Recently while doing some late-night research,I found myself watching a video for a song called “Night Flight” by local troubadour Gary Hempsey. For me, videos, while they can add an astonishing amount of context to a song, sometimes can detract from it. So I often look away from the video to just listen for a minute. While I did that the other night, I began to get a picture in my mind about what the artist was describing. As the song went on, more details filled themselves in until I had a full picture, a photograph of an emotion, a snapshot in time that I had created in my mind with Gary’s song as the inspiration.
The song itself is reminiscent of James Taylor. Its tone is understated and the melody entwined with the chord progression like an aged vine wrapping itself around the trunk of an old tree. It is a bit of a lullaby. The chord progression itself, while starting down a familiar path, takes a bit of a turn, extending itself and coming back around to the beginning. The guitar chords are open and, in addition to a melody that is inviting but not pressing, add to the overall lullaby-like feeling.
It feels like a song one wants to sing to the child they miss. Even the temperament of what sounds like an old Fender Rhodes piano stays in the pocket created by the wide acoustic guitar chords. Never pushing the song nor beleaguering the melody, it still manages to stay close to home and keep the mood.
The lyrics instantly take you to the inside of an airplane when you are the only one with their light still on. Some of us have been that last light. And when you are, these are the thoughts that can go through your head. (As you can tell, I like this song.)
All this led me down the mental path of what makes up a good singer-songwriter-type song. When I listen to such songs, I look for certain things. Does the song please my ear? Do I like the melody? Does the subject matter appeal to me? And in some cases, does the song capture the snapshot of an emotion? Some people can write a song that sounds like the picture of the first time you locked eyes with your soulmate. Some people can craft a song that instantly takes the listener to a moment in their life that they can almost feel again. And sometimes, in magical moments, a song can take us to a place we’ve never been, and we begin to understand something we may not have before. Well-written songs can help us to begin to understand before we ask to be understood.
