Another print with what I consider “easy” lyrics mainly because they’ve been bouncing my head for a while.
Any artist or creative type, actually, just about most people, will have heard these words before: “Just get it done already!” It seems to ring particularly true for us creative folks who like to talk and talk and talk about stuff yet barely produce anything. This song is what I’d sing to them. And to me.
It is another simple song with just my voice but, had I added anything more to it, such as instrumentation, it would’ve over complicated it and, more than likely, forced me to put it off and “do it later”. And we all know how that can end up.
So I decided to simplify and use what I know: my voice.
I recorded four or five takes. The first take I made up on the spot and it was laced with profanity. After hearing the words out loud I decided to dial it back a little so I rewrote the lyrics and re-recorded. I then found that a few of the lines in the third verse didn’t sing well. I re-wrote again and then re-recorded another one or two takes. What you hear is a combination of all of those takes.
The whistling came to mind as I was going through the first take mostly because I needed something to fill the air instead of just repeating the words over and over again. I also think it fulfills the “LOUD soft LOUD” requirement. I’m playing a little bit loose with it because I know most people would probably think there has to be a wall of noise in order for it to be considered “LOUD”. I simply started with the chorus.
The line “I hope I didn’t give it away” was a spur of the moment decision because, although I wrote the original lyrics, found that they lacked some necessary timing and needed another few seconds before moving back into the chorus. I had to punch this line in because I had originally sung “I hope I don’t give it away” and that verb tense bothered me. A slight detail, I know, and I tell you only because I want to be thorough.
You’ll see that I’ve routed the FINAL MIX track to Bus 1 and applied an Expander and, I think, the Compressor. I can’t remember if the final version had the compressor applied or not because it may or may not have been compounding a problem for me with the whistling parts of the track.
I’m sure you can hear it but didn’t notice it too much because it’s very quick: the popping. There is some sort of click or pop that I’m doing each time I breathe to whistle. This was noticeable to varying degrees on each take so there was no “clean” take to use. So, if I applied a compressor plugin to the tracks then it would make these pops louder, or so the theory goes.
The first take I did had the best set of whistling but also had the most clicks. I tried to fix it a few ways: by automating a fade out, copy-ing and pasting silence from other parts of the track, or a combination of both. After about half an hour of staring at the screen following the little automation dots I asked myself, “Am I wedded to this idea?”
The answer was “No. I have other takes.”
So, instead of having the more creative version, I have the less annoying one to listen to, at least I think so.
Where have you heard that whistling from before? It’s not “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses but something more along the line of Leave it to Beaver or something like that. At least, I think that’s where that theme comes from.
Here are the lyrics I used:
Just get it done
Don’t tell me about it anymore
Just get it done
There’s nothing more you need to plan before, you
Just get it done
Just get it done
Whistling
You said you’d do it
Three months ago
Seven months later
it’s still not done
You keep telling me
what you’re going to do
Yet I
See nothing new, nothing from you
If you ask me again,
you know what I’ll say?
I hope I didn’t give it away
Just get it done
Don’t think about it anymore
Just get it done
But but you say but but just shut up
And get it done
Just get it done
Whistling
Every day has 24 hours
and before we know it, we’re pushing up flowers
We get up early
and we go to bed late
We’ve got our work
And other things to play
but when the day is done,
We just have to face the one
thing we have to do and that’s
Get it done
Stop talking about already, and
Just get it done
I don’t care any more Please don’t say anything and just
Get it done
Just get it done!
There might be minor variations in the song itself as the third verse and final chorus required a bit of re-writing to get right.
I realize now, too, that this is probably the first time I’ve ever posted anything that I’ve sung. I’ve normally shied away from it despite being rather loud and boisterous and singing whatever I want, but I by no means consider myself a vocalist or singer in any capacity. I have entertained the idea of voice lessons but I wonder why I would waste / spend the money. I’m okay with being a warbling fish right now.
So four tracks down so far, 27 more to go. I won’t be working much this week so this seems like a cake walk. Next week’s work trip will be a bit more of a challenge to overcome.