"Play Me (Uptempo)"

I want to live in a song
so you can play me all night long
Pull my guitar right on out of her case
Strum my strings from the treble to the bass
I want to live in a song

I want to live in a vinyl 45
so you can make me spin and jive
Lay my record on the old turntable
Slip in my grooves if you’re willing and able
I want to live in a vinyl 45

I want to live in a drum
so you can make my skin thrum
Brush my high hat and stroke my cymbal
Play the whole kit if you’re feeling nimble
I want to live in a drum

Play me all night long—
play every note if you're strong
I want to live in a song

Our experience of a song can change drastically depending upon even a simple thing like tempo (just think about how effective tempo change is in songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Shout”). In music theater a song is often performed in a different tempo often with a whole chorus instead of as a solo for a “reprise”. In the groundbreaking 1927 musical “Showboat” (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein) the legendary ballad “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” is performed as a rollicking, up-beat dance tune as well as a heart-breaking slow, ballad.

I wrote the original version of “Play Me” for the piano as a slow ballad with unusual jazzy chord changes (see prior blog post here). I rarely bring a keyboard to gigs, however, so I eventually decided to adapt the song for the guitar. Local Charlotte musician, Dan Hood, came up with the blues standard tempo and chord changes for this version of the song. It was a version and mood I never heard or anticipated but is now one of my favorite ways to perform the song. The “Free Planet Radio” musicians made this song feel like a standard “NY Jazz club” song. Fitting to end my cd with a song that involved extensive collaboration with other musicians to bring the song to life.

I’ve enjoyed sharing the stories of how all these songs came to life over the past year. Looking forward to the stories yet to come.