Collaboration
So this week I knew was going to be a challenge, after completing week 2 by the skin of my teeth during a 4 day family camping trip with no power or wifi access most of the days, I thought this week would be a bit easier. I had a business trip to Boston for three days and on the home front we are packing up the house at home in prep for a home reno that is starting next week!
Then I got the email Sunday morning – the theme of the week was Collaboration! We had to do a co-write! I’ve been doing more and more co-writing over the past year so that wasn’t the daunting part, it was finding a partner willing to work with someone with limited time and access! Luckily Janet Bentham offered to work with me and she has her own time challenges this week with family visits and a few days at the cabin with old friends. We weren’t able to Skype on Monday, then Tuesday we had a quick Skype after sending some lyric and music thoughts back and forth via email. Jan had never even used Skype before and ended up calling me from a Tim Horton’s parking lot on the side of the highway as she was driving off to see her mother! We had a quick chat and agreed to flesh out the idea she had for a song about being on the road and away from your loved one, her husband had spent time on the road away from home and I am away at least one a month for work so was a topic we could both relate to, plus we were both travelling so lot of the images and ideas were being lived in our daily experience.
The resulting song has a bit of a country bend to it – kind of a Merle Haggard rustic road song. The demo is far from perfect as most of my available studio time was early in the week and my access to recording equipment on the road was limited. The bridge is written and there is music there to accompany it, but the vocal hasn’t been recorded yet! I’ll Upload a new version once the movers have all our stuff out of the house!
Back Home to You (Bentham/Sawatzky)
Verse 1:
We keep fading in and out of view
As I cross another border many miles passing through
The sun’s dropping down like a stone
I’ll be driving through another night alone
It’s never easy when i’m away from you
Chorus
The air is cold on this old highway
Storm clouds grow in skies of Blue
Our love runs strong as the road before me
Leading me back, back home to you.
Leading me back, back home to you.
Verse 2
Make my way across the dusty plains
Long haul loads to towns I couldn’t name
Weigh scale stops I’ll see if I can call
No reception out here at all
Longing is poison running through my veins
Chorus
The air is cold on this old highway
Storm clouds grow in skies of Blue
Our love runs strong as the road before me
Leading me back, back home to you.
Leading me back, back home to you.
Bridge
Hearts travelled and worn
Weary from time spent alone
Yearn to find their way back home
Chorus
The air is cold on this old highway
Storm clouds grow in skies of Blue
Our love runs strong as the road before me
Leading me back, back home to you.
Leading me back, back home to you.