Thanks Egon Spengler and Mahalo for your kind and heartwarming words.
When it comes to our songwriting process I send Rab a recording (just my voice, no instruments) of a song. The reason I just send him my vocals is I do not play any instruments, besides the clarinet. I am unfortunately illiterate when it comes to chords and things and I would not be able to figure anything out.
Rab is both a great musician and a great person so it is an honor working with him. I am very thankful for his effort and dedication.
I always write the melody of a song before coming up with the words. Best way of conjuring up a melody is by walking or riding a bike, guess the brain is more active then. I use my cellphone to record melodies as I make them up. My goal is to come up with beautiful and melancholy melodies that reflect the feelings I have inside.
A lot of time is spent on the lyrics, because I want them to be perfect (whatever that is
). Every line has to sound good (to me) before I stop working on the song. Laurel Leaves was meant to be the closing song of an album Rab and I worked on last year that never materialized. Another song from that project is An Older Hymn which we posted here some time ago.
These verses are taken from An Older Hymn:
Our sons and daughters had
Bodies that were clad
In newly knitted cloaks
Of shining golden smoke
Then the wilderness moved in
I recall it still
The murmur of the crowd
Turned into an older hymnLaurel Leaves and An Older Hymn are connected. The girl in Laurel Leaves died in An Older Hymn, the wilderness that moved in killed her and in Laurel Leaves the boy wants to reunite with the girl. He knows he has to leave this world in order to be with her and he remembers her words "Ride tonight", taking the ultimate step will make him "shine" too.
Hope you get the picture and that you don't find it all too weird. More songs telling different parts of this very story have been written, so listening to the whole story would make it more comprehensible.
Once again, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this song. It means a lot.