About Songwriting
Songs that Take You Places
When I was six years old, my family moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to Orlando, Florida. We went back to North Carolina every year, leaving after my father got off work and traveling all night. Perhaps to keep my father awake, we sang songs all through the extremely long state of Georgia. Hand Me Down my Walking Cane, The Midnight Special, Down in the Valley, Crawdad Hole, and I Saw the Light, were some of our favorites. By the time day broke near the town of Rock Hill, South Carolina, we were almost home. On our drive through the night, we had been in the places where those songs took us—heard the train whistle, seen Roberta with her umbrella, been in the parlor with the lady and her fan, and felt the longing of the man in jail asking someone he loved to write him a letter—and those side journeys created very special memories of the songs my parents taught me.
Musical Influences
My North Carolina ancestors sang
around the house, at church, and at the camp meeting. They learned popular songs from the radio and records. And like my ancestors, I love to sing. In the summer, when I go to the Kaufman Acoustic Kamp in Tennessee and sing old time songs, I feel that I am in a musical home I knew from my earliest memories. As I grew up, my taste in music extended to other folk traditions, blues, and jazz. I live in Tallahassee where listening rooms, public auditoriums, churches, and parks provide concerts of all types of music year ’round.
Songwriting
When I write, I don’t begin with chords or any musical instrument except my voice. I sing until the melody is right and then I think about the chords that will enhance the melody. A song usually begins with words that describe a visual image, a feeling, a place--but sometimes it begins with the melody. My creation process is similar to that of my friends who make functional pottery—teacups, bowls, and plates. Once I have an idea, I make a shape and let it sit for a while. I decide whether to add something, take something away, or reshape part of it. I might polish it by changing a word or a note. The song-in-progress sometimes sits for long periods of time between those steps, or it could feel complete in a day or two.
Love of Lyrics
I like lyrics that tell a story and also lyrics that express a feeling with no story line. I like the cadence of voices. Once when I was keeping company with parrots whose humans were away for some months, I discovered that the birds really liked songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim and other songs with space and mood. Very wordy songs caused them to turn their backs or to say, “Whatever.” When I sing to my cats, they tend to like their names over and over again. “Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous.” Or, “Socks, Socks, Socks.” One of the puzzles of lyric writing is finding the right vocal sounds for the ears of your listeners.
My Introduction to Song Structure
My grandfather had a wonderful collection of 78 rpm records, and I remember first being amazed by "The Wreck of the Number 9". I couldn’t believe how the whole story—the relationship, the tragedy, the dark winter night—was there in so few words. You could tell what a good man the engineer was, and you knew the tear in his fiancée’s eye meant that she was afraid something might happen. You could feel the momentum that preceded the crash. And when the engineer’s last words were to make sure his fiancée would get the little white house he had bought for them, you could feel the reality of that line of work. The respect in the narrator’s voice made it sound like he knew the engineer. I was 7 or 8 years old when I heard Vernon Dalhart’s recording of Carson Robison’s song. While I’ve come to love songs that are more sophisticated in structure and more carefree in attitude, that song is still my model for clarity and simplicity.
Songs for You
Listening to a song takes me away from the demands of the day and gives me a place to simply be, and maybe reflect, for a few minutes. Sometimes after that respite, I focus better and see things differently. My goal is to provide those few minutes of diversion and reflection for the people who hear my songs. If So Long Ago, helps a listener think about someone they loved; if Slow Down and Walk with Jesus helps someone stop and pay attention to the one person who needs them at that moment; or if someone teaches her class to sing The Song the Mountains Sing to Me, and the children can pronounce “sparkles like the spray”, I will be happy.
Use of My Songs
I hope you will enjoy listening to my songs and singing them. If you would like sheet music for a song, ask me and I’ll send it to you. If you would like to record one of my songs, for any purpose, please ask me first for permission.
Linda Harkey