get together. The remainders need extra lyrics, or tweaked lyrics. So I have homework to do!

At the moment then, my head is full of words and music. There’s nothing urgent going on in the studio in terms of visual art, so it has given me space to look at them. Also, this afternoon’s activity has been cancelled, and I’d done a load of housework in preparation for it, so what that does is give me an opportunity to spread things out and concentrate on some words.

I’m not sure how long it will take us to get these songs out into the world, but we will, and then I will let you know so you can listen and let me know what you think.

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In addition to the actual writing is the incidental chatting. Some daft and  hilarious but some actually quite serious. Conversations about life, family, faith, grief… We agree on many things, and discuss the things we don’t with kindness, generosity and curiosity. I think it is this that makes the songwriting work. These exchanges of thoughts and ideas foster an atmosphere of interested respect. That feeling crosses over into the work. You can get an awful lot done with that in the room.

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A couple of days later and the songs have had a chance to percolate through and settle. I find myself humming a chorus around the house, and the elusive line that sets the tone for an additional verse comes to me while I am washing up. Up to my elbows in suds and saucepans, I sing it continuously until I can get to my notebook to jot it down. It reminded me of the time I sang a line – just one line – all the way from junction 10 of the M6 to junction 3 of the M5, in peak traffic, just so I didn’t forget it!