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What a collaboration this was. The lyrics were written by a guy from Arkansas. I wrote the music in Germany. Lead vocals and guitars were recorded in Iraq. I created the harmony vocals with Melodyne. Additional guitars were recorded in London. I then put everything together. This was a little more complicated than simply going to a studio in Nashville but didn't cost a cent.

In The Blink Of An Eye
https://soundclick.com/song/9128579

In the blink of an eye
The world spins around
The sun comes up
And goes back down
We win, we lose
We laugh and cry
An’ it all happens to us
In the blink of an eye
In the blink of an eye

Life starts out
Time moves so slow
Then it’s all gone
Before we know
We’re all born
We live, we die
An’ all of it happens to us
In the blink of an eye
In the blink of an eye

We make our plans
Dream all our dreams
Try an’ figure out
Everything
While our days just
Sail right on by
An’ all of it happens to us
In the blink of an eye
In the blink of an eye

It all goes by so much
Faster than you think
All that you have to do
Is blink – just blink

Funny how life happens
Time moves so slow
And it’s all gone
Before we know
We’re all born
We live we die
An’ it all happens to us
In the blink of an eye
In the blink of an eye
In the blink of an eye

oK, so I see the category says rock, but sounds pretty country to me. although I agree with the lyric (because it's obvious).. one of the things I was always told by my mentors was "don't tell me, show me".

My friend Chris Wallin wrote it this way:

Don't blink, just like that you're six years old And you take a nap And you wake up and you're twenty-five And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife'

See how that gets your attention?

He used to play that song at the Broken Spoke in Nashville and I loved it even before he had a cut years later.

The arrangement was very pretty, well done.

Thanks, Kay-Lynn — I appreciate you listening so closely.
What’s interesting is that the music itself was written as straight pop/rock. When I sang the original demo, it definitely leaned that way. But when LeeAndrew Bray — a country singer from Georgia who was serving in Iraq at the time — recorded the vocal, his phrasing and tone pulled it into a more country space. I honestly find that fascinating, how much a vocal can redefine a genre.

I also appreciate your “don’t tell me, show me” point. That’s solid advice, and it’s something I will try to keep in mind when revising lyrics. Sometimes you think you’re showing, and it takes an outside ear to point out where you might still be telling.

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

You're very welcome and I'm not telling you anything that hasn't been told to me for 20 years.. so I really can't take credit for that one. lol

I'm working on a song right now that needs a "show me" verse and I'm so stuck it's frustrating me. Let me know if you would like to put your 2 cents in.

I'd love to give it a try. Why don't you PM me what you've got so far and tell me what you're looking for or start a new thread so others can share their thoughts as well.

Real nice Rob. and 100% natural. My only comment is I tend not to like long intros or outros. Great guitar work...but ..

Yeah, I'm not a fan of long intro's either, unless it's a soundtrack for a movie.

Thanks, Kay-Lynn and John, for listening and for the feedback — I really appreciate it.
I hear you on the intro. In this case it’s about 13 seconds, which felt reasonable to me for a country-rock track. I played my keyboard guitar in the intro, and I was fortunate enough to have two excellent guitarists on this project, so I wanted to give them a bit of space to shine — which also explains the longer outro.
That said, I totally get that shorter intros and outros work better for many listeners, and I appreciate you pointing it out.