Words of a Song

October 11th, 2008 Posted in Music

I believe that music is the international language.

I also believe that no matter what your mood and what your going through in life somewhere at sometime someone wrote a song about it.

If they haven’t yet and you can’t find a song to relate to then I believe the “universe” is compelling you to write a song that will speak your truth and share your feelings with the world.

You see music is what our feelings “sound like”. Music has been such a big part of my life that it has carried me through everything. Even my Grandmother’s funeral. I was an altar boy at her funeral
and at that time I was an unhappy rebellious teenager that could count the times I smiled on one hand. One of my cousins commented that I had the perfect disposition for a funeral. I kind of resented that but it was her perception and kind of true. What she could not see though was what was going on inside my heart. I hid it really well.

At the funeral the choir sang this haunting Czech hymn “Boze’ Cos Racil” when I heard it I got goose bumps all over. I loved my grandmother very much and i still do. I remember like yesterday the feeling that came over me when I heard that tune at her funeral. I had heard my mom sing it before but not in this intense of a context. That day I learned the power of music in a way I never had before and it sent chills down my spine. Still does.

I remember thinking that day that I would record that hymn and I did in 2004 almost 20 years later. That is how long it stuck with me. It ended up being the last track on my debut album “Wake Up”
What was “weird” about all of this is that I sang it in Czech and my mom says I nailed it. My mom speaks Czech better than anyone and I don’t speak Czech that well so that was a compliment coming from her.

So many people that bought my album commented on how they love that song. Even my girlfriend at the time and none of these people spoke Czech or even understood the lyrics. This just reinforced my belief in the power of music.

In Tianmen Square when the Chinese students were revolting against the oppression of the Chinese Government. The students stood in front of the tanks and held hands and started singing “Imagine” by John Lennon.

When I saw that I was a little older and wiser and no longer a rebellious teenager. I can count the times I have cried in my life on one hand and man oh’ man that one got me and it got me good. Once again “goosebumps”

My friend Stephane Hemon says “goosebumps” are God’s way of telling that Truth is present and love is in the air. I believe him and this is what I wrote “Words of a Song” about.

One of my favorite singers and songwriters is my friend Paul Schmaus. When he heard this song he told me he loved it and thought that there was some kind of “divine intervention” in me writing it.
That was an incredibly nice thing to say and I was very humbled to hear that from someone I respect as much as Paul about something that I wrote. When I listen to the lyrics of this song I feel I have to agree with Paul.

It feels like something greater than me simply used me as a vehicle to release this song to the world. I heard Eddie Van Halen say that once about his music. He said it “I just sit down at the piano and it comes to me, I don’t know who they are, but they send it” The greek word “muse” is where we get the word music from. The Greeks believed that the muses were angels that sent us music. Ii think they were on to something.

There is a funny story behind this song. Originally when we were recording it we had this jazzy kind of R&B drum groove we were using. Once these lyrics “came to me” Jimi Tunnell my producer had me come over to the studio and sing it. When he heard the vocals against the track he called me in from the vocal booth and said. “Nah man, we have got to change the drums, this is not happening, it’s too cute”

He ended coming up with the tribal “Lion King” boom that this track needed and the rest is history. I am very proud of the lyrics of this song. I made it the first track on my debut album because I feel it set the tone and balanced the hymn I sang for my Grandmother as the last track.

Here are the lyrics. have a look at them before you listen and i feel you will relate on a much deeper level.

Hakuna Matata!

Eric

The Words of a Song

When people sing
I will dance
Into the earth
In a trance

I travel far
And emerge
In the words of a song

When you arrive
At this place
And stare god
In the face

You will find
Who you are
In the words of a Song

I have loved
And I’ve lost
In my pain
Born the cross

I have seen
No greater cure
Than the words of a song

As above
So below
In the depths
Of my soul

I return
To the earth
In the words of a song

(Chorus)

When you are alone
And the world is your stage
What will you sing
In your song

The one who would be master
Is the servant of us all
You will find your answer
In a Song

(Eric Keyes/Fang Tooth Music BMI)