Think of that song that you absolutely adore; the one that changed your life or the way you think. The song that you dedicated to your husband or wife; the one you danced to at your wedding. We all have a song that makes us laugh or cry every time we hear it. It draws us into another time and place and reminds us of that first love or that crazy summer.
Yeah, that song.
Now think about this: someone wrote that song. Its inspiration might have come from a bad relationship – or a good one. It might have evolved from a snatch or lyric that popped into the author's head while taking a shower (or a dump). This writer had no idea what effect his song would have on the world or if it would have any effect at all. He was just writing a song.
To me, that’s the magic of music. And it is a kind of magic. You snatch that bit of lyric or melody right out of the ether. It strikes you like lightning or it whispers in your ear. It demands that you forge it like a blacksmith, molding and shaping that bit of nothing into a song. Most of the time, your song, will not be heard by anyone other than a few good friends or family. l. Sometimes it changes the world. It’s like having a baby, its future written in the wind, buffeted by a million unpredictable factors over which you have no control. You write the song; not its journey.
So, it seems that I am a wizard, albeit one whose s spells have unknown outcomes. My songs come from nowhere, or from some deep part of my brain. Both are equally unknowable. I shape them and form them into concrete shapes, then send them out into the world, hoping they strike chords with their listeners (at least one.)
I’m humbled by this great honor. I feel small beneath this wonderful, terrible thing. My only hope is that one of these snatches of lyric makes its way into just the right ear at just the right time and touches someone’s heart. Then I will have done some great magic.