Victims of Circumstance is the first song I wrote in my junior year creative writing class. It
is also the first song on my EP because the lineup is in chronological order to when I wrote them.
I wrote this song for my best friend who lives in New England. We met at a leadership conference over the summer and stayed friends after. Having this friendship was really special but also really painful. This is where my first verse came in. I was blunt about the fact that distance would be the downfall of our friendship, which also foreshadows the ending of this song. At first, it was really difficult to have such a good friend that I couldn't hang out with, go to school with, and only talk on the phone. The phone analogy in my second verse is a significant part of this piece because that's how we were able to be friends.
I added the bridge after my creative writing teacher reviewed this song and said he really liked the second verse but wanted me to dig deeper into it. The bridge is about how my friend and I don't really talk about anything special or interesting, but I still look forward to talking to him every week. The final line of the bridge is what my friend tells me every time I get mad we live so far apart - "Don't worry, I'm one call away". It always makes the distance seem a little shorter.
Even though we're still friends, I didn't want the ending of this song to be cliche. I wrote a few different endings but decided on the one that was not a "happily-ever-after." I think it made my piece more realistic and relatable. It's definitely challenging and uncommon to retain a relationship with someone that isn't physically in your life every day. I wanted my outro to signify that it's okay if these friendships don't last. It was still an important part of my life and a lesson for the future, even if our friendship fizzled out.
Lyrics:
Verse 1:
If distance wasn’t a factor,
this would be so much easier.
I wouldn’t question if I’m wasting your time,
Or any of mine.
So no I won’t cry,
But I sit here, and try to clear my mind,
of you and I.
Chorus:
It’s easy to love when you’re not supposed to,
It’s why, I can't deny feelings for you.
You know I try.
Maybe we should’ve walked away, when we had the chance.
But still you stay,
And now we’re victims of circumstance
Verse 2:
The timing’s not right,
so just hold me tight,
through the phone line.
The cord can get entwined,
Unlike you and I.
Bridge:
How’s your day? How’s your mom? How’s your heart?
This is just the start then we get to the good part.
Where we’re lost in conversation,
And I curse this world to damnation.
Because I forget we’re 1,009 miles apart.
But you just say,
don’t worry, I’m one call away
Chorus
Verse 3:
We call each other less and less.
We drift apart, I reassess.
Don’t forget about me,
And I promise to remember you.
Even though inevitably,
I’ll deny feelings for you.
You know I tried.
We’ll pretend we walked away, when we had the chance.
We can’t stay,
We’re just victims of circumstance.
Fingerpicking is really common in Jazz music. A notable jazz guitarist is Wes Montgomery. The way Montgomery plucked and played the guitar had a very similar sound to how the piano is played. He didn't just use a plucking pattern with a chord progression like I use in my song, he created melodies with specific notes he plucked. Another unique aspect of Montgomery's playing: he used only used his thumb when playing.
Wes Montgomery's sound was similar to fingerstyle guitar playing. Fingerstlye typically uses the thumb, first, middle, and ring fingers, however Montgomery only used his thumb when playing. I associate Montgomery's playing to guitar fingerstyle because it was created to mimic ragtime piano on the guitar, which is what I find Montgomery's playing sounded like. Fingerstyle developed in the US in the late 1800s during the Blues era. Traditional African-American work songs and spiritual hymns influenced and sparked the start of Blues music. Jazz music proceeded the Blues era, so I believe that is one of the reasons why Montgomery's guitar style is similar to fingerstyle/Blues music.
The plucking pattern I use creates a rhythm similar to strumming. The technique I use was dubbed the "Boom-Plink" method by Heidi Swedberg, which I learned from my teacher Mick Jeffries. I use my thumb to pluck the G string, then my middle and ring finger to pluck the E and A strings simultaneously, then the C string with my thumb, then back to the E and A strings with my middle and ring. I play this twice through on each chord before switching. In the verses I use chords G, Am, Em, and in the chorus, I use G, D, C.
Thanks for yielding!
Until next time,
Alexis
P.S. - I've hyperlinked all my research resources to give credit and thanks to all the awesome people that know more about this than I do.
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