Pigeon
Apr 28, 2020
Sam Pearce
Lullaby
little pigeon put your head down. if you can’t sleep put your head down. I can do some dreaming for you and you can do some thinking for me
pretty pigeon I have counted all the stars rolling over the city and they’re all still in their places and compared to them I am next to you
and I’ll still be here when they’re hiding. I’ll still be here in the morning. and I will still adore you and you will still be adored by me
*This is not specific to this assignment, but I need to credit my friend’s daughter, Daisy, for painting the piece I’m borrowing as my NCBC picture. It’s 14″ x 14″ on canvas and is of a meteor that she, her brother, my friend, and I saw. I thought it was a wonderful gift and an inspiring image for making music, so with the artist’s permission, I wanted to share it so more people can enjoy it. Thank you, Daisy!
Looking for feedback on
I appreciate any and all thoughts, and I'm wondering about: Lyrics (esp. lines that bother you, "take you out of the song"). Key (tune down a half-step?) Does the way I sang "you", "ya", sound natural or forced? Is it obvious that the first line of melody is from a famous song, and if I released this song, would it sound derivative? Thanks for listening!
Discussion
alechutson May 12, 2020 6:24pm
So meditative and soothing. The first line doesn’t jump out at me as derivative, and nothing sounds forced.
Great job!
Sam Pearce May 14, 2020 8:45am
Thank you!
juliapiker May 12, 2020 1:25pm
Sam so nice!!!!!
Key- I’m always fucking around with moving around my key to see where my voice sits best. It’s really up to you if you want to be closer to your head voice or sit more in your chest. I think for the sake of this track it’s sitting in a really sweet spot. Would be curious to hear it lower down too thought
I love adore “ya”.
Sam Pearce May 14, 2020 8:47am
Thank you, Julia! Yeah, I think I just finished agonizing over the key for my next song.
Ryan May 11, 2020 1:02pm
Came back to this one this morning. Just really freaking nice.
Sam Pearce May 11, 2020 2:23pm
Thank you, man 🙂
nurphgun May 10, 2020 9:21pm
“and compared to them I am next to you” — that’s quite a lyric; I love it so much. It’s a perfect lullabye sentiment. It’s not easy to use stars as metaphors in an original way but you’ve done it. I don’t know what melody-from-a-famous-song you used, even after humming it myself a few times, so there you go. I found “for ya” to be very pleasing to the ear, it’s sweet and playful. But since you do tend to have a relatively formal approach to your phrasing, maybe it is a bit out of place? I’m not sure. Maybe if you found more little places to similarly playful, it’d fit better. Overall I love this and it’s been stuck in my head for a little while now.
Sam Pearce May 10, 2020 9:47pm
Thank you, Nora! I’m happy you enjoyed it. That lyric is also the one that I feel the most sincerely, but I was also worried about it being too something…”technical” maybe, so I’m glad it works for you too. I like that idea, of trying to be more playful with it in general seeing how that sounds. It’s tricky with a one minute piece, right? Every conscious decision seems to count for a lot and risk throwing of the balance of the song. And as I mentioned in reply to Ryan, the famous song is “What is Love” by Haddaway.
nick May 11, 2020 8:59am
I really love all these comments and totally agree. That lyric is excellent. I do think the “ya” took me out a bit. I love the way the rest is sung though, so I don’t necessarily think “playfull-izing” is the right move, but heck, definitely worth experimenting. Great job, sam.
Ryan May 10, 2020 8:02pm
This is lovely, Sam. Your voice sounds great. And the nylon-string sounds killer, too. Love when the melody shows up on the guitar and when it leaves, too. I can’t name the melody! Though I’d say if it’s borrowed note-for-note, a credit to the original artist would be in order on the release. I think it’s in the right key, for sure. It’s getting just enough out of your voice. I would say the ‘ya’ does come across as a touch forced—if only because there are several other mentions of ‘you’ in the song that are pronounced as ‘you’. Did you A/B the pronunciations?
Sam Pearce May 10, 2020 9:41pm
Hey Ryan, thanks for your thoughtful responses to all of my questions. The song is “What Is Love” by Haddaway. I basically used one new note to fuse the two very short phrases that open that song into one longer phrase. And I think you’re definitely right, if it is in fact “that melody” I need to credit the artist. I guess the question is, by legal and ethical definitions, is the melody taken from that song or just inspired by it, which is something I’ll need to figure out if I release it. When I originally wrote it I only took three notes from “What Is Love”, and then I decided it be more fun to make the reference more recognizable, so I’ll also consider reverting to that more original version. I appreciate your honest feedback on the diction. It’s strange; I obviously say “ya” in conversation all the time, and I sang it without thinking the first time I tried to track the vocals. I messed up on that take, and when I tried again (this take) it was impossible for me to not think about replicating that pronunciation, and maybe this is purely psychological, but I think the fact that I’m thinking about it, as opposed it simply happening, might be audible. If I record it again, I’ll definitely A/B them.