Everyday

If I’ve learnt anything in the past 12 months it’s that consistent, steady work over a long period of time is the best way to success and to move forward. My songwriting and my twice-weekly live-streams have been my consistent things and it’s been my best year in music.

I think big parallels can be drawn from that to many other things too - particularly relationships. And in a successful long term relationship of any kind I don’t think it’s the Hollywood moments that make it work, it’s the everyday stuff.

This song is about that person who's there for you all time, through thick and thin. The person you couldn’t be without and the person who gets you through.

It’s called Everyday...

EVERYDAY - LYRICS

V1
A breath away from giving in
Sick and tired of battling
Fights that I face coming up in my life
That I just don’t need

It’s building up inside my head
Scared I need to start again
Sometimes I need a word in my ear
When I’m down on my knees

Pre
I could let go, I could lose sight
I could lose steam,
I don’t know what I’d be without
You guiding me, now I believe

Ch
Everyday you’re there right by me
Every hurdle, every step you never hide away
You hold me steady when my hands shake
Everyday you’re there right by me
You pull me through, you keep me going when I’m losing faith
You’re always there to lift me higher with your grace
Everyday

V2
You take my hand and rescue me
step by step, carefully
You see through my flaws, through my scars, through my faults
You just believe

Pre
I could let go, I could lose sight
I could lose steam
I don’t know what I’d be without
You next to me

Ch
Everyday you’re there right by me
Every hurdle, every step you never hide away
You hold me steady when my hands shake
Everyday you’re there right by me
You pull me through, you keep me going when I’m losing faith
You’re always there to lift me higher with your grace
Everyday

Br
Through thick, through thin
There you are, you're every beat, you're every piece of me
High highs, low lows
Nothing ever really seems to shake your faith in me

Ch
Everyday you’re there right by me
Every hurdle, every step you never hide away
You hold me steady when my hands shake
Everyday you’re there right by me
You pull me through, you keep me going when I’m losing faith
You’re always there to lift me higher with your grace
Everyday

BONUS - My Step-by-step Songwriting Process

I’ve talked a lot about my regular livestreams being a major factor in the progression of my music career but another thing that has played a major role is my songwriting. For years I was a ‘frustrated’ songwriter. By that I mean I wanted nothing more than to write songs and get them heard by people but in reality I was in a rut lasting years where I only probably finished about 4 songs. Something had to change. 

I’d studied songwriting for years; listening analytically to songs, reading books watching videos, taking courses, you name it but in 2020 I stumbled upon someone who would have a profound effect on me as a songwriter. She was Robin Frederick a songwriter, author and ‘song coach’ and her articles immediately resonated with me and made sense. Something clicked in my brain and it was like the missing piece was found. 

I studied pretty much all of Robin’s articles, courses and books and adapted a framework to use for my songwriting. Something I still use to this day. The beauty of it is that it only requires 30 minutes of writing every day which is pretty manageable, and more importantly, replicable over a long period of time. 

I commit to the 30 minute sessions 5 days a week and usually get a song finished in every 3 weeks. The importance of each session has a specific ‘job/role’ in the creation of a song and that I’m not just writing for writings sake.

So, every morning I sit down in my kitchen, with my coffee for 30 minutes. Here are the steps I take to write my songs:

1. Start with the title or a clear idea of what to write about.  Starting with a title will helps me stay focused on a single idea in my songs. I keep a big long list in my phone of all title ideas and ‘core ideas’ (things I want to write about) and pick one during this session. Sometimes nothing I have inspires me so I go looking. Book titles on Amazon have given good results for me!

2. Make a list of questions suggested by the title. This is the BEST thing I’ve learned from Robin Frederick. The key is to start by asking yourself what you want to say about your title and what you think your listeners might want to know.

I make list of questions. The list might include: What does the title mean? How do you feel about it? What happened to cause this? What do you think or hope will happen next? I generally need three to four questions.

3. Make a list of related words. This is literally a brainstorming exercise and they key is to let it flow. While looking at my title or core idea at the top of the page I start a list of words, phrases and images. The idea here is to create raw material to include in the song. Most of these ideas will probably never appear in the finished song. After doing this I create a list of contrasting or opposite words.

It should be noted too that at this stage I also pick a structure for my song. 2 of my favourites are:

1.

VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS

VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS

BRIDGE / CHORUS

2.

VERSE / CHORUS

VERSE / CHORUS

BRIDGE / CHORUS

Upon deciding on a structure, I then choose one question to answer in the chorus and one for each verse. These are the questions created in Step 2. 

4. Find the melody in the lyric. I choose one or two of the phrases I came up with in Step 2. I say them out loud. I try and notice the natural rhythm and melody of my speech when I say the lines with lots of feeling. This is the beginning of the chorus melody. I play with it until it feels comfortable. I pay lots of attention to the ‘payoff line’ (usually the last line of the chorus). At this stage I usually start recording my ideas in the ‘Voice Memo’ app on my iPhone. This is a songwriter’s secret tool!

5. I begin to add chords and a groove to the chorus melody. I usually use a simple, repeated chord pattern. I play with the melody and chords until I find something I like. I record myself singing and playing so I can come back to it the next day.

6. I work on the lyric in the first verse. I focus on the question I chose in Step 3. I go through the same process as Step 4 to work on the verse melody.

7. Connect my verse and chorus. After I have a verse and chorus,  I create a transition between them so that they flow naturally. Sometimes this is just a single line but more often than not it’s a full Pre-Chorus section. I love Pre-Choruses!

8. Build my 2nd verse. Basically repeating Step 6 with a different question chosen in Step 3.

9. Build my bridge. Again, the question I’m going to ‘answer’ in this section will have been chosen in Step 3. The key to the bridge is to inject something new into the song. I usually change the chord pattern here and definitely the melody.

10. Record my song. I use my iPhone to record me singing and playing the whole thing. I make notes on any sections I think need work or that have missing lines and get to work on this.

11-15. Rewrite and refine. For the last 5 writing days I do pretty much the same thing everyday. Just ironing out any creases in the song. I start by playing the previous days recording and make notes on that. I make the changes and at the end of the session do a recording of me singing and playing the full song again. I find the fact of coming back to it everyday really helps hone the song.

So there it is. That’s how I write a song. It’s been working really well for me over the past 2 years and for the first time ever I’m happy with my productivity as a songwriter. The key to this process however is that it is sustainable and that I can do it consistently. I’d recommend it to any songwriter and other creatives. I think parallels can be drawn too to other areas of life in that steady consistent work over time is the key to success. 

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