Sometimes as a writer you hang on to an idea, afraid to let go because you fear there’s a chance you won’t find a better alternative. This was the case with I Close My Eyes. I felt reluctant to do a rewrite. It’s hard to make a lot of headway and then have to start over. I hate feeling like I just wasted time on something that will never see the light of day. I know, of course, that this is all part of the creative process. Still the perfectionist side of me sighs every time I have to make major changes.
When I approached the project on the second day, I was pretty focused. My goal was to rework the chorus to make it less generic and a little bit more interesting. By changing up the bass line in the left hand, I was able to use a lot of the original chorus’ chord progression to create a greater emotional lift. What was once F, Gm, F/A, Bb became F/A, Bb, Gm7, C. I found that ending each phrase on the V (C) instead of the IV (Bb) just seemed a lot more pleasant.
Happy with the chorus, I resumed work on the verse. I was slightly horrified to find that my existing lyric didn’t work. The modified chorus created more energy, which necessitated an increase of tempo. With the song a little faster, the verse of I Close My Eyes was just too wordy. I remember singing through it a couple of times and feeling like I was writing something from The Music Man. Ugh.
So out went the existing verse. I struggled with keeping the existing theme with the new lyric. In the end, the verses became a little bit more generalized. I felt this was necessary in order to help listeners better relate to the song’s subject matter. I hated scaling back the details. At one point, I had a verse about being lost in San Francisco, and trying to catch my plane in time. It would have made a really good story song. It would also have made a really awkward musical number for a fireside.
What was funny about the whole rewrite was that it came pretty quickly. I had a self imposed deadline of Saturday at 7pm in order to head down to San Diego for Father’s Day. I’d also promised a friend that I’d send her the current version of the song. Everything was a rush in order to finish the thing before leaving for the weekend. I laid the piano tracks in one shot, and sang once or twice to comp the vocals. Then it was a quick bounce to disk and upload.
Here’s the mp3: I Know It’s You v1
And here are the lyrics:
Verse 1
I’ll find some days I’m lost
Out on my own
And then by chance it seems
I’m heading home
And then I see
More clearly
Verse 2
And In my life there’s been
That lonely road
And without words it seems
That someone knows
Then I see
So clearly
Chorus
I know enough to say
That when life just goes way
It’s not from what I do
I know enough
To know it’s you
Verse 3
Then there are the times
I need some answers
And when I flip the page
It’s staring there
And I see
So clearly
Chorus
I know enough to say
When life just goes my way
I know it’s all from You
I know enough
To know it’s you
Bridge (solo)
Verse 4
And when I kneel to say
I feel so grateful
My heart just overflows
And I’m unable
To freely
Sing to thee
Chorus
I know enough to say
When life just goes my way
It’s not from what I do
I know enough
To know it’s you
Repeat Chorus
I listened to this version all the way down to San Diego. Part 3 will detail the issues I heard during those listens and the changes made to the song upon my return.