Case Study: Always Gonna Be You
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@songwritinguniversity www.songwritingu.com facebook.com/songwritingu CASE STUDY: ALWAYS GONNA BE YOU LESSON SUMMARY “Always Gonna Be You” was released in 2012 on the Kenny Chesney album Wel- come to the Fishbowl. It’s a deeply per- sonal song to Mike and he explains how it was almost drastically changed after a producer told him it would never be made into a single. Integrity is something that is certainly easier to have when you are comfortable “People record and reject songs for a million different reasons. It’s seldom for the reason that the song is good or KEY TAKEAWAYS & QUOTES the song is bad.” • We have to watch that integrity doesn’t financially. But you have to believe in the become an affordable commodity thing that you are writing with every fiber of your being. If you make changes to your • One of your challenges is to try and shape song, does it lessen that belief? the songwriting into a slightly more uni- versal, less personal realm of expression. Mike explains the difficulty of pitching your songs to artists who carry their own • Find people who think critically about the emotional weight and world experienc- work. es. But finding artists who think critical- ly about the work they produce can be a • You have the choice whether or not to profoundly reward expercience. compromise the meaning of a song. MIKE REID CREDITS INSTRUCTOR • Grammy award-winning songwriter After a pro-bowl career for • Co-wrote “I Can’t Make You Love Me” the cincinatti bengals, mike turned his focus to music and • US Country #1 Single “Walk On Faith” worte hit country songs and • Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters music for the stage. Hall of Fame 2 Songwriting University FULL TRANSCRIPT We have to watch that integrity doesn’t become an affordable com- modity. KEY POINT When I moved to Nashville, I would have killed my mother and your mother at the same time to get to see my name on a song, on a record, whatever that was going to take. And I just started trying to figure out this system here, started to figure out the language here because ev- eryone speaks in a certain kind of language and I wrote that way. For- tunately, I met Rob Galbraith, he said, no, no, he wanted me to write what it was in me to write and I was extremely lucky. Then I happened to intersect with a great singer named Ronnie Millsap who had made a ton of records. I don’t know how many number ones he had by that Writing for the culture or time he was a huge star and the challenge for him was staying inter- writing what’s inside you? ested. Are you chasing cultural He needed material that was off the beaten path that he could have trends or writing what you fun in the studio with. I happened to be writing those things and so believe in? If you write what it worked. But a lot of them like Stranger In My House, nobody else you believe in your writing would’ve recorded them. It took an adventurous artist like Ronnie to will be better and you’ll in- record those songs. You’re not Paul Simon because Paul Simon is the tersect with someone that delivery system of his own material. You’re not Paul McCartney, Bob can help you say what you Dylan, they are going to deliver their own material. As a songwriter, mean to say. your delivery system are these complete strangers you’ve never even met. And maybe it’s Luke Bryan, maybe it’s a Lee Brice, maybe it’s Car- rie Underwood. One of your challenges is to try and shape the song- writing into a slightly more universal, less personal realm of expression. KEY POINT Songwriting is often writing for others One of the challenges of our craft is shaping your mes- sage into a more universal realm of expression. Because the true personal thing in your life might not be what Carrie Underwood wants to sing about. It might not be what Kenny Chesney wants to sing about. So you pick your spots. I had a song, it was a song songwritingu.com Songwriting University 3 that presented itself and it’s a song that I loved. It was an idea that very rarely comes to me, and it came somewhat quickly and the song is written specifically about my wife. I’ll tell you one verse, KEY POINT I could jump on some ole highway Run a thousand miles or more Unlock some hidden mystery Behind a distant door I could sail the seven oceans Till I crawl upon some long forgotten shore But it’s always going to be you I’m looking for. Well, that’s it. Simple praise song, love song, right? Second verse says a very similar thing, then a release bridge. It’s not a chorus song. It’s a Does it make you ill to lose bridge song. it? If a verse, chorus, bridge, line, word of your song were to disappear off the face of the Earth...would it make you physically uncomfo- table? It may be something you want to build upon. KEY POINT Where does a man go for redemption Where does he take a broken heart Shouldn’t there be some small exemption If he does all that it takes To admit to his mistakes Till the truth batters and breaks his world apart Now that is a truth out of my life, but I had a publisher tell me, “Reid, When it’s your life on the you’re writing your way out of a single. No one’s going to want to sing line... that. That’s entirely too personal. No one is going to, these artists are Writing about your own not going to want to go down that road.” personal experiences can be cathartic, painful, emo- So I had a decision to make. It was either turn my back on what I knew tional and powerful. When to be true or stick with it. Now this is very late in my songwriting life. you put it out into the world Very late. My bills are paid. The wolf was not at my door, which is why the meaning may change. I invoked the idea of integrity being an affordable commodity at the facebook.com/songwritingu 4 Songwriting University beginning of this. But the thought of dumping that bridge for some- thing a little more generic almost made me physically ill. You will find at times if you get close with an artist, sometimes your favorite line will be the one line they want changed. I had that happen recently. A major KEY POINT artist asked me to change one line and I tried folks, I tried for two days to sing another line in there. And every time it lessened it. By the way, that song “Always Gonna Be You” went on to get record- ed. It was not a radio song. It wasn’t going to be, but it’s on a Kenny Chesney record. Kenny did a magnificent job. He’s a wonderful guy. And he said to me, “You know, Mike, 10 years ago, I could have not sung that song but I’m in a place now where I really can sing that song and understand it.” The value of patience. That’s a real artist. Someone who thinks like that. People record and Further lessons will discuss reject songs for a million different reasons. It’s seldom for the reason patience more in-depth. that the song is good or the song is bad. Your completed song may exist in limbo for a long Word got back to me on time that the late, great Don Williams had a period of time. You have to song of mine, She’s In Love, on hold. His producer said, “Don loves his trust that you have said the song more than any he has for this album he’s working on.” thing you wanted to say and that’s all you can do. Album gets recorded. The song is not on it. Next album, song is not on it. Next album, Don’s going to cut another thing called “One Good Well” and he asked my buddy Bruce Dees and I to come sing harmony be- KEY POINT cause we did on the demo. We went into the studio and Don Williams took me aside at one point and said, “You know Mike, one of these days, I’m going to record She’s In Love, but every time I get to the mi- crophone, I’m not emotionally up to it. And that was a wonderful les- son. These folks, when they take your song into the studio, they’re go- ing to record it for a number of reasons or they’re going to pass for a number of reasons. Working with real artists. Collaborting with artists that think critically about the music they make can be a moving experience. songwritingu.com.