07-14-2013, 03:18 PM
This thread is in response to the CBC blog article "How to Dance Like Gord Downie". With your help, hopefully we can craft a "how to" article to submit to CBC blog on penning the perfect Tragically Hip song!
Here are my original ideas thus far - please respond with how I may fine-tune this article. Or respond to the thread with your own Gord Downie-esque song!
Crafting the next tragically hip song is easy, just follow the steps and the song will flow easily! The first thing to determine is the overall theme of the song.
Choose one of the following Themes: Love, Water, Politics, Hockey, Historical Event.
Now we must create the foundations for the verses.
Pick the Location of the song: For best results select a non-metropolis Canadian town (ex: Bobcaygeon, Sault St. Marie, etc...)
Now we must choose either a Wild Animal or Famous Musician: (The Dire Wolf or Bob Dylan have already been taken by Gord Downie, so please get creative)
Craft verses 1, 2 and 3 based on your above selections. Don't worry about rhyming the last words (it is fair game for Gord to rhyme the word "duress" with "duress", so you can do as you please).
It is also mandatory to add in a "yeaaaahhh" after each verse, so do not forget this crucial step.
Once complete, Proof-read your verses and change all of the instances of "Your", "You're", and "You are" to a simple "Yer".
Now that we have confirmed our Who, What, When Where and Why, we will need to focus in on our chorus.
Writing a Gord Downie Chorus is simple - you can do it too!
Pluck a book off of your library book shelf. Open said book to page 40 and write down the first full sentence at the top of that page. Now depending on the length of the sentence selected, you may want to repeat the lyrics either 1, 2 or 3 times. Fear not about the repetitiveness - the voice inflection while singing the song will make it seem like new material. And remember - it is not plagiarism if you give credit to the author of the book (so just make a little notation in the liner notes of the cd jacket).
It is now time to pen the Bridge potion of the song. Remember that the Bridge is Rob Baker's time to shine on a slide guitar solo, so the lyrics need to be subtly simple. Cleverly select a string of 3 words from one of the previous verses, and really elongate them vocally throughout the duration of the guitar solo.
To really drive home the message of the song, end with a final chorus. The vocals will belt out in climax, as the music fades away. The lyrics resonate timelessly with the crowd of music lovers.
Here are my original ideas thus far - please respond with how I may fine-tune this article. Or respond to the thread with your own Gord Downie-esque song!
Crafting the next tragically hip song is easy, just follow the steps and the song will flow easily! The first thing to determine is the overall theme of the song.
Choose one of the following Themes: Love, Water, Politics, Hockey, Historical Event.
Now we must create the foundations for the verses.
Pick the Location of the song: For best results select a non-metropolis Canadian town (ex: Bobcaygeon, Sault St. Marie, etc...)
Now we must choose either a Wild Animal or Famous Musician: (The Dire Wolf or Bob Dylan have already been taken by Gord Downie, so please get creative)
Craft verses 1, 2 and 3 based on your above selections. Don't worry about rhyming the last words (it is fair game for Gord to rhyme the word "duress" with "duress", so you can do as you please).
It is also mandatory to add in a "yeaaaahhh" after each verse, so do not forget this crucial step.
Once complete, Proof-read your verses and change all of the instances of "Your", "You're", and "You are" to a simple "Yer".
Now that we have confirmed our Who, What, When Where and Why, we will need to focus in on our chorus.
Writing a Gord Downie Chorus is simple - you can do it too!
Pluck a book off of your library book shelf. Open said book to page 40 and write down the first full sentence at the top of that page. Now depending on the length of the sentence selected, you may want to repeat the lyrics either 1, 2 or 3 times. Fear not about the repetitiveness - the voice inflection while singing the song will make it seem like new material. And remember - it is not plagiarism if you give credit to the author of the book (so just make a little notation in the liner notes of the cd jacket).
It is now time to pen the Bridge potion of the song. Remember that the Bridge is Rob Baker's time to shine on a slide guitar solo, so the lyrics need to be subtly simple. Cleverly select a string of 3 words from one of the previous verses, and really elongate them vocally throughout the duration of the guitar solo.
To really drive home the message of the song, end with a final chorus. The vocals will belt out in climax, as the music fades away. The lyrics resonate timelessly with the crowd of music lovers.
