new song - (still untitled - HELP ME NAME IT!)

[walker]

Here's my most recent tune, just mixed it today.

(untitled)

I don't usually have a hard time coming up with names for my tunes, but I really don't like any of the ideas I've tried so far. Little help?

This song features the '68 4001 on both the main bassline and the arpeggiated delay riff in the bridge.

And, as usual, my apologies in advance if the GarageBand player sticks. Just hit the 'back' button on the player a few times and that usually gets it going.

[cjj]

Great song! But I'm afraid I can't help with naming it, my attempts at naming songs are even worse than my attempts at writing them. And I have yet to write one that anyone, including me has ever liked...
Oh well...

[jps]

Post the lyrics, Mark; that may help us.

[walker]

Good idea, Jeffrey. Here goes:

"Oh, can you see them?
Rolling in the dark
A train heads for tomorrow
Not far from where we are

A heartbeat chasing across the sky
Carves mountains from the sun
And when it comes to the end
A star for every man

Roll away - we leave here tomorrow...
A stone will stand where no one will see you again

Broken and scattered
Glass covers the floor
Where the nightmares and madness
Live and breathe no more

The Earth will turn
And bury poisoned harvests where they stand
And flames that breathe in agony
Vanish in the wind

Ghosts on the horizon
See how they're smiling...

From the ashes of wheat fields
The rays of hope are born
Parting thunder and gray stone
The blinders have been shorn

Roll away - we leave here tomorrow, etc"

(lyrics 2009 by Mark Walker)

That about covers it. Good luck!

[kiramdear]

Hey, Mark,

I've been kicking your dilemma around in my noodle, just sort of free associating and not really coming up with anything, but I wanted to find something related to the spaghetti western soundtrack aspect that hit me right off when I heard the guitar(esque?) part. Think Ennio Morricone meets Peter Gabriel and you'll be up to date on my (toy) train of thought process that you inspired for my day's mental outing. I'll keep spinning my own wheels but meantime I wanted to pass that kernel of inspiration back to you with the hope that you may get a breakthrough. I hope it helps

Fantastic song, by the way!

[walker]

You're not far off. I'm definitely thinking trains. I was going to name it after a famous locomotive, but most of them that were substantial in size and ran on American rails only had numbers for names. (You know, like the renown 1361, 1225, 4449... well, like I need remind you!) Probably not the catchiest idea for a song title. I'll probably narrow it down to the trains and/or Americana themes. Or not.

[walker]

I JUST NOW caught the irony in CJ's avatar featuring #2367.

A little slow on the uptake. It's getting late.

[kiramdear]

[cjj]

Oh come on, my avatar features me, BNSF 2367 is just the background!


I definitely caught the train aspect of the song and have been trying to come ou with something along those lines, but so far, nada...

[jimk]

In regards to giving songs their titles, what is the line or phrase in the lyrics that will stick in the minds of your listeners the longest? What is it about the song they will remember most easily?

It won't do to have a potential purchaser go online and do a search for "that train song by Mark Walker." There are a bajillion train songs out there.

If I may be so bold, it may mean this lyric needs one more re-write to bring the central idea into sharper focus, thus giving you your title. Maybe you could work a little more with this line:

Roll away - we leave here tomorrow...

Hope this helps.
JimK

[ram]

Cool tune Mark!.... mayhaps just

'Roll Away'

works for me. Thanks for posting.

[miltric]

Maybe it's too obvious, but I like the title "Ghosts on the Horizon." Great song. . . .

[walker]

Thanks for all the great feedback, guys. It seems like the general consensus leads to similar ideas that I've had as well. I was calling the song 'Ghosts On The Horizon' for awhile, and while there's really nothing wrong with that, I thought it would be a cool thing to have the song title be something independent from all the lyrics, yet a good summation of the song's theme.

The song is pretty much 'in the can' both lyric-wise and recording wise, so I'm not taking a re-write into consideration. Part of what I like about lyrics is not only the story they tell, but how they lend themselves to melody. Plus, lyrics are not my strong point by any means, so when I get something that sounds good and flows nicely, I'm happy - even if it's complete jibberish purple monkey dishwasher.

I considered naming the song 'American Gothic.' I had heard the phrase before, so I Googled it to check it's reference. When I saw the famous painting of the same name, I thought: No. The grim-faced farmer and his child-bride are NOT good representatives for this song.

[cjj]

No, not American Gothic...


How about something like "Heartbeat for Tomorrow" or maybe "Heartbeat of Tomorrow" or something along those lines?

[ram]

Maybe something from Tee Vee - "Highball Express" was a train on the Amazing Stories series