Heres a very new song called Pushing 40… Its about getting older but feeling none the wiser I guess…
I wrote this one in 2 halves… the chorus came into my head fully formed and then I fought with it for weeks to find the right verses for that massive chorus … Then when i stopped trying to force it i just sat down and the rest just spilled out in one go
I had to record this very rough version purely because im 40 in a few weeks and ill have to change the chorus if its not out first!
Let me know your thoughts!
Lyrics: Well I guess its time
That I start acting my age
And I guess it’s fine
But my mind doesn’t match the number that’s written on the page
Of this birth certificate that I got when I was younger than I’ve ever been
I’ve heard it said that age is just a number
And your only as old as you feel
You know I’m pushing fourty
And all these years they haunt me
Because I thought given time
Everything would turn out fine
But im just a fucked up four decade old kid
In my mind
I know that time
Catches up to us all in the end
And I know that I’m
In the middle years of my life but I still try to pretend
It doesn’t scare me half to death when I know my days are numbered and I’m older than I’ve ever been
I’ve heard it said youth is wasted on the youngsters
And im afraid that I have to agree
In my mind, I know its time
That I let go of my youth and leave these chidish things behind me
Great song Ben but don’t get too hung up on turning 40 mate. I hadn’t even started playing guitar when I was your age. I am the wrong side of 50 and every day life just throws up something new to discover and to learn. Keep writing and sharing those songs!
A very fine performance: I like the guitar (both arrangement and playing) and the vocal was great.
However … I did not like the lyric. The subject is good: getting well into adulthood and still feeling like a kid (there are some upsides to that, but I suppose that’s for another song ). No, the subject is fine, but for me the problem is the lyric consists mostly of a string of clichès: time to start acting my age, age is just a number, you’re only as old as you feel, etc. It would be better to sing about a specific thing that happened to you that made you feel this way. Give the details. I dunno, maybe you saw two kids playing in the park and you felt far from ever having a family. Maybe those 2 kids had matching blue coats or something. The physical details get the listener involved, they can imagine the scene.
Of course, the end goal is that you tell about some specific things or thoughts well enough that you don’t even have to say that the problem is that you’re pushing 40 without much to show for it. The listener will just know.
Forgive the harsh assessment, but since you posted …
Hey… thanks for the input…I get where you’re coming from
I like my lyrics to be relatively matter of fact and not use much in way of metaphors etc which often leads me to use English colloquial sayings instead
A lot of my writing comes from my struggles with Adhd/inattentiveness and in turn that comes with lots of feelings of being a bit useless at life, not feeling like im a “proper adult” … despite being “pushing 40” and married with 2 kids and my own successful business as a tattoo artist
So while sometimes my lyrics do get into specifics of situations etc I tend to write more from the heart and in my feelings
I kinda included a lot of the cliched sayings about age on purpose… Mainly because I love stupid English regional turns of phrase lol
That being said I do love songwriting that is like storytelling so its definitely something I will keep in mind
As a an example, a masterclass really, of using seemingly simple details to make a song hit hard, I would point you to “The Side of the Road” by Lucinda Williams. Listen to it while you read the lyrics. Oh my gosh, that lady can write a song.
I enjoyed this. Nice combination of strumming and the picked interlude. The lyrics may have some familiar phrases but their use, and mundanity, may reflect the sometimes boring lives we think we lead. For me, this was your best song yet.
I knew that chorus was a winner when I just sat there… played four chords and it just came out fully formed as just a big classic chorus
I think lyrically I personally like this one a lot because the phrases are things people use all the time but when you sing them with feeling it gives them a much deeper vibe
). No, the subject is fine, but for me the problem is the lyric consists mostly of a string of clichès: time to start acting my age, age is just a number, you’re only as old as you feel, etc. It would be better to sing about a specific thing that happened to you that made you feel this way. Give the details. I dunno, maybe you saw two kids playing in the park and you felt far from ever having a family. Maybe those 2 kids had matching blue coats or something. The physical details get the listener involved, they can imagine the scene.