Jef Torp - Fly Away

[Torp]

This is a song (yes, it's a song, with words and everything) I wrote and recorded several years ago.  It was my first real attempt to record something complete.

Credits
Jef Torp - Piano, organ, electric guitar, all vocals
Todd Harper - Bass, drums, acoustic guitars

If more than 10 people listen to this it will doubtless be the largest audience it has ever seen 

Jef

[greyrune]

Very cool.  It was kind of country meets pink floyd, your voice, at times anyway, really reminded me of pink floyd.  I really like the layers, it's rare to hear that in a rock tune.  How do you classify youself, i'd have a hard time, i'd like to know what your influences are though.  Anyway good stuff, post some more.  My only peice of advice would be to get a real drummer, your guy's alright but he's obviously a guitarist, that way you can jam for one, and also i just love a good drummer in a band, but then i'm a drummer so i'm biased.

[Torp]

I'm one of those rare individuals who defy classification...yeah right

My influences?  Hmm, that's tough because the stuff I listen to the most is not necessarily what I sound like.  Most of what I listen to is progressive rock, ala Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, IQ, etc.  I'd probably classify myself more as a folk singer.  I have a tendency to write lyrics and music simultaneously but the music is there more as a suport of the lyrics rather than the lyrics being an explanation of the music (if that made sense)

If I get a real drummer I'll probably need to get a real piano player and singer too

Thanks for the comments, I do appreciate them.  Especially the one about sounding like Pink Floyd; I love that band.

[silvaone]

reminds me of The Lighthouse Family

[donjuan]

so... if you did all the vocals, you must have recorded the background parts separately right?  imo it's kind of repetitive but hey who am I to judge? After all, I have never been a fan of songs where the endings fade like that.  I like the tone of the piece... it actually reminds me of a religious band of the early 90s called "The Crew."  Nice to hear this sort of style again.  I hope you record some more!
regards, donjuan

[Derek]

Do I hear a vague U2 influence in here? Not bad.

[Torp]

reminds me of The Lighthouse Family

I've never heard of them, I'll look into it.

so... if you did all the vocals, you must have recorded the background parts separately right? imo it's kind of repetitive but hey who am I to judge? After all, I have never been a fan of songs where the endings fade like that. I like the tone of the piece... it actually reminds me of a religious band of the early 90s called "The Crew." Nice to hear this sort of style again. I hope you record some more!
regards, donjuan

Yes, the background vocals were recorded separately.  Actually, all of the vocals were recorded as overdubs.  I agree with you that it is repetitive and If I were to record it again, it would come out differently.  Of course, that's true with most things I suppose.  I learned a lot through this recording process that I can apply to future projects.

Do I hear a vague U2 influence in here? Not bad.

If so it is purely coincidental.  I've never really listened to them, other than when other people were playing them.


Thanks everyone for your comments.

Jef

[lagin]

I think it's very cool.  I'm just trying to place your lyrics.  ><>?

[Torp]

I think it's very cool.  I'm just trying to place your lyrics.  ><>?

Place my lyrics?  Is the implication that I have plagarized them?

[lagin]

 No, no not at all Torp!  I was just trying to think of the mind frame behind them, you know?  Some pieces are easy, like girl friend/boy friend stuff.  I was thinking more along philosophical lines.  What were you, as the composer, writing about.  What life circumstance prompted them.  That's all.

[Siberian Husky]

I will write this as i listen to the music..

very reflective...

very light in nature...

very....choral..the magnitude of the vocalism is pretty grand...gettin polyphonic on me towards the end

very...sexy..yes sexy...

[Torp]

No, no not at all Torp!  I was just trying to think of the mind frame behind them, you know?  Some pieces are easy, like girl friend/boy friend stuff.  I was thinking more along philosophical lines.  What were you, as the composer, writing about.  What life circumstance prompted them.  That's all.

OK, sorry, just my overly fragile ego getting in the way

So, what's this supposed to be about?  I'm always wary providing what I think my stuff is about, primarly because I want people to make up their own minds and take away what they will.  However, the best solution I can give is that in the chorus wine is a metaphor for life, and flying away is kind of a metaphor for letting go, and the darkest sky is a metaphor for all the bad stuff that can happen.  What there is to let go of probably varies from person to person, but at the time I wrote this song my marriage was in trouble.  The reasons why it was in trouble, I think, had to do with a lot of preconceived notions I had about what I should be getting out of a marriage.  I had to let go of these notions in order to more fully experience what was going on.  In other words, by letting go of what I thought should be happening I was more fully able to participate in what was happening.  So, the chorus, for me, really says, I can just let go, take things as they come (even the bad stuff), and I'll be rewarded with a rich life.

The first verse is about the realization that although my life has not been what I would call "perfect", I wouldn't necessarily change anything because that would change who I am.  In other words, I feel fortunate to have had the experiences I've had, both positive and negative.  Additionally, I'm trying to allude to the idea that hope is a byproduct of pain and suffering.  With the chorus following, I'm again attempting to tell myself that becoming overly attached to events in life is not the way.  Letting go and accepting life as it comes allows me to more easily experience the beauty of it.  The use of the word ‘would’ in the chorus after this verse is along the lines of “I would if I could”

The second verse is simply approaching the idea that we are all capable of whatever we set our minds to.  However, fear often holds us back from that achievement.  When I originally wrote the song, I changed the words of the chorus here from I 'would' fly away to I 'want to fly' away.  Additionally, I changed the wine part to say “And hear you say I’ll be fine.  The reason for the changes was to imply it is more difficult than one thinks to abandon their fear and truly embrace life.  'Want to' is the first indication that the person singing at least wants to make a change in how they’re living life.  So, the “Wanting to hear you (life in this case) say I’ll be fine” is kind of my nod to the fact that I have a tendency to hold back without some sort of ‘guarantee’ that everything is going to be ok.  Although I want to make the change.

The third verse is merely about the idea that riches do not come from money.  For me they come from building meaningful relationship with people and experiencing what life has to offer.  For others this may be different.  This verse is kind of about the idea that I had been searching for happiness via bigger paychecks, etc.  The chorus after this verse is supposed to have the lyrics changed from I ‘would’ fly away to I ‘will’ fly away.  I can’t remember if I screwed up and sang would instead of will.  At any rate, the idea was to imply that the person singing had moved from Would, i.e. wishful thinking, to Want to, i.e. developed the internal desire to change, to Will, i.e. they’ve made the decision to do something different.

This brings us to the two sections of the bridge.  The first section is where I’m trying to express the idea that I’ve let go.  It’s me talking to life.  Just take my soul and let it open wide.  Come what may in the dark of night.  In other words, I’ve decided to release the chains around my soul that are holding me back from being what I want to be and I’m no longer afraid to take the consequences of that life even if what I attempt should end in utter failure.  The rest of that first section is me imagining what it might feel like to all of a sudden just feel this internal fire where once only darkness and fear existed.

The second section is really about trying to deal with what the concepts were in the 2nd verse, i.e. needing some sort of guarantee before living.  What I’m attempting to say here is that it is my choice what to believe.  And, once I’ve made that choice, I “see” the world through a different lens.  In essence, the world has changed as a result of my choice even though “in reality” nothing has changed except my perception.  The idea here is that if we want to change what we see in the world, we have to change HOW we see.  So the play on words here is that in verse 2, I need to “see” (written as ‘hear’ in that case) that everything will be fine.  In the progression of the song I’ve learned that if I believe everything will be fine, then what I see will follow that belief.

That’s it....

EDIT:  I guess the real question is whether any of what I said above came through in the song.

[Torp]

I will write this as i listen to the music..

very reflective...

very light in nature...

very....choral..the magnitude of the vocalism is pretty grand...gettin polyphonic on me towards the end

very...sexy..yes sexy...

Thanks for the feedback SH.