This one is going to be a private post (for now)*. There’s a lyrics contest hosted by American Songwriter magazine... If anything comes of it, I’ll make this post public, but for now it’s serving as a record of composition. (And I’ll share it with my step-sister, Jess, whose name works great if you’re writing a country song in your head.) *I wasn’t sure how to make the note private, but that’s okay -- I want to make it public now anyway! HOW WE CHANGED THE ROADS Ah, Jess, you

I don’t remember whether the melody came first or the lyrics, but I have a feeling that in this case I may have actually started by sitting down at the piano and playing. I came up with this melody, which, to me, was reminiscent of a Joni Mitchell or Cat Stevens piece — predominantly in bright major chords, but with certain passages in minor keys that create this massive tension bordering on paranoia or anxiety. The narrative thread obviously borrowed from that musical sentim