Tatendrang (Full of Drive) - Lisa_S Original

Community Recordings Originals (Not Covers)
1

Cheers folks,

it has been a while I made my way into the creative corner of the community as a contributing part, but finally I’m back. :slight_smile:
This tune kept on lurking around with me for almost a year and is still a work-in-progress, mainly with regards to the guitar part(s). But as always, I am open for any kind of feedback and suggestions. A little drawback for most: The song is in German, but I will provide a translation as well as the lyrics for those interested. I’m not sure how well the intended pun will work in there, but maybe even the Germans won’t get it (my husband didn’t get it, so maybe it is that bad :sweat_smile:). The recording is a little rough and I totally butchered the bridge, but time to record is still sparse, so decided to go with this one as a baseline and keep on improving it from here on. :slight_smile:
It definitely needs “more” for the accompaniment. I would love to throw in more little licks and fills, but I just can’t while also singing. If I were to record it properly, I would definitely layer it, but also want a version that works “life”. But enough talking for now, here it is:

Thanks a lot for listening! :slight_smile:

Lyrics

Verse 1:
Früh am Morgen, der Wecker bellt
Die Snoozetaste, mein bester Freund
Bleib noch’n bisschen in meiner Welt
Hab mich grad so schön dahin geträumt

Die To-Do-Liste wird länger und länger
Mehr als ich bewältigen kann
Die Zeitplanung, immer enger und enger
Also fang ich besser bald damit an

Chorus:
Heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang
heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang
Mal seh’n ob mir gelingt, was mir gestern nicht gelang
Denn heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang

Verse 2:

Das Geschirr ist bereit für den Transit
Das Spülbecken - ein Entenpfuhl
Wollmäuse kugeln rum wie Tumbleweeds
Dann wartet noch der Wäschestuhl

Die Aktenablage - Mount Everest
Bin bereit für den Gipfelsturm
Ein kurzer Blick auf Pinterest
Bleibe hängen wie ein Angelwurm

Chorus:
Heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang
heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang
Mal seh’n ob mir gelingt, was mir gestern nicht gelang
Denn heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang

Verse 3:

Wie heißt’s so schön - aller Anfang ist schwer
Auf der Suche nach dem ersten Schritt
Versink’ ich mal wieder im Gedankenmeer
Die Motivation versenk’ ich gleich mit

Bridge:
Sie grinst mich an voller Hohn
Die hässliche Fratze der Prokrastination

Chorus:
Heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang
heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang
Mal seh’n ob mir gelingt, was mir gestern nicht gelang
Denn heute bin ich morgen voller Tatendrang

Translation

Verse 1:

Early in the morning the alarm barks
The snooze-function is my best friend
Stay a little longer in my own world
I pictured it so nice in my dreams

The To-Do-List keeps growing and growing
More than I can handle
The schedule is getting tighter and tigher
I’d rather start kind of soon

Chorus:

Today I am tomorrow full of drive
Yeah today I am tomorrow full of drive
Let’s see if I succeed with what did not work out yesterday
Because today I am tomorrow full of drive

Verse 2:

The dishes are ready for there move
The sink - a pond made for ducks
Dust balls keep on rolling like tumbleweeds
There’s awaiting: the laundry chair

The filing as big as Mount Everest
I am ready for my summit attempt
Just a quick check on Pinterest
Getting hooked like fisherman’s bait

Chorus:

Today I am tomorrow full of drive
Yeah today I am tomorrow full of drive
Let’s see if I succeed with what did not work out yesterday
Because today I am tomorrow full of drive

Verse 3:

How’s it saying “Getting started is the hardest part”
While searching for the very first move
I get lost in the trail of my thoughts
Losing motivation all along

Bridge:
It smirks back at me full of scorn
The ugly face of procrastination

Chorus:

Today I am tomorrow full of drive
Yeah today I am tomorrow full of drive
Let’s see if I succeed with what did not work out yesterday
Because today I am tomorrow full of drive

23 Likes
2

You’re pushing all my buttons on this one, Lisa, aren’t you? :face_with_monocle:
Not only an original, but an original in your mother tongue, and one I understand as well!
And to top it all off, you’re sporting a Republic of Ireland T-shirt?!? :open_mouth:
I thought it was a lovely, clever song, with a focus/central theme (even if it’s one I have difficulty relating to! :rofl:)
Well sung (you have a nice voice) and competent fingerpicking with the odd flourish. Fits well together musically.
My only criticism would be the slightly self-deprecating intro-blurb you wrote. I would avoid words like drawback/bad/butchered etc. unless you’re going for a comic/entertaining effect :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
Be proud and proclaim: “Look what I wrote!” with a beaming smile :grinning_face_with_big_eyes:
Regarding the pun, I’m going to go for the change in syntax in ‘morgen’ switching between morning and tomorrow :wink:
Having said that, I smiled at the first line as bellen also makes me think of an alarm bell.
Most important of all, you are writing and performing your own songs, and that is so worthwhile, as well as the only way to improve at it.
Vibes to you, as we used to say :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

4 Likes
3

:clap::clap: Very nice Lisa!

Good to see you back songwriting again! While I don’t understand German, I found myself naturally swaying along with the rhythm while you played. It hooked me in! You seemed at ease and if you messed up, I definitely wouldn’t know it :+1:t2::+1:t2:

I read the translated lyrics and I can definitely relate to the theme of the song. I’m guessing there are many here who can as well!

I would love to hear a recorded version as well with any extras you were wanting to add in. I totally understand wanting to have a song that can be played live and sound the same as the recorded version, but I’ve grown to love songs that have a slightly different “flavor” for lack of a better word played live. Anyway, that was just my long way of saying you should definitely try recording it :wink:

Overall, I really enjoyed it! More please!

2 Likes
4

You can sing really well Lisa. I think it was really good, without understanding any of the words. Thank you for posting.

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Really enjoyed that Lisa! Like others I needed to read the translation, but it’s a beautiful song as it stands. Well played and well sung :slight_smile:

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Loved that one! Really great vocal performance That worked really well as a singer-songwriter piece, but I’ll add another vote for a full-blown recorded version with layered guitars… tons of potential for a great production

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You have a beautiful voice Lisa; it doesn’t matter to me that I can understand almost nothing when the overall impression of the vocal is very good. Congrats for writing such a great song; you’ve obviously succeeded in matching the character of the tune, your playing and voice.

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That was amazing Lisa! :clap: :clap:
A very enjoyable listen even without understanding a word of German. I went back afterward to read the lyrics translation. The lyrics are really clever, I can get a gist of the pun from the English lyrics :smiley:
It was so well-played and sung, you have such a lovely voice and quite a talent for the song writing.

I didn’t notice any mistakes, roughness or butchering - loved it! :star_struck:

3 Likes
9

What a lovely, fun song Lisa! It was enjoyable without knowing a word of German, then reading your lyrics made it much richer. Clearly you poured a lot of your self into creating this.

Now, the “ugly face of procrastination” is smirking at me, so I had better go start my chores and practice my guitar. Thank you for sharing this tune.

4 Likes
10

Well done, Lisa. I loved it. Well written, played, and sung. Fun lyrics too, very artistic and expressive. I know, when the red recording light comes on, all can go kerplunk, but it was good what you did. When I record, I end up thinking about what I just played, what I’m playing at the moment, and also what I plan to play next. That’s when it all goes haywire for me. Yours was pretty smooth however.

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You’ve a great voice for the singer / songwriter / folk genre Lisa. I enjoyed the song.

Tatendrang is a new word for me. I’ll start working on how to get it into a sentence :blush:.

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Hi Lisa. You are really good at these catchy tunes. I loved it, that laid back grove with the little embelishments and that lovely transition into chorus. All accompanied by your beautiful voice. Really nicely done.
I could relate fully to the topic, I guess most of us could. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi Lisa, I enjoyed everything about the song! It’s so chill! I liked the little (string 2) runs you throw under the chords, I need to copy that haha.

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Wonderful singing great playing, very well done. :clap::clap::+1:

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Awesome! :sunflower:

Your vocals reminded me of “Wir sind Helden” and I really love this!
Your guitar fills after every line are great!
And I love the melody when your singing goes very quickly up and and down! You do this very well! I think I would sound like barking if I tried ! :rofl:
Great lyrics! Love everything! Bravo! :heart_eyes:

1 Like
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:orange_heart: Thanks to all you nice guitar friends for your kindness and encouragement! That’s what I needed after a long day. :smiley:

@brianlarsen

Thanks a lot, Brian. Glad you liked my T-shirt - and the song. :wink:

Yeah, you are definitely right here and even I don’t know why I wrote it like that. Yes, I messed up, but at this point, I am the only one who knows this. For future song posts (yes, I have plans!) I will avoid that kind of thing and if it goes wrong once more, please feel free to give me a push for that anytime. :smiley:

That’s the way to go - do what fits best given the occasion. :wink:

Thanks once more, Brian. Also, I share your sentiment about writing own stuff - this in itself is a great thing to do. :slight_smile:

@Jenndye429

Thanks a lot, Jenn. I am so happy to read I could hook you in despite the “language barrier”. Music has some hidden magic and can do this. :smiley:

Reading through the comments, I am glad we are not alone in this. :grin:

Oh, that’s good to read. So it is possible to overcome that kind of feeling! That gives me hope. But that being said, let’s see how I can handle a proper recording on my own. My experience in this field is almost non-existent. :sweat_smile:

Back at you, Jenn! Looking forward to your next masterpiece. :slight_smile:

@Prof_Thunder

Thanks a lot, Ian. Glad you enjoyed the song despite not understanding the lyrics. :smiley:

@mathsjunky

Thanks a lot, Paul. Glad you enjoyed the listen. I provided a translation for that exact reason, even if the music works on its own, it’s nice to know what it’s all about in the end. :smiley:

@dfrazz

Thanks a lot, David. Glad you liked it! :smiley: A full-blown record would be lovely indeed, but so far, I only did what I do above. I have the gear around for more, but almost no experience in using it and MIDI-drums or other virtual instruments… let’s see what I can do with that, but this will take some more time, I think. :slight_smile:

@Coda

Thanks a lot, Tomasz. I am glad you liked the song despite not understanding the lyrics and that it all worked together nicely in your ear. What more does a songwriter want to hear? :smiley:

@AvalonJ

Thanks a lot, Jasmine, so many kind words. :blush: I’m glad you enjoyed the song and the performance. Getting the lyrics down was hard work in the end, the only thing I had right away was the hook with the pun - and it makes me even more happy you are getting this out of the translation. :grin:

@mfeeney0110

Thanks a lot, Michael. I’m glad you liked the song even without the understanding for the lyrics in the first go. Even better, the meaning didn’t make it worse. :laughing:

Yes, actually a little more than I’d like to admit to… but I am glad we own a dishwasher and make use of it frequently. :joy:

@jvlynch

Thanks a lot, Jim. I’m glad you enjoyed listening to my song. :smiley: I totally relate to your feelings about recording, but I don’t know how it feels for you, but for me, during BLIM and the loads of recording we did, I noticed it’s getting easier. Hope it does for you, too. :slight_smile:

Now that’s a lovely phrase. I hope you don’t mind me stealing this for later use? :smiley:

@simon_plays_bass

Thanks a lot, Simon. I’m glad you liked the song. Now I’m curious: Do you throw in more or less random words in foreign languages while you talk to other folks? :smiley: The thing with Tatendrang is: It’s being talked about a lot, but only a few really want to commit to it. :laughing:

3 Likes
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Hi Beanie & Congratulations on posting this gem :gem_stone: of a song!
Throw me on top of the pile of other folks who don’t know German but I do know good music when I hear it - I am definitely hearing good music here!!!
Love your fingerstyle approach as well as your voice!
Wonderful effort!!!

Tod

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:orange_heart: Thanks to all you nice guitar friends for your kindness and encouragement! That’s what I needed after a long day. :smiley:

Part 2 :laughing:

@Boris1565

Thanks a lot, Boris. I am glad you liked the tune and it being catchy feels like the highest praise for me. :smiley: As you see here, we are not alone in this fighting to find our drive at times. :smiley:

@Beatup6String

Thanks a lot, Ashu. Glad you enjoyed the listen. And please, feel free to steel as much as you like from it. I’m pretty sure I stole it from somewhere, too. :smiley:

@Thatman

Thanks a lot, Don. I’m glad you liked the song. :smiley:

@dominique7

Thanks a lot, Dominique. I’m glad you liked the song. Me reminding you of Judith Holofernes - that’s awesome! She is one of my favourite singers. :orange_heart: Sadly though, she kind of lost her singing voice. :sad_but_relieved_face:

I have to relisten to see what you mean. But as long as you don’t sound like my barking alarm clock, you will sound just fine. :laughing:

@CATMAN62

Thanks a lot, Tod (nice little rhyme here, haha). I am glad you liked the song and appreciate the music without understanding the lyrics. Somehow, music is a universal language it seems - and that is beautiful. :smiley:

4 Likes
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Ah no. That might get a few funny looks, but it would amuse me nonetheless :grin:. I was meaning fitting it into a German sentence.

I was rubbish at German at school (or maybe the teacher and I didn’t get on, so I didn’t try).

I learned German as a (youngish) adult - I guess I must have still had some neuroplasticity left. It was a mix of embarrassment and necessity.

The embarrassment was skiing with Austrian friends, and all of them having to speak English because I didn’t speak much German.

The necessity was that we had work in the old East Germany 5 years or so after the wall came down. Most people spoke Russian as a 2nd language rather than English, so we needed German speakers on the job.

1 Like
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Lisa, I really enjoyed your well-written song. You sang and played great. Your comments about “rough recording” and “butchered bridge” would be my perfect performance! Don’t be so hard on yourself. You do really well! Nice fingerpicking and embellishments were fine. Loved the easy-listening feel of the song. Looking forward for your next one!