JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback Creative Challenge Forum Song Challenge #38 Weather

The goal of our "Song Challenges" is to write songs/lyrics on demand within set parameters. We don't critique each other's songs in this thread (but you can say you like someone's song if you want to.) Please post your original works. If you have already written a song/lyric that fits within the parameters, please feel free to post it.

Weather affects our lives in many ways. In song writing, weather can set the scene or mood or even be a dramatic driving force in a story.

Here are the parameters: Write song or lyric that features weather in a significant way. It could be a vital part of the action or it could provide the mood. The weather condition should be either included in the chorus or in the verses but if it
is in the verses, it needs to be a significant factor in most of them. (At least two out of three.) It could be funny, sad, happy, whatever you want. Have fun and good luck to you!

Hi Jean,

I had this one in the ole' collection but don't know if it meets your definition of "significant", but hopefully I will atleast get a pass grade for trying. There is mention of the weather in the Chorus and one verse

"Sweet September Morning"
(c)2009 Lynn Orloff

It was a cool September morning
Hearts standing face to face
The world just seemed to come alive
I well recall the time and place

And until then I didn't know
That I was incomplete
But when you took me in your arms
September tasted sweet

Chorus
On that sweet September morning though autumn chilled the air
I never felt so warm inside to see you standing there
On that sweet September morning, we shared our first embrace
It's a memory impossible for my heart to erase

My heart has found it's other half
Yours beats and mine replies
I see a lifetime of Septembers
When I look into your eyes

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
There will always be twelve months in the year
But only one will I hold forever special dear....for

Repeat Chorus

Fits the bill, Lynn. You got it in both a verse and the chorus. Thanks.

Well I accidentally met my own challenge on another forum after I read Jeff E's weather post.

Home on Christmas Eve
©2009 Jean Bullock and Jeff Epstein

1. In my corner of the New Jersey armpit
near Sandy Hook, there's an inch of snow
and New York City's sixty minutes away
but I'm not gonna go cuz I'd rather stay


Chorus:
Home on New Year's Eve
Sipping hot vanilla caramel tea
Baby, Stay home with me and if you do
I'll warm up your favorite brew.

2. I was looking at the wunderground website
There's a 90 per cent chance of snow
in New York City tonight, so they say
I don't want to go. I'd rather stay

Chorus:
Home on New Year's Eve
Sipping hot vanilla caramel tea
Baby, Stay home with me and if you do
I'll warm up your favorite brew

Bridge:
New York City's sixty minutes away
why go there to shiver in the cold
and be just part of the crowd's
goodbye to the old
why can't we greet the new instead at

Home on New Year's Eve
Sipping hot vanilla caramel tea
Baby, Stay home with me and if you do
I'll warm up your favorite brew (or I'll do anything that you want me to.)

No rainbow is ordinary

Heavy rain
Lightning flashes
The storm comes quickly
And then passes

Bright sunshine
Patches of blue sky
I wander outside before
The street is dry

No rainbow is ordinary
All the wonder the sky can carry
Although temporary
No rainbow is ordinary

A perfect arc
Colors so bright
That pot of gold
Is clearly in sight

No rainbow is ordinary
All the wonder the sky can carry
Although temporary
No rainbow is ordinary

The colorful palette
So quickly gone
Till the time I’ll again see
The brush of rain and sun

No rainbow is ordinary
All the wonder the sky can carry
Although temporary
No rainbow is ordinary

Copyright 2009 by Kennan Zishka

Here is one that I wrote a few months ago - I think it fits the bill.......

[u][color:#993399][size:14pt]Not A Hurricane[/size][/color][/u]

Not A Hurricane Copyright © 2008 Colin Ward

It's raining here in Florida
Hasn't done that for a while
The rain is blowing sideways
It's hard to drive each mile

Chorus

No it's not a hurricane,
It's flooding just the same,
Another hundred miles to go
To see you once again

The wipers play their simple tune,
I can hardly see the road
I'm staring at a yellow line,
A semi lost its load,

Chorus

Br
I'd like to get you close to me,
At least in the same town,
But other obligations,
Keep us driving round

Chorus

I'd hire a boat if need be,
To get to you tonight,
But now I'm getting closer,
You're almost within sight,

Chorus

solo over verse and chorus

chorus

Thanks for posting, Kennan. I really liked that brush of rain and sun line. Like watercolors.

Thanks for posting, Colin. A love song in a weather setting. I can hear those wipers now. Happy New Year.

This may be a bit off the mark but anyway...I've tried a few melodies but haven't settled on one yet.

Rain People
Copyright Kim Wilson

Lightning flashes from a storm you thought had passed
Won’t let you sleep, won’t let you rest in your bed
Thunder rolls back the years in your mind
Salt water falls from clouded thoughts in your head

Rain people on a road that never ends
Scarred faces, tattered clothes out in the wind
When you’re alone upon whom do you depend
Rain people on a road the never ends

There is a secret in every storm that I have seen
There is a melody and rhythm and a song
They each seem to say we have been here with you before
And we’ll be back when you are gone

Rain people on a road that never ends
We are strong for we can stand against the wind
We’re not alone is the message we must send
Rain people on a road that never ends

Lightning flashes from a storm that fades away
Sleep will find you now your fears are on the wane
Nothing that matters is ever truly lost
As long as there are voices in the rain

Rain people on a road that never ends
Not be broken, we must learn to bend
And even broken hearts are ever on the mend
Rain people on a road that never ends

Don't think it's off the mark at all, KW. I like how you created a relationship between people and the weather.

HIDee Mz Jeannie B!

I'm Definitely-Inspired TODAY....herewegooooo....

"GLOBAL WARMING (WITH A FREEZE WARNING)"

(INTRO)
That WEATHER-PERSON...Ain't MY Friend
'Cuz Here-I-AM...BUNDLED-UP..Again...

To HELL With "GLOBAL WARMING" as I FREEZE This-Morning
Yesterday It WAS ICE-STORMING
Here In FLORIDA, (The FORMER "Sunshine State")...
"SNOW JUST FELL"...In ORLANDO
We Got NO FIREPLACE...ONLY CANDLES
(Let ME Supply AL GORE..An EGG..UPON His FACE!)

(CHORUS)
'Cuz IT'S GLOBAL WARMING..WITH A FREEZE-WARNING
& The GLOOM-&-DOOMERS Reap MY Scorning
(NO Polar Bears were FORCED to SWIM..TODAY!)
The MERCURY is AT THE BOTTOM
(FROSTBIT EARS?) You BET I GOT 'EM
So Friggin' COLD..You BET..There's HELL-TO-PAY!!!

I'm Wearin' FLANNELS (& I NEED FUR!)
You Can Hear My NEIGHBORS all Groanin' BRRRR!
(Do NOT Stick Your TONGUE on My FLAGPOLE!)
My Palms are BROWN; The Lawn's Got ICE
Freezin' My KEESTER In PARADISE
(Whoever Calls THIS "WARM" We Answer-Back "A$$Hole!")

(CHORUS)
'Cuz It's GLOBAL WARMIN' With a FREEZE-WARNIN'
Them GLOOM-&-DOOMERS De-serve SCORNIN'
NO Polar Bears are FORCED TO SWIM...TODAY!
The Mercury Is AT THE BOTTOM
(& Purply-HANDS?) You BET I GOT 'EM
So Friggin' COLD, You BET There's HELL-To-PAY!!!

(BRIDGE)
Tho COLD Brings The WIFE-&-I...TOGETHER...
My ICY HANDS Don't Bring Her TOO-MUCH..PLEASURE!...

(CHORUS)
When It's GLOBAL WARMING With a FREEZE-WARNING
Can't SEE Thru The STEAM..as The COFFEE's Forming
& My HANDS SHIVER So I Can't Get TOO-MUCH DOWN!
My Soup Gets COLD on The Way To The TABLE
I'd Build a BIG BONFIRE If I Was ABLE
To TAR-&-FEATHER Them PROPHETS on The TV CABLE
'Cuz There SURE AIN'T NO WARMING In MY TOWN!

(TAG)
No SIGN of GLOBAL-WARMING In THIS TOWN!!!

(C) 2010 by Stan Good, BMI
All Rights Reserved.

Thanks for the challenge. This one was already written (there's a version of it on my site link if curious).

About trying to enjoy a vacation while watching it frustratingly slip away, knowing you have to go back to the real world soon... (I wrote this while living through a Michigan UP winter, when we got 300 inches of snow that winter for context)


Bermuda
C. Dean Richardson / Half Baked Productions

V1
Come down to Bermuda, where we get what we want.
Play than number again my buddy.
It's what we've got.
And the temperature rises and falls,..day after day.
Taking off my disguises, and putting them away.

C1
And the tricks--they seem edgy, we counted on that.
Only 2 weeks more.

V2
So, take me off to Berumda, cus I do not understand
Its supposed to be alot like christmas, reggae-caribbean band.
The temperature dips as I pull shut the door.
Harvest moon blurry and grey.
If I figured out something--its that nothing at all,
makes sence when you can't see which way.

C2
And the tricks--they seem edgy, we counted on that.
Only 10 days more.

V3
So, whisk me off to Bermuda.
I can't keep myself warm.
Is this what I wanted? Wanted I'm in my favorite form.
And the cold autumn wind blows the leaves from the trees,
as they fly away undressing.
Right life I wish she would happen that way, and I keep on guessing.

C3
And the tricks--they seem edgy, we counted on that.
Only 3 days more

V4
So, wisk me off to Bermuda.
Where we know what we are.
It might not make much sense through you right now, but I know what theyre for.
And the thatched rooves you see--they lay wave in the breeze.
Hurricane force winds blowing in in the trees.

fin

Sorry, the link I gave would require some investigative digging--this one's a little more direct. Last track on this album. Makes me think of the warm!!

http://www.thegooddrive.com/Onlooker.html

LOL, Stan. Love the rhymes in this one.

You even managed to get a hurricane in there, Dean. Thanks for posting.

ok, here's a funny one from me, actually a short story, but could be trimmed down for a song..thanks glyn

STILL LAUGHING WHEN I HIT THE WATER


Weather alerts with tornado warnings
Came on all the radio and tv stations
Rained all day and night with the hail the
Size of golf balls

The skies were green and you could see
The clouds swirling around like bumper cars
Bumping into each other

The winds blew with a howling sound
That made the hair on the back of my neck stand up

Neighbors said, storms a brewing and looks like
The worst we’ve seen in close to 20 years
Bolts of lighting flashing to the ground
And all across the skies
Thunder so loud shook the house and I was
Sure it would break the windows out

Dog’s hiding under the beds and wont come out
Kids huddled together on the floor with their
Blankets over their heads

Too far out in the country
To hear the small town’s tornado sirens
If we had to take cover we had no cellar
So, we’d have to protect ourselves
The best we could

Wasn’t long till the lights went out
We could hardly see from the candles we lit
Which we carried from room to room

Well, the storm blew over in about an hour or so
And we slept through the rest of the night

When day light came, my neighbor, sam and I went to check on my damage that might have been done

A couple of fences were down, which we had to mend
Tree limbs we had to cut to clear the roads
In one of the ponds, was a young calf
With its hind leg’s stuck in the mud

It was getting exhausted from trying to free its self
And its head was just about to go under the water

Sam went to his truck to get a shovel to dig the calf out
He was a tall skinny man with brown curly hair
And wore sunglasses wheather or not the sun was out

Sam was knee deep in the pond bent over behind
The calf digging to free its legs
When the calf got loose enough
He started kicking which started slinging mud
Everywhere and the calf ran on out to the pasture

I looked back at sam he was just standing there
Looking like a huge ugly pond critter
With the mud dripping off his nose hair and glasses
With his arms stretched and the funniest look on his
Face

And you know me I just had to start laughing
And then more I laughed the madder he got
And the madder he got the more I laughed

It was best for me to start running but I fell
Flat on my face
When he got to the bank I was rolling on the ground
Laughing so hard I thought my sides would bust

And to my surprise this skinny ole’ man
Picked me up and threw me as far as he could in the pond

Yep, I was still laughing when I hit the water


written by:glyn 2008

Hi, Glynn. Well it does need some editing to be a song. So, is this a true story?

Awe what the heck. I don't normally do things like this, but I'm feelin' silly...Let's just call it a Jimmy Buffett meets suburbia diddy.

STYROFOAM ELVIS

Well it's Saturday noon and I sit in the shade
and drink from my styrofoam Elvis.
I wish I could say that it's just lemonade
but that would not be quite honest.
And nothing is wrong with the grass being long
it's just growing the way that God made it.
So I'll sit here and count every blade in the lawn
then relax, and just contemplate it.

(CHORUS)

'Cause how many days do you get in a year
when there's so much to do but the sun is so near?
My mission is righteous my objective is clear
to put it all off 'til tomorrow.

Now it's Saturday noon and I sit in the shade
refilling my styrofoam Elvis
The neighbors look pissed to see me like this
but I know that they are just jealous.
'Cause they're pruning their trees and pulling their weeds
and trimming the grass with a vengeance.
While I sit on my swing with a styrofoam King
and dream of good days in Memphis.

REPEAT CHORUS

Now it's Saturday evening and I'm losing my shade.
I've emptied my styrofoam Elvis.
And nothing's been done with this beast of a lawn
but I can't say that my day's been wasted.....Though I am...
'Cause I sat here and watched every cloud goin' by
saw one that looked just like Priscilla.
She was a pretty little thing, or so says the King
so we'll come back to see her tomorrow.

Lather, rinse, and REPEAT CHORUS

Midnite

This guys storm is a mental one, so I don't know how much it fits the parameters.




This Blizzard's Gettin' Colder

(c) 2010 Geneva Keith


Verse
He's driftin' in a chillin' wind, gettin' off the Greyhound,
He can't clear the hazy fog from his bitter mind,
Her cheatin's not the best reason, for visitin' the fam'ly,
They've been there for him.. everytime life's got tryin'..


Pre Chorus
She took meaning from life, he needs the folks in desperation,
A storm rages inside.. and the wind is changin'.. (cause)..


Chorus
He feels as numb, as a double-minded drunkin' man',
With one bullet in the chamber, of the pistol in his hand,
That's shakin' as bad, as the grounds of her guilt,
Feelin' low enough, to let that trigger rip....
He needs his daddy's words and mama's shoulder..
This blizzard blowin' through him's gettin' colder..


Verse 2
His hearts colder than the chillin' ring in his pocket,
As empty as the meaning in those vows she made,
His life depended on it, when he left Greyhound bound,
His best friend in their bed.. blew his mind away..


Pre Chorus
His future is empty, he needs to talk through this anger,
With mind in a blur.. his trigger finger's aching.. (cause)..

Chorus
He feels as numb, as a double-minded drunkin' man',
With one bullet in the chamber, of the pistol in his hand,
That's shakin' as bad, as the grounds of her guilt,
Feelin' low enough to let that trigger rip....
He needs his daddy's words and mama's shoulder..
This blizzard blowin' through him's gettin' colder..


Bridge
In love and betrayal, what's left for life to hold..
Will he dig down deep for courage buried in his soul..
(When)


Pre Chorus
His trust has gone cold, he really needs the folk's love,
He's afraid of the things.. he may be capable of.. (cause)


Chorus
He feels as numb, as a double-minded drunkin' man'
With one bullet in the chamber, of the pistol in his hand,
That's shakin' as bad, as the grounds of her guilt,
Feelin' low enough to let that trigger rip....
He needs his daddy's words and mama's shoulder..
This blizzard blowin' through him's gettin' colder..


Tag
He feels as numb, as someone capable of....

Bob, this certainly sets a nice mood. Clouds, sunshine and shade and a styrofoam Elvis.

I think this chilling song fits the weather parameters very well, Geneva.

This is fun! This challenge takes me back to a song I wrote in the early 90's, for crying out loud. I'm glad I write better stuff now

Changing Seasons

There's a dark cloud rising over my heart
It's all I can do to keep from falling apart
Each day is a new battle to just hold on
I think I need someone like you I can lean on

But lately is seems I've got more hopes that reasons
To stay here through these Changing Seasons

They say money isn't everything it's not all you need
But when you work for a living I think it's hard to believe
How do the rich get richer and the poor stay that way
What are the answers to my questions, I think no one wants to say

But it seems to me that money was just another reason
That brought on these changing seasons

Now that winter's here and the nights are cold
I realize how lucky I am to have someone to hold
But at night, just before I sleep, I forget all the reasons
That brought around the changing of the seasons


That's very old, dang!

Thanks,
Johnny

Jean, no just a short story from my mind..thinkin one day..that's all..glyn