The latest tune in the Stallion Cornell songbook: Flying.
I wrote this song about three years ago, not long after my youngest son, Stalliondo, was born. I came up with the tune as a way to singsong his name in the first line, and I decided I liked the melody and wanted to write a song around it.
Gary Larson, the creator of The Far Side, once said something like he wanted to write a normal comic strip like everyone else, but if he tried, Charlie Brown’s head would explode, Nancy would have an extra arm, Garfield would become an incontinent vampire, or something truly bizarre would end up happening. That’s kind of what happens when I wrote songs, too – I try to write something accessible, and then I start crooning about mustard or some such.
That’s one of the reasons I really dig this tune.
I had the idea to write a really bizarre sort of parody song a la Dead or Color Your Dreams, but it actually came out far more heartfelt and interesting. I like the atmosphere of the piece – it’s otherworldly, even when it’s performed with a single guitar and a solo vocal. And it’s strange, but not ridiculous or silly. It’s even a little bit sad. I don’t know where it stands in terms of quality when ranked up against my other songs, but it’s certainly one of my own personal favorites.
The recording, once again, is in GarageBand. I’m getting the hang of it, although I’m not sure I have the time, patience, or talent to make more than a rough demo of anything. I think there’s probably too much echo in the recording to emphasize the otherworldliness, among other problems. That’s actually me playing a real acoustic guitar in the thing, but that’s hard to do and keep a solid rhythm with GarageBand’s incessant metronome. So, especially near the end, the rhythm gets out of whack.