FAWM: "Burns Forever"

Burns Forever

5 days ago by @tezzin

Liner Notes

And now for something completely different than my first time. I had this lyric first this month, but music took more coaxing than I thought it would, and ended up in a place I definitely didn't predict. Marking this one to revisit for additional work after February, for sure.

#rock #ballad #atmospheric Somebody help me; what other tags would you give this?

Lyrics

Empty, tortured visions Broken heart, sleepless night The sound of rain on windows Carries thoughts far away

The flame of a single candle Burning on the windowsill Brings light, a warming aura To the damp and the gray

Gentle rain grows softer Let the window open a bit A cool breeze blows in, refreshing While the candle remains lit

When at last the rain is gone There's a sweetness in the air And the candle burns forever

Comments

@hmorg 3d

Very nice! I like how the arrangement grows throughout and those vocal harmonies are beautiful. Also, a special mention for the last lines of the first 2 stanzas completing a rhyme, this kind of thing warms my heart as a former lit major.

@tezzin 2d

Thanks! Man, I'm glad someone noticed that about the rhyming. I had a version where the rhymes were internal to the stanzas (lines 4 and 8 ended with "flight" and "still", respectively), but it just felt a little too on the nose. 😛

@dhiatt 3d

The piano and lyrics definitely give 80s rock ballad vibes. It's really effective how you're able to create swells of intensity with the piano/keyboard/vocal layers, but also strip it back nicely.

@tezzin 2d

Thanks! I started this off with a guitar in my hands, but felt like it was going to overwhelm the lyric, if that makes sense. Though I suspect a post-FAWM arrangement of this song will likely include guitars in some way.

@tawny249 4d

Oh I like this a lot. Really great layering overall, it feels mellow but kind of melancholy, even as it's talking about the candle sustaining. The contrast between the words and the music is really interesting, but it works. Very much agree with others - the ending as is was the correct choice.

@tezzin 2d

I definitely appreciate that my instinct for the ending has been... uh... appreciated.

@andybalham 4d

I really enjoyed this. Particularly the way it builds throughout. Nice job.

@jem 4d

Oh this is great. Love the lyrics and the instrumentation is lush and moody and nicely paced. In my head I was anticipating a slightly more rocking instrumental jam before the last stanza, but it works great as is too and I do like your ending before forever a lot.

@tezzin 2d

Thanks so much! At the risk of repeating what I've said in previous comment replies, I suspect there'll be some changes to the arrangement when I revisit this after FAWM.

@nadine 5d

Great song, awesome vocals and piano. I was waiting for the last forever and a subtle layer of guitars.

@tezzin 4d

Thanks, Nadine! It's funny, I did have a "forever" at the end, and I liked it. But on a whim, I decided to see what it sounded like without it, and I kind of love the sense of lingering anticipation that's left. Also, a strummy acoustic guitar was the starting point for this, but I ended up scrapping it before I got very far in. As I said in another comment, I suspect a post-FAWM arrangement and re-recording of this will be considerably different.

@mikeb 5d

There is a moody mystical feel to this overall. Great sounding piano work. I would like to hear the drums pick up the playing during the refrain lines, the harmonies are great in the final parts.

@tezzin 4d

Thanks! I suspect the arrangement will become significantly different when I revisit this post-FAWM.