heart_russell Songwriting is a curious process. As songwriters, we often fall in love with ideas, only to later feel betrayed by their obscurity, or perhaps by thinking they suddenly turned into something other than we originally intended, as if our absence from it makes the thought weaker, less accessible.

But absence does change things, including art. I think this speaks to relationships in general, and what I’m now learning is that songwriting is not just a reporting process, it is also a relationship between you and the song/idea. Sometimes when you walk away from a song and come back, it just feels different. Or perhaps we’re the ones who change while the words and melody remain static, but they no longer move us. Either way, art is centered on change, and because it involves feelings, it is supposed to evoke emotions. If it’s not, it probably lacks power. 

Yesterday I wrote a song called Wishing Well. Upon first approach, I was convinced it sounded like a Jayhawks tune. That’s what I heard in my head, the closest point of reference. And then I let it sit for a couple of hours, listened back to the recording, and was astonished how differently it sounded. It was almost as if the song was working on itself, constructing an identity all its own outside of its creator. It had become something else. Or at least seemingly. 

During this time away, I went to the dump, ate lunch, and watched a movie (The Visitor…outstanding). Is it possible this course of events had changed me enough to now see/hear my original idea in a different light? It doesn’t seem possible. Perhaps it just comes back to the simple premise of absence making the heart fonder. Maybe we can include change in that equation as well.

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