Just a thought...
Writing is hard. Right? I mean, there are wonderful aspects of it, and once you've 'finished' something you're really proud of it feels amazing, but the work of it...the actual 'writing' part of writing...that's difficult.
There are rules you have to follow, and have to know when to break, and they differ between the various types of writing you may be doing. And with different forms of writing, the fact is that even when you follow the rules, and have done so many aspects of it right, the end result still may not all add up quite the way it should.
That's the way I feel about the next song I am presenting to you. Yes, that's right...I am not only presenting what I consider to be my successes! How would we learn anything if we only focused on what worked? The fact is, we grow a hell of a lot more from the failed attempts than we do from the winning ones.
So with that in mind, this next song helped me grow. A LOT.
This assignment was a seemingly easy one (compared to other challenges in the workshop), but it's one that has frustrated my collaborator and I to this day.
My collaborator on this was composer Jonathon Lynch, and the challenge was to write a Charm Song for the old classic movie, 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Don't know what a Charm Song is? Well, click here. Or here. Or even...here! (hint: They all go to the same place...but go ahead...click them all, just to be sure!)
Anyway, we had to write a song that did not progress the story, but could be used to give the audience a break and a feel of the overall world of the show. In this case, the 'show' would be our hypothetical musical rendition of the old Jimmy Stewart film.
Jonathon and I set out to do just that. We watched the film and discussed the moments we felt worked best for such a song, and finally concluded that the moment we wished to work with was just about mid-way through the film...the scene where we first see Bailey Park, and George is welcoming Mr. and Mrs. Martini (the bar owners) to their new home. It's a scene about hope, about dreams coming true, about funny Italian accents...and so that's what we wrote.
The scene/song below was our first attempt at this Charm Song.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Livin’ The Dream!
(The scene opens on a large oak tree, with a sign
made from sticks hanging from a branch overhead reading ‘Welcome to Bailey
Park’. We push past the oak tree
and see several quaint and lovely little houses lining a well-kept dirt
road. There is a crowd surrounding
one particular home, number 4587 Bailey Way. The crowd is cheering as we see MARY and GEORGE BAILEY
standing on the porch with a few items in hand. The MARTINI family is standing in front of them.)
GEORGE
Mr. and Mrs. Martini…Welcome home!
MARY
GEORGE
MARTINI
CROWD
MARTINI
I’MA
SO PROUD, AND SO HAPPY TO SAY…
GEORGE
MARTINI
(The crowd cheers)
GEORGE
Well, that’s just beautiful!
Isn’t that beautiful, folks?!
BERT
Guess that just goes to show, sometimes what you end up with is better
than what you wanted in the first place…
GEORGE
What d’ya mean, Bert old boy?
You didn’t always know you’d be the best darn flatfoot this town’s ever
seen?
BERT
Oh no, Georgie. I had a
different idea…once…
WHEN
I WAS A KID,
THE
ROAR OF THE CROWD,
THEN,
I NEARLY SPAT,
COACH
YELLED “HEY, SON,
WELL,
SPORTS WERE A FLOP.
SO,
I NEVER SCORED…
NO
DOUBT I’M LIVIN’ THE DREAM!
ERNIE
Wow, Bert…that’s a pretty good pitch you got, there!
BERT
That’s not what Coach said…
GEORGE
You guys are a couple of real cutups!
ERNIE
Say, that reminds me of what I used to want to be as a kid!
BERT
Barber? Butcher? Seamstress?
(everyone looks at him)
ERNIE
Oh, no…I had something else in mind…
WHEN
I WAS A BOY,
THE
SALTIEST AIRS…
BUT
WHEN WE SET SAIL,
NIGHT
AFTER NIGHT,
I
HURRIED ASHORE,
I
HOPPED IN MY CAR…
AND
SO I’M LIVIN’ THE DREAM!
GEORGE
Say, that’s real classy Ernie!
ERNIE
Well, I did always want to explore ‘abroad’!
BERT
Who knew? Guy goes out to
sea and comes back all wet!
GEORGE
Hey Martini! Martini! It’s your big day! How about you
finish that speech of yours!
MARTINI
Ok…Ok!
MA
DREAM ON DA SHELF?
A
PLACE FOR DA BEDS,
DA
DEAL, SHE’S-A PASS,
POTTER
NO CARES…
I’VE
NO MUCH TO SPEND,
WITH
HELP FROM DIS GUY,
ALL
SO
NOW THEY’RE LIVIN’ THE DREAM!
BERT
SHAKE
OFF THE DUST…!
GEORGE
NOW
YOU’RE THE UPPER CRUST…!
ERNIE
THE
CRÈME DE LA CREAM!
ALL
THEY
SAW THE TINIEST SPARK, AND TOOK A SHOT IN THE DARK,
ALL
TODAY
WE’RE LIVIN’ THE DREAM!
TODAY
WE’RE LIVIN’ THE DREAM!
(End of scene.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We wanted the theme of this song to be that we often think we want one kind of life, but as events occur and time passes, we sometimes see that we end up right where we want to be. Our goals change, and we can find the ideal life we never knew we wanted. Sounds about right for the movie, right?
Well, this song missed the mark. Not because Jonathon didn't write good music. Not because I didn't follow the rules and write good lyrics. Because something about it felt inappropriate. It seemed like they were singing about things that were NOT the dream a lot more than telling us WHY they were 'living the dream'.
Also, the primary focus of this scene is supposed to be our lovely Italian stereotypes, Mr. and Mrs. Martini, receiving the keys to their very own house in Bailey Park. This shows us how George was helping people in general...but most specifically, the Martini family! And in we come with an ensemble of other characters to elaborate on this scene/theme, and completely pulled focus from the moment at hand. Basically, we had a scene about a family moving into their new place, and we stole the moment from them to give (another) opportunity to Bert and Ernie (the town cop and the town cabbie), who are in MANY other scenes and could potentially have MANY other songs already.
I'd like to say that the realization of this was enough for us to scrap the version entirely, and try something completely different. I'd like to. But I can't.
Unfortunately, we had in our heads that this could work...and so when given the opportunity to rewrite, we tried making adjustments to the material you see above. The result was better, but still less than successful.
As you'll see soon, when I post 'Part III' which will include our rewrite...
Well, this song missed the mark. Not because Jonathon didn't write good music. Not because I didn't follow the rules and write good lyrics. Because something about it felt inappropriate. It seemed like they were singing about things that were NOT the dream a lot more than telling us WHY they were 'living the dream'.
Also, the primary focus of this scene is supposed to be our lovely Italian stereotypes, Mr. and Mrs. Martini, receiving the keys to their very own house in Bailey Park. This shows us how George was helping people in general...but most specifically, the Martini family! And in we come with an ensemble of other characters to elaborate on this scene/theme, and completely pulled focus from the moment at hand. Basically, we had a scene about a family moving into their new place, and we stole the moment from them to give (another) opportunity to Bert and Ernie (the town cop and the town cabbie), who are in MANY other scenes and could potentially have MANY other songs already.
I'd like to say that the realization of this was enough for us to scrap the version entirely, and try something completely different. I'd like to. But I can't.
Unfortunately, we had in our heads that this could work...and so when given the opportunity to rewrite, we tried making adjustments to the material you see above. The result was better, but still less than successful.
As you'll see soon, when I post 'Part III' which will include our rewrite...
Until next time...
-Lee
...of 'Lee'rical Wordplay...
...in case there was any question...
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