Turn the Lights On - Writers Forum

Corridor · 03-14-2005, 11:05 PM

Turn the Lights On

They think you should know
The sky is falling down
Open up these wires
We got nothing to lose

Turn the lights on
Pull the switch
Wake him up
Throw them all outside

They’re trying to warn you
So you cannot break the rules
They’re crumbling down
But the cats got your tongue
Guess there’s nothing more left to say

Turn the lights on
Pull the switch
Wake him up
Throw them all outside

They think you should know
The battery's gone flat
It’s fallen to pieces
It’s rusted in two
But try and stop it when the words
Come flying right out of your mouth

Turn the lights on
Pull the switch
Wake him up
Throw them all outside

sudio · 03-15-2005, 01:04 PM

please forgive me, but i think i'm outta sync with tryin' to decipher this one ... maybe it's the 'genre' factor ... i think you've a great title goin' on, though ... lookin' forward to readin' your next!!

LettersToTheBlind · 03-15-2005, 02:59 PM

honestly, i'm really enjoying this. I think specifically the vagueness of it. it's littered with metaphor that's practically indecipherable at times, and i think that that's a big part of its majesty.

if you wouldn't mind, i'd really like to know that background story, or what you had in mind while you were composing it.

Corridor · 03-15-2005, 06:41 PM

Lots to do with people in charge, lots to do with people with power, overthrowing governments etc originally I wrote "Wake the king up" but later decided to change to "wake him up" as it felt too open. Turn the lights on is more about shining some light on corruption within our governments, extortion etc. My favourite line is "But the cats got your tongue guess there's nothing more left to say" has alot to do with talking in circles, hiding the truth under clever word games.

thamior · 03-16-2005, 05:07 AM

I liked this song, it was equally as confusing and mysterious as your others, yet rewarding when we could make the connection. I think you should try to do another on feelings (not sure if you have) I think you'd be able to do alot with that.

Corridor · 03-16-2005, 07:37 PM

All my songs reflect the feelings I have for specific topics, i've written things before about personal issues but I find that they are too personal to sing so I keep them for myself. The problem I find when singing about one's self is that it drains you, it sucks you dry until you have nothing left, especially if you are a working musician, and then after a while all the songs begin to sound very similar, it's important for me to understand what I am singing about, we all have demons but if you cannot break away from yourself and look at the world objectively then you can get caught in an endless spiral of songs about your own problems. People have enough problems of thier own to deal with, last thing they want is to listen to another person constantly complaining about thiers down a mic. Everybody wants to be inspired, I know I do, and for me the way I write my lyrics is very natural and for reasons unknown to me some people find it exciting. Ofcourse you could decide to let somebody else write the lyrics and save yourself the constant headaches, but where's the fun in that?

thamior · 03-17-2005, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corridor

All my songs reflect the feelings I have for specific topics, i've written things before about personal issues but I find that they are too personal to sing so I keep them for myself. The problem I find when singing about one's self is that it drains you, it sucks you dry until you have nothing left, especially if you are a working musician, and then after a while all the songs begin to sound very similar, it's important for me to understand what I am singing about, we all have demons but if you cannot break away from yourself and look at the world objectively then you can get caught in an endless spiral of songs about your own problems. People have enough problems of thier own to deal with, last thing they want is to listen to another person constantly complaining about thiers down a mic. Everybody wants to be inspired, I know I do, and for me the way I write my lyrics is very natural and for reasons unknown to me some people find it exciting. Ofcourse you could decide to let somebody else write the lyrics and save yourself the constant headaches, but where's the fun in that?

indeed, I guess everyone has their own opinions, I find writing about my feelings is the most enriching way to write. Often I feel those feelings later on, when I do I can look back at my songs about the topic and feel better. when I write a song about my feelings I try to generalize it so that its not me whining, it doesnt always happen, but every now and then you get a song that anyone can connect with, a song that is pure emotion. But songs about political statements, ae stances on ideas arent bad at all, each to his own I guess.

Corridor · 03-17-2005, 11:25 AM

Well a good song can be about anything as long as it connects with the audience thats why I don't base every song I write on political thought, it's finding a balance thats important. It only becomes a problem when your entire setlist is filled with songs about how bad your life has been or how depressed you feel, it's good to write about feelings all I am saying is that if thats all you do, it can have this tendancy to get very old very fast. I love the blues but there's only so much I can take before it becomes stale to me, I like variety in setlists, it turns a show into a rollercoaster ride, bringing the audience up with one song and taking them down again with another, provoking reactions and exchanging ideas, as long as there's variety then people will stay entertained.

Hakeem · 03-17-2005, 12:58 PM

mm,, isn't Turn the Lights on is a title for another famous song??

(The lyrics is... not that bad I'd say, it's all mystery and confusion though).

thamior · 03-17-2005, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corridor

Well a good song can be about anything as long as it connects with the audience thats why I don't base every song I write on political thought, it's finding a balance thats important. It only becomes a problem when your entire setlist is filled with songs about how bad your life has been or how depressed you feel, it's good to write about feelings all I am saying is that if thats all you do, it can have this tendancy to get very old very fast. I love the blues but there's only so much I can take before it becomes stale to me, I like variety in setlists, it turns a show into a rollercoaster ride, bringing the audience up with one song and taking them down again with another, provoking reactions and exchanging ideas, as long as there's variety then people will stay entertained.

Indeed, and I think I should try to do some in that vein of thought, perhaps someday.

LettersToTheBlind · 03-18-2005, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corridor

All my songs reflect the feelings I have for specific topics, i've written things before about personal issues but I find that they are too personal to sing so I keep them for myself. The problem I find when singing about one's self is that it drains you, it sucks you dry until you have nothing left, especially if you are a working musician, and then after a while all the songs begin to sound very similar, it's important for me to understand what I am singing about, we all have demons but if you cannot break away from yourself and look at the world objectively then you can get caught in an endless spiral of songs about your own problems. People have enough problems of thier own to deal with, last thing they want is to listen to another person constantly complaining about thiers down a mic. Everybody wants to be inspired, I know I do, and for me the way I write my lyrics is very natural and for reasons unknown to me some people find it exciting. Ofcourse you could decide to let somebody else write the lyrics and save yourself the constant headaches, but where's the fun in that?

i somewhat disagree with this statement. i think that songwriting (especially in what's presently popular: emo) empathy is a huge part of it. everything i write is personal, based on actual events or emotions and as long as i can present that in an interesting wayi feel fulfilled. i agree however that you can't let yourself become redundant, but that's not a difficult thing to avoid.

Corridor · 03-18-2005, 11:08 PM

It's everyone to thier own but I personally think emo is a passing phase and won't last, the major problem I have with emo is that it's called emo because it's based on emotion but I find that can be said about most if not all music, music to me is filled with emotion doesnt mean it has to be labelled emo, the music that is labelled emo today doesnt really do much for me, I find the style of the music and lyrics unappealing but thats my personal tastes, my statements reflect my personal tastes just as yours do, we are all biased to what we like and dislike. Music will always be filled with emotion in one way or another doesnt mean every song has to be about heart break or breakups but thats just one mans opinion.