Sometimes I will write a song with a different well known song as its starting point. I don’t mean copying it or ripping it off in any way but more so taking inspiration from it. Those of you who know my song “Marching On” may not be entirely surprised to learn it was prompted by the old classic “Will The Circle Be Unbroken”. Equally a more recent number, “The Answer” was inspired by strumming chords of “Hotel California”.
At the time I came up with “Rock Me In Your Arms” I wanted to write a romantic song (but as it was mine, a bit of a barb in it too). This lead me to think of something with a country tinge to it and the model song that came to mind was “Hello Mary Lou Goodbye Heart”.
So how does the process work? Simple enough! I strum through the chords a few times, looking for the chance to change a chord here, add a minor there, and really not think of the original melody or lyrics. After a bit a phrase will emerge that fits the tempo, the key and the chord progression. For this song it was the first bit of the chorus: Rock me in your arms, wrap me in your soul. I then sang that over and over and the second half of the chorus emerged quite quickly. The verses came a bit later and the middle 8 came right at the end. That is the “life just paints me in a corner” bit.
I think the song ended up describing the difficulty of living with depression, although I didn’t start with that in mind. The fear of seeming weak and a failure. The embarrassment of asking for help. The issue of having “good” days and “bad” days.
Was I depressed when I wrote this? Probably not. Have I ever suffered from depression? Almost certainly although never diagnosed as such. Anyway here’s the song:
ROCK ME IN YOUR ARMS by Tony Burt – All rights reserved.
Rock me in your arms, wrap me in your soul
Take these broken pieces, make the pieces whole
Tomorrow’s always fine, it’s today that takes its toll
Rock me in your arms and make me whole
I’ve never been a loser, I’ve always earned my pay
I’ve known success and failure and doubts along the way
Sometimes I feel so empty, no hope left to extoll
Rock me in your arms and make me whole
Chorus:
My confidence is real, but some days it isn’t there
I can’t look out the window, can’t even leave the chair
I need a loving push, to get me back in role
Rock me in your arms and make me whole
Chorus:
Middle 8:
Life just paints me in a corner, and sucks the breath out of the room
I need some help to turn it over, let positivity resume
I feel a bloody fool, for leaning on you now
My thirst for independence just makes it wrong somehow
I need to grab the chances to loosen self-control
Rock me in your arms and make me whole
Chorus:
© Tony Burt 2013. All Rights Reserved.