FAWM: "Chain of Dreams"

Chain of Dreams

1 week ago by @jinx

Liner Notes

I have been rudely stymied in my songwriting by getting a painful blister on my finger several days ago that made playing barre chords on the guitar impossible. Today I was yearning to write a song when I remembered I had a ukulele, although I'd completely forgotten the three uke chords I'd ever learned. Still, I dusted it off, quickly taught myself the basics of how to play, and cranked out this song that doesn't use any barre chords. (Frankly, I made up about half the chords in this song myself and don't know what their proper names are.)

Thanks to Kahlil Gibran and Ray Bradbury for some lyrical inspiration.

Please excuse the messiness, it's a voice memo recording and I still don't technically know how to play the uke.

#ukulele #acoustic #acousticonetake

Lyrics

VERSE 1 Climbing, I’ve been climbing Up the chain of my dreams Link by link I’m climbing It’s not as easy as it seems

CHORUS But I will let me do it If no one gets in my way Gets in my way No one gets in my way Gets in my way

VERSE 2 Below me in the water People wonder as they watch They love to see me climbing But if I fall, will I be caught?

BRIDGE I will do my own saving And if I should drown I will die in the knowledge That at least I was heading for shore

[rep. verse 1 & chorus]

Comments

@benstopfel 2d

Wow I am such a fan of your voice- you also have a great melody that allows it to really really shine. It works perfect on the uke too!! Really love that bridge, especially that last note!!! Beautiful work!

@chipwithrow 2d

My first listen of this Sunday morning - love it. Super inspirational! Your voice is lilting and lovely and soulful, and the uke strumming sounds confident. Cool chords!

@deleted 4d

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@karan 6d

How wonderful that you rediscovered the ukulele! It matches this wonderful song perfectly. There's a very important message in it.

@skyowlkey 6d

The uke rhythm has me bobbing in the waves. Don't technically know how to play? Could have fooled me.

@tw_1857429 1w

And if I should drown/I will die in the knowledge/That at least I was heading for shore That's really all we can do, isn't it? Powerful, powerful line.

I do think it's interesting to construct the full picture of the metaphors here. You're climbing up a chain, one end is in the ocean, with others in the water down beneath you, looking in wonder as you try to save yourself. It brings to my mind the picture of a turned-away refugee boat, of someone trying to climb up an anchor chain to an indifferent bystander ship. I'm not sure you intended that, but it was a the picture that jumped to my mind while listening & reading. The eternal, unquenchable survivor's spirit reaching for distant dreams of safety.

Your voice is great for this kind of song -- it sounds like a musical act-I "I want" song, like "Castle on a Cloud". So cool that you picked up the necessary uke skill in an afternoon!

@disarming 1w

But if I fall, will I be caught?

I think that thought all the time... holy schmoly that note on shore is phenomenal! Good work on this one. Its a beautiful song

@dukemeyer 1w

One take, really? It's wonderful. Makes me fly high, or far away ... right over dreamland ... It's the way you sing, anyway. It's hypnotic. Reading the lyrics is a different thing. When you sing, gravity loses its power.