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I wrote this song several years ago, and decided to tweak the production slightly. I do not plan on taking it back into production, but comments are always welcome. I think many folks "teeter" with their faith through their lifetimes, and sometimes stray too far from God, and feel a bit unworthy of forgiveness--this song "generally" addresses those feelings. I think many can relate to a spiritual waning; and maybe this song/ lyrics can motivate those that wish to perhaps get back to a better "spiritual direction" with their lives--me included! Special thanks to Whitney Kneffler for her flute session work with me and Eric Kaufman for his always splendid piano work! steady-eddie. CAN YOU CATCH MY SOUL - music/lyrics by: e.swartz Can You Catch My SoulIntro -- piano/flute Vs. 1 Can You catch my soul; I think I’ve lost control Countless days, and restless nights, they all take their toll Vs. 2 If I kneel and pray, would You listen today Guardian angels help me find my path, will You lead the way Ch. Now I lay myself down to sleep, I pray to God for my soul to keep I used to say those words, every night, (tag) “every night” I can’t remember the rest of the prayer; I used to say it at the top of the stairs Then I would fall asleep, safe and sound, (tag) “safe and sound” Vs. 3 If I share my pain, would You have me again? Would You fill my heart with joy, could You temper Your disdain? (Bridge) Fly so high, my spirit’s all alone and cold, where is Your cloak, And where is the light, can You catch my soul (Instrumental flute solo) (Repeat chorus) Vs. 4 Can You catch my soul, Will You take control? I really need a second chance; for only You can make me whole (Outro) instrumental piano -- with verse music
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Hi Eddie:
When I was a child our family tradition included "Now I lay me down to sleep"... and you have captured the essence of this prayer so well. Knowing the "morality factor" is being left out of the curriculum in today's educational system... and when combined with the social pressures of the media, political correctness and a Godless Government... it makes me sad to know the path in which our country is headed. A country without God is a disaster in the making. The Ten Commandments are the foundation of our legal system from centuries ago... passed down through our "Mother Country"... England, and before that Jerusalem through the Crusades. Our coins still state, "In God we trust!" but those who do "trust" are in steep decline and those who don't care, stand idly by parroting the "separation of church and state" theme... all the time not knowing it meant there would be no State Religion (such as the Church of England nor the Catholic or Protestant Churches) but that God would be our Nations' Salvation and Guiding Principle according to the basic tenets of the Ten Commandments. How our Judicial System could come to the conclusions that led to the banning of the Commandments is beyond rational comprehension.
In our misguided penchant to assure that all citizens are equally protected.. we have forgotten that the real meaning of democracy is that the majority rules. The imbalance being created by illegal immigration is quickly changing the dynamic of the founding father's philosophy. We are in deep trouble now as voters are being "pandered to" with the "something for nothing" philosophy of the liberals.
As a Nation, we entered WWII with a deep belief that God would lead us to Victory in the War Fought on Multiple Fronts against a formidable and Godless set of enemies. Against tremendous odds, we rose from the twisted steel and oil sheen of Pearl Harbor and a mostly defeated Europe and won a tremendous victory that took years to accomplish. Sorry for the rant but I think it must be said if we are to survive as a Christian Nation... as originally founded by both, the Pilgrims of Virginia and the Puritans of Massachusetts.
Thanks for bringing old memories to life again for me. Well done. ---Dave
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HI Eddie, Beautiful song, nicely arranged and produced. Just a couple words stopped the flow for me--forcing "again" to rhyme with "pain," and "temper my disdain" isn't as conversational as the rest of the lyrics. My only other small nit is the harmony vocal on the first line of the chorus seems pretty flat. But I love everything else here; the "dadada's" are great. This is very enjoyable baroque pop sound and song. Mike
Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choice Fortune depends on the tone of your voice
-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon) from the song "Songs of Love" from the album "Casanova" (1996)
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Calvin chose the right word. This is lovely in its simplicity. I'm not very religious, but I find songs like this in the form of a quiet prayer very moving.
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David,
Thanks much for all of your thoughts, and I hear you. I wrote this several years ago not really thinking about the political climate with our national morals waning as you mention, and also have those concerns myself and see and appreciate you pointing that out. I did want to express how feelings of early childhood innocence can sometimes help "right our morals" as they are engrained in our subconscious for sure.
steady-eddie.
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Michael,
Thanks much for your thoughts!
As far as "again," it has two correct pronunciations--the long A sound is more old English proper, so I wasn't stretching that pronunciation. I had a teacher in school who always preferred us pronouncing the word that way, so it kind of "stuck" with me.
I know "Pain" is overused, --I am guilty as charged.......but so is "love," and with a spiritual song, I don't think there is a substitute for how/what/why I'm expressing that particular line. I just really like having God feel "disdain" because, though He is forgiving, He must get a little upset with those of us falling into the same traps time and time again. That line for me is key to expressing that "maybe that is why some prayers aren't answered in the hopeful expectations that we all have??????"
I did go back and open the mix on that harmony part that you spoke of--I hear the mistake now.........(It had become wallpaper at that juncture for me) I DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK INTO PRODUCTION WITH THIS SONG MIKE!..........but now I have too......but you know that don't you? I will put the new version up either later tonight or tomorrow--thank-you for catching that, seriously, I do really appreciate it!
steady-eddie
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Calvin,
Thanks for the bold print my friend! I promise to post a bran new one soon, and not a "re-do!"
steady-eddie
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Hey Gavin,
Thank-you much for the kind words. I appreciate it, but I must "disdainfully" go fix a couple of things in the production thanks to Mr. Z......which rhymes with Chimpanzee.
Cheers!
steady-eddie
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Michael Z,
Hopefully fixed/re-sung..........thanks for your ears!
steady-eddie
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Thanks, Eddie. Your vocals are usually so in the pocket that it made those few sour notes stick out more so, I suppose. My achilles heel when it comes to songwriting and critiquing is exemplified perfectly with a phrase like "temper your disdain" cuz when I read poetically charged phrases in song lyrics I get conflicting thoughts. One is, it's a great turn of phrase and a unique way to say that. The other thought is that it kinda stops the flow (at least for me) cuz it's not as immediately understood as everything else in the lyric. So the tipping factor for me is usually, does it feel organic to the lyric to be in there? Does it fit in with everything else? Or has it become a "darling" that I keep in there but it really doesn't fit? No doubt I've thrown out some of my best lines with this kind of thinking. It's the toughest thing for me to consistenly make good decisions about. Rereading your lyric a few times, I've softened to V3 and it kind of fits the language and tone of the rest of the verses. The chorus is great cuz you switch to a more personal, confessional tone, and it's the kind of contrast that makes the verses stronger. Careful now, with that chimpanzee talk..I only worked for that organ grinder for one stupid weekend cuz I wouldn't wear the collar. Mike
Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 10/21/17 01:36 AM.
Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choice Fortune depends on the tone of your voice
-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon) from the song "Songs of Love" from the album "Casanova" (1996)
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Hey Michael.
You're instincts are probably correct about that unique phrase from a "pitching perspective" and general lyric writing advice. I've probably become just too attached to the phrase however to change it at this point as I just like the harsher poetic feel at this juncture -- as well as the person asking for forgiveness in a less trite way such as "please forgive me Lord." I will give it some thought should I pitch the song, as there may be a better phrase to use for sure that feels less disconcerting yet accomplishes the task at hand.
Thanks again, and on the couple of harmony spots, as you know I'm a stickler for getting those pretty close. I had the song's old version which I used the main music & lead vocal tracks as well as some of the harmony tracks, but not all, some were re-sung and spliced in. I had several versions of harmonies/comps in storage as I experimented with "different" harmonies with this song--got a little lax and didn't get it quite right in a couple spots. I also when re-singing the harmony in question added a lower harmony in one line in the 2nd chorus--a little more gospel feel I thought. As the years pass, my ears are probably not going to get better. I have the capability to check or tweak vocals with melodyne, which I do if I hear something slightly awry. If I find or hear a pretty bad spot, I'll correct it with melodyne to see where "it" thinks the note should fall, then listen to it a couple of times, if I agree, then re-sing the line, but do not like to over tune vocals perfectly with melodyne as it's not perfect as sometimes vocal modulation will fool it as well or the "imperfectness" is better for that spot. However, it is a great tool for inspection and subtle tweaking from time to time, but not IMO to be used as a magic wand.
Thanks for your always "great" advice.........however, like and old cow, I'll chew on that advisory cud for awhile!
steady-eddie
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A simple prayer for the spiritually conflicted and your vocals are heavenly. Nicely done, Eddie.
Ricki
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Ricki,
Thanks so much for the kind words!
steady-eddie
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Wow Eddie..what a beautiful song...written and the finished..I truly like this music. Lane
"Blessed are the words of truth and fiction, one might save you from the other...Vincent
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Hey Lane!
Thanks man!
steady-eddie
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That's a beaut, Eddie. I love the rising melody at the end of the first line of each verse. And I'm willing to bet that lyric will resonate with a LOT of people. Great work on this.
Scott
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Nicely put together and performed. ...Pete
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Nothing but a standing ovation on this one SE. Beautiful an well done. I use to say that prayer when I was young and find myself using it more these days in my life. Thank you for sharing.
Douglas
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Scott,
Hey-mon! Thank-you for those kind words and close look at the melody! There's a lot of me in this song for sure, but I did write this with the idea that many could relate.
steady-eddie
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Hey Pete! Thanks much!
Douglas, Yep, every night that prayer as a kid was part of my daily routine as well!
steady-eddie
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Nicely done Eddie. Smooth vocals and excellent harmonies. As always your arrangements and productions are enviable.
Hats off Beautiful sound.
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You paint some nice word pictures Eddie. I felt like a child again. That's they way to do it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice job!
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Howdy Mr. Nelson!
Always good to see you around these parts. Thanks for checking the song out, and I'm looking forward as always to see what you have coming up with your music.
steady-eddie
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Hi Paul,
I really appreciate your thoughts. When I wrote this song, it didn't take long for me to feel or connect with the innocent child deep within myself in which no question influenced my lyrics--and I'm glad you felt that child in you as well! So I guess there's a little bit of little Eddie, a little bit of Steady, and a little bit of Ed in this song!
Thanks much,
steady-eddie
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Don't know how I missed the Ed? So glad I found it. Excellent all round heartfelt and poignant and a really good vocal as well Hope this one gets picked up one day- you never know! John
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Oscar Wilde
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Eddie, I really enjoyed this one and I have to agree, even many saints have shared the feeling of spiritual waning that they went through in their lives. This should hit home with many people if they take a moment to consider where they are at and how they want to get where they are going. Real nice work. Skip
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Hi Travis!
Thanks much. Maybe some day I'll pitch something!
Skip,
Thanks so much for your attentive thoughts with the song's meaning!
steady-eddie
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This is a really pleasant, and comforting song, extremely well arranged. Love the piano ride out. It kind of reminded me of a cross between Paul Simon (Garfunkel days) and early Neil Young. In some parts your vocal inflections sound EXACTLY like Neil Young. In a good way! I really enjoyed this as a piece of art and a statement, and don't have much to add in the way of suggestions because I feel they would be unnecessary. Great job.
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David,
I appreciate your kind comments, much thanks!
steady-eddie
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Hey there Steady..........love this!! What a great production.....just a solid, beautiful song, man! Great performances, as well. Kudos!! -Tom
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Tom,
Thank-you. Your song posted is awesome BTW!
steady-eddie
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Love the vocal on this..just takes you to the right place and the melody matches , so sweet, I really enjoyed it.
Tammy
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Hi Tammy!
Thank-you so much! Now I'll mosey on over and hear your new song.
steady-eddie
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Hey there Eddie......Had to listen again.........love the lyrical content, and the music is really a fine carry. Sweet performances, as well! Good stuff! -Tom
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"If one man can do it, any man can do it. It is true. But the real question is, if one man did it, are you willing to do what it takes to do it as well?" –Brian Austin Whitney
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