The Challenge:
This Place is a Zoo: Refer to your pet as your roommate and write a song about what your roommate did today, never mentioning its species in the lyrics. If you don't have a pet, make one up.
Lyrics:
She wakes to the alarm and I cuddle in close
Don't know what the day brings, don't know where she goes
She's a weekend lover, or weekdays after 5
6 years living with her, damn, feels like my whole life
So, I watch her getting ready, like she can't wait to leave
Tells me, "Not to worry, baby, go back to sleep"
I don't know what to do as she walks out that door
I'm helpless and lonely, curled up on the floor
Then I sit in the window, watching birds fly by
Know she's somewhere out there, under sunny skies
Sitting in the window, wishing for the sun
But there ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Bio:
Just gonna preface this with the fact that I think this song is strange and a lot different from what I thought it was going to be (including shorter). But, it's okay? But, the stuff you want to hear:
So, a while back, I went on a trip. When I went, I left my sweet kitty with my mother. When I returned, I was obviously very excited to see Celli. My mom said that while I was away, Celli would sit in the window like he was waiting for me (he also likes watching the birds). Also, my mom being a singer and having a hobby of picking out signature songs for cats, it became habit for her to sing "Ain't No Sunshine" while he was in the window. A while after that, we took a family trip to Florida where there are lot of musicians who play live in restaurants and bars and it seemed everywhere we went they'd play "Ain't No Sunshine" and every time it happened I felt a little guilty about my kitty missing me. So, I knew right away that this song would reference that song.
From there, it seemed obvious the song would have to have both a love-song and melancholic feel.
As far as the instrumentation during the verse-like part, not only do dissonant chords and an unstructured feel contribute to the melancholy, they also are the best (somewhat structured) representation of a cat walking across a keyboard; random and clashing. The chorus-like part, is a little more structured and less dissonant. Sitting in the window and watching the birds is something he enjoys, not so melancholic. The layered round-like vocal parts represent the fact that he spends a looooot of time doing this. Also, the shaker? It's a toy mouse. Celli brought it to me while I was working on the song, and I thought it was his way of telling me, "This is actually my song. I want the mouse in it." So, how could I say no?
And if you want to be thorough, breaking down the lyrics:
She wakes to the alarm and I cuddle in close (He lays next to me all night and then as soon as my alarm goes off, he decides to lay on top of me. Convincing me not to get up?)
Don't know what the day brings, don't know where she goes (I'm going to work, but I travel all over the place for my job. Most days I don't even know where I'm going.)
She's a weekend lover, or weekdays after 5 (These are the typical times I'm home.)
6 years living with her, damn, feels like my whole life (The "living with" mention to meet the roommate part of the challenge. Also, Celli is 6 and he's lived with me since it was appropriate for me to take him away from his mama cat; basically his whole life.)
So, I watch her getting ready, like she can't wait to leave (Once I DO get up, he does follow me around while I get ready and usually will jump on the counter while I do hair/makeup. I'm also usually running late, so it's not that I can't wait to leave...I just need to hurry.)
Tells me, "Not to worry, baby, go back to sleep" (I do tell him to go back to sleep a lot in the morning; he just always seems so cuddly.)
I don't know what to do as she walks out that door
I'm helpless and lonely, curled up on the floor (He will follow me into the living room as I'm about to leave and lay on the floor looking cute; maybe thinking if he looks helpless and/or lonely enough I won't leave)
Then I sit in the window, watching birds fly by (This is what he likes to do most days!)
Know she's somewhere out there, under sunny skies
Sitting in the window, wishing for the sun
But there ain't no sunshine when she's gone ("Ain't No Sunshine" reference finally comes through.)
This Place is a Zoo: Refer to your pet as your roommate and write a song about what your roommate did today, never mentioning its species in the lyrics. If you don't have a pet, make one up.
Lyrics:
She wakes to the alarm and I cuddle in close
Don't know what the day brings, don't know where she goes
She's a weekend lover, or weekdays after 5
6 years living with her, damn, feels like my whole life
So, I watch her getting ready, like she can't wait to leave
Tells me, "Not to worry, baby, go back to sleep"
I don't know what to do as she walks out that door
I'm helpless and lonely, curled up on the floor
Then I sit in the window, watching birds fly by
Know she's somewhere out there, under sunny skies
Sitting in the window, wishing for the sun
But there ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Bio:
Just gonna preface this with the fact that I think this song is strange and a lot different from what I thought it was going to be (including shorter). But, it's okay? But, the stuff you want to hear:
So, a while back, I went on a trip. When I went, I left my sweet kitty with my mother. When I returned, I was obviously very excited to see Celli. My mom said that while I was away, Celli would sit in the window like he was waiting for me (he also likes watching the birds). Also, my mom being a singer and having a hobby of picking out signature songs for cats, it became habit for her to sing "Ain't No Sunshine" while he was in the window. A while after that, we took a family trip to Florida where there are lot of musicians who play live in restaurants and bars and it seemed everywhere we went they'd play "Ain't No Sunshine" and every time it happened I felt a little guilty about my kitty missing me. So, I knew right away that this song would reference that song.
From there, it seemed obvious the song would have to have both a love-song and melancholic feel.
As far as the instrumentation during the verse-like part, not only do dissonant chords and an unstructured feel contribute to the melancholy, they also are the best (somewhat structured) representation of a cat walking across a keyboard; random and clashing. The chorus-like part, is a little more structured and less dissonant. Sitting in the window and watching the birds is something he enjoys, not so melancholic. The layered round-like vocal parts represent the fact that he spends a looooot of time doing this. Also, the shaker? It's a toy mouse. Celli brought it to me while I was working on the song, and I thought it was his way of telling me, "This is actually my song. I want the mouse in it." So, how could I say no?
And if you want to be thorough, breaking down the lyrics:
She wakes to the alarm and I cuddle in close (He lays next to me all night and then as soon as my alarm goes off, he decides to lay on top of me. Convincing me not to get up?)
Don't know what the day brings, don't know where she goes (I'm going to work, but I travel all over the place for my job. Most days I don't even know where I'm going.)
She's a weekend lover, or weekdays after 5 (These are the typical times I'm home.)
6 years living with her, damn, feels like my whole life (The "living with" mention to meet the roommate part of the challenge. Also, Celli is 6 and he's lived with me since it was appropriate for me to take him away from his mama cat; basically his whole life.)
So, I watch her getting ready, like she can't wait to leave (Once I DO get up, he does follow me around while I get ready and usually will jump on the counter while I do hair/makeup. I'm also usually running late, so it's not that I can't wait to leave...I just need to hurry.)
Tells me, "Not to worry, baby, go back to sleep" (I do tell him to go back to sleep a lot in the morning; he just always seems so cuddly.)
I don't know what to do as she walks out that door
I'm helpless and lonely, curled up on the floor (He will follow me into the living room as I'm about to leave and lay on the floor looking cute; maybe thinking if he looks helpless and/or lonely enough I won't leave)
Then I sit in the window, watching birds fly by (This is what he likes to do most days!)
Know she's somewhere out there, under sunny skies
Sitting in the window, wishing for the sun
But there ain't no sunshine when she's gone ("Ain't No Sunshine" reference finally comes through.)