"Sometimes we don't need words to express ourselves..."
- The Robotanist
As a singer-songwriter, it had never really occurred to me in my almost 30-years of songwriting to create an instrumental song for an album. After all, as a musical storyteller, how do you tell a story without words…
When I accidentally stumbled into one while working on The Robotanist album with Wednesday Song, it helped me realize that sometimes we don’t need words to tell a story. If you manage to do it properly, an instrumental track can convey the emotions needed to inspire its own little story. (I think I did ok with that on Wednesday Song ;) )
Inspired by the positive reaction to that first instrumental track, I went into the Haunted Cowboy Sounds session knowing that at least one more instrumental would be added to my song catalogue. But, I certainly wasn’t expecting three!
As the narrative (or theme) of Haunted Cowboy Sounds emerged during the songwriting process, I began to see how instrumental tracks and the emotions they can convey would not only help the narrative, but they could also help me shift gears from one emotion to the next at different points of the album. They could add an uplifting vibe into my sadly-optimistic sound.
The first instrumental that came along very early in the writing and recording process was Colorado Song. It is the third track on the album - following the quiet tones of Candace and bringing the listener into what is probably the most high-tempo track on the album, Take My Hand.
Inspired by the pictures that a friend of mine posts on Instagram of her walks in Colorado, the Colorado Song track is meant to reflect the beauty and serenity of that part of the world. The soaring melodies and tones are meant to bring the listener onto an eagle’s wings; feeling the updrafts of air, lifting us up. Reminding us to look at the view from above, which enables us to see things from a different perspective. Sometimes, it is hard to see the “big picture” from ground level. I am quite proud of this one, as it may be one of my most intricate layering of sounds in a song - it sounds simple, but there is a lot going on in there!
Preview of Colorado Song:
The next instrumental brings us back to the mountains for inspiration - Moonlight on the Mountains… I’ll admit right from the start here, that this may be my favourite song on the album.
In creating Haunted Cowboy Sounds, I was really inspired by the songwriting of Nick Drake. (If you have not checked out his music yet, I highly recommend that you do!)
One of the things that makes his music so distinctive is his frequent change to very unique guitar tunings. For the guitar players reading this post, the Drake tuning I used for several songs on the album is: C-G-C-F-C-E.
For Moonlight on the Mountains, I once again wanted to add that uplifting feeling to the album; to bring the narrative to its next shift. It is a faster-paced song, with soaring melodies, but it has several layers of “haunted cowboy sounds” added to it.
There is something very magical and mystical about the mountains when a full moon shines down upon them. Whether you are standing amongst the trees on a mountain side, or looking at a picture, it definitely evokes emotions deep within us. The goal here was to incorporate some of that magic into a song that for me, became very healing… I feel the ancient pulse of the mountains when I listen to this track.
Official video for Moonlight on the Mountains:
The final instrumental on Haunted Cowboy Sounds is Lonesome Waltz - a song that almost didn’t make it onto the album… But I sure am glad that it did.
I spent a lot of time with this one song… When writing and recording an entire album in 30 days, the songs have to come quickly and get done quickly. The majority of the album was done in two separate 48-hour sessions. And then there was Lonesome Waltz, which took almost 5 days on its own!
It took many forms during that time - it had lyrics, then became an instrumental. It got new lyrics and a new chord progression several times, eventually finding itself in the “maybe next album” song files…Since it was the last song completed on the album, I knew where it would sit in the track list (it is song number 8 of 10) and if I could just get it right, it would help complete the narrative.
Working on this album helped me to finally shed some emotional baggage that I had been dragging around for years. And, as the album ends, I feel that the tone of the album has gone from lost and lonely, to inspired and knowing things will be okay. Even though lonesome is in the title, the energy of the song is more of a “I’m not lonesome any more” vibe.
To get this song into it’s final form and on the album, I was once again inspired by The Beatles Get Back documentary. (If you’ve been following me on my musical journey, this won’t surprise you in the least - LOL!!)
In the film, George Harrison tells his bandmates about writing I Me Mine after watching a waltz on the BBC earlier in the evening. Unsure if they would use the song, it was released on the Let It Be album and is a classic example of Harrison’s own songwriting ability that is often overshadowed by the Lennon and McCartney songwriting powerhouse.
Since I was already exploring new tunings, sounds and styles on my album, I took one last swing at my unfinished track with a waltz timing (something I had never attempted before) and Lonesome Waltz slid perfectly into the Haunted Cowboy Sounds narrative.
Preview of Lonesome Waltz:
So, there you have it - a little insight into how a singer-songwriter learned that he doesn’t always need words to tell a story…
See you next time!
Haunted Cowboy Sounds and its companion album, The Wanderer (7 Classic Country Songs), are both available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp.
Haunted Cowboy Sounds is also available on Spotify and the streaming services, as is The Wanderer EP (7 Classic Country Songs).
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