Saturday, October 14, 2017

Poem and Music track combo

https://soundcloud.com/theytooktheusernames/save-me-a-seat-in-the-panic-room

This is the story behind an interesting song and a poem.

One day, I was feeling kinda overwhelmed socially, so I decided to clear out the floor of my closet, put a pillow and blanket in there, and bring my laptop in with me. I turned on my twinkle lights, and it was dimly lit and comfy and quiet. Then I created the song "Save me a seat in the panic room." A few days later, I wrote this poem, inspired by how I felt. I played the song as I wrote it, and it's cool to listen to it and read the poem at the same time.

Save me a seat in the panic room

One step behind the other,
I keep my eyes ahead.
I'll keep myself together
If I watch where I have tread.

I'm sure I'm being hunted
By monsters in the night.
Not sure if I've been stunted,
Or if this is their true height.

But if the shadows wavered,
Or gave way to my stare,
I'd sing instead of quaver
And stand with shoulders square.

No time to sit and panic
Or just wait for the dawn.
Until I leave the manic,
I must keep trudging on.

Wait until I'm with you,
And then I might break down.
Take comfort when it's through,
When at last pain makes a sound.

Just save me a seat in the closet
I'm fighting my fears now:
Fear was the one to cause it,
But I will answer how.

Ashley Spence
August 8, 2017


I hope to write more poems based on songs in the future. It was really fun.

I really do like songwriting in itself, as in, lyrics that go to music, but poetry is different. You can read a poem over and over, and dwell on one word for as long as you want. But in a lyrical song, you hear the words once, within a certain period of time. Sure, you can replay the song and think about the lyrics again, but most of the time, the song has one shot to get you to think about its meaning. Poetry can have more layers and depth to it than a song can. If a song is just a poem put to music, it can be difficult to understand its meaning right away. 
To turn a poem into a song, you kind of have to stick with one thought. You can repeat phrases to get the thought across, though, which is helpful. In the end, songwriting and poetry are separate things. It takes a study of both to excel in it, and if you're just good at poetry your songs might not be as good. It takes practice. 
I should practice songwriting more often. :)

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