Need to Cry
No, not me...though that is sometimes true, too.
The members of the Minnesota Association of Songwriters were recently invited to participate in a songwriting challenge. I’ll include the details in case you want to try it yourself.
Rule #1: We had a deadline. So I’ll give you a deadline of June 15, but you only need to worry about that if you want me to publish your challenge song. I will post the results on June 26. If you do take the challenge but don’t make the deadline, I hope you will still click the “Message…” button in the end notes below and tell me about it.
Rule #2: Combine two words from the following list to create your prompt. Now, notice the rule says specifically “two words”. It does not say “two words or more”, and yet some members actually used all the words in the list! So, assume it says “two words or more…”
The list of words:
Family
Napkin
Bucket
Tree
Alligator
Ordinary
Hook
Polish
Brainwash
Popcorn
Awesome
Sweet
Undeniably
Terrible
Artful
I threw a song together quickly and made the deadline. My lyrics are below. I stuck to the two-word rule. The two words I chose are “ordinary” and “undeniably”.
NEED TO CRY
[VERSE]
Just an ordinary bottle
Holding all my fears inside
Spin me ‘round and watch me wobble
Pour out all the tears I’ve cried
[CHORUS]
I feel the need to cry
Undeniably untied
I have always wondered why
I feel the need to cry
[VERSE]
Sitting on the floor I ponder
Dreams and streams of thought I feel
In my memories I wander
Through the worlds that seem so real
[CHORUS]
I feel the need to cry
Undeniably untied
I have always wondered why
I feel the need to cry
[BRIDGE]
Flying in my dreams
Reaching for extremes
And yet I fear I’ll never reach the stars
[CHORUS]
I feel the need to cry
Undeniably untied
I have always wondered why
I feel the need to cry
To me, it’s about a person who feels emotions deeply and is longing for something more.
I asked ChatGPT to analyze it. I got a long explanation, of course, but this part seems especially appropriate to me: “There’s vulnerability in it, but not hopelessness. It doesn’t sound defeated. More bewildered. Reflective. Like someone observing their own emotional currents and trying to understand why they exist.”
You can hear the track here: Need to Cry
If there’s interest, I may do a separate post sometime about how I turned this from a quick lyric into a finished demo using a combination of traditional recording tools and AI-assisted production. Let me know what you think.
Your Turn
If you decide to try this challenge, please tell me about your experience. And, if you submit your song to me, I would love to do a post showcasing all the songs I get. If you’re interested, I’ll plan to publish that post on June 26.
🎶 Bonus Post
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Thanks for reading—and for helping shine a light on under-the-radar brilliance.
Disclaimer
Since this isn’t a spotlight post, the usual disclaimer does not apply.