Tag Archives: song demo

“Better Than You Think” My Songwriting Assignment This Week

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Ok, so since my last video post, I worked on lyrics and melody and recording a worktape of my songwriting assignment for this week.
The result is a pop-dance song called, “Better Than You Think.” It has the same basic structure, rhyme scheme and tempo as The Wanted, “Glad You Came.” Give it a listen and see what you think….

Better Than You Think
by Chad Shank

Chorus:
You keep making wishes
For love delicious
Set your goal but will you hit it
Don’t blink you’ll miss it
Might not play out like you dream
Could be Better Than You Think

V1:
You set your standards high
Want just the perfect guy
Great body rockin’ smile
He has to be just right

V2:
But now you met someone
Not quite what you’d expect
But he seems super nice
I know you haven’t met, but
You should meet him for a drink
Might be Better Than You Think

Chorus:
You keep making wishes
For love delicious
Set your goal but will you hit it
Don’t blink you’ll miss it
Might not play out like you dream
Could be Better Than You Think

V1:
You set your standards high
Want just the perfect guy
Great body rockin’ smile
He has to be just right

V2:
But now you met someone
Not quite what you’d expect
But he seems super nice
I know you haven’t met, but
You should meet him for a drink
Might be Better Than You Think

Chorus

©2012 Chad Shank

Weekly Songwriting Assignment Results: ‘Human’

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This week I gave myself a songwriting assignment. I posted that assignment here.  I started off following my own assignment pretty closely….but then the song kinda of took a few different turns. Mainly in the number of lines in the sections and where in the measures the melody starts. Anyway, what came out was the start of a song called, “Human.”  It probably needs some work, but the whole point of these assignments and exercises is to keep myself writing. Not every song is going to be a smash hit, but even the  not-quite-there songs are very important, because you don’t reach the gold without digging for it.  So this is my songwriting ‘digging’ this week….. ~~ Chad

Human
by Chad Shank

He has beach blond hair with darker streaks
And he moves like a breeze across the beach
The sand sticks to his sweat
Beads of water on his skin
He’s free as the Caribean sun sets

Chorus:
He feels Human
In this place he likes to find his joy
Where he feels Human
Away from the stress
Away from the noise
He feels Human

Sometimes he paints to forget the pain
With a brush in his hand in a different state
Emotions on the page
Feelings in the scene
Art is what takes him away

CHORUS

Bridge:
He lets himself go
Lost in the taste, touch, sight, sound and smell
Where he can find himself
Find himself again

Chorus Repeats

Chords:

Verse: ||Cm   |Cm   |Ab   |Ab  |Cm  |Cm  |Fm   |Fm    ||

Chorus: ||Ab  |Bb  |Gm   |Gm   ||

Bridge: ||Bb  Fm  |Ab   ||

©2012 Chad Shank

Another new song I wrote: “The Past I’m Running From”

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Here is another song that I wrote. Check it out, it is called, “The Past I’m Running From” ~~ Chad

The Past I’m Running From
by Chad Shank

On wet gravel
A tear slips down my face
I push the pedal
And try to drive this hurt away

The sky is black
The rain it pounds
I’m not sure where I’m going now

So I just drive away
Make my escape
But I’m haunted
By choices made and my mistakes
I’m trying to find some answers
Speeding down this dirt road
Struggling
With the Past  I’m Running From

Ugly demons
Staring at me from the backseat
‘Cause I hurt the
One closest to me

I cheated
And I told some lies
And now I’m in this storm tonight

CHORUS

Bridge:
From the bottom of my heart
I never meant to tear our world apart like this
Lost out on these muddy roads
The first and last place that I should go is to you

CHORUS

©2012 Chad Shank, Rowley Street Music

A new song I wrote: ‘I Feel Free’

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Here is another new song that I wrote recently. It is called, ‘I Feel Free.’ ~~ Chad

I Feel Free
by Chad Shank

I fill up with gas at a 2 pump station
On the outskirts of civilization
Out here where I can roam
The rat race I run away from
So I can breathe in freedom
The prairie feels like home

PC:
City’s where I make ends meet
back there I’m Mr Corporate
Stuffed into an office
Out here I’m king not a worker bee

CHORUS:
Country air
Windows down
I Feel Free
Getting out
On the road
I Feel Free
As the sun’s sinking down over the corn fields
I Feel Free

V2:
The way time is flying it won’t be that long
I can quit my job and say so long
Can’t wait til I’m retired
Get back to rural America
No concrete hysteria
The place where I’m revived

PC:
Watch the sunset and stars come out
Sinking slow on the horizon
Man it’s really something
It’s those simple things that what life’s about

CHORUS

Bridge:
Hello Farmland
It is always good to see you
But let’s not wait so long for next time

CHORUS

©2012 Chad Shank, Rowley Street Music

A New Song I Co-wrote: ‘When She Puts On That Lipstick’

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Here is a new song that I co-wrote with a great friend and songwriter, Janice Gilbert. I cut the demo at my place in Minneapolis. Check it out!  ~~ Chad

When She Puts On That Lipstick

by Janice Gilbert and Chad Shank

Verse:
She’s a foxy little vixen
With a wild look in her eyes
Wearing rich velvet lipstick
The way she moves should be a crime

The whole town’s been talking
About where she was last night
Was alone when she walked in
But walked out with a new guy

She had him on her hook
She was playing the game
No one can resist that kind of bait

Chorus:
When she puts on that lipstick
Boy, you better forget it
She knows she’s got ‘em watchin’
She can feel it in their looks
When they stare longer than they should
When she puts on that lipstick

This ain’t the first time this has happened
Feel sorry for the last guy
She used her body to trap him
and she took him for a ride

She was chasing dollar bills
She was playing the game
No one can resist that kind of bait

CHORUS

Bridge:
When she puts on
On that Lipstick
They forget their common sense
And get stuck with
Sorry regrets
But she knows just what she’s doin’

Chorus

©2012 Janice Gilbert and Chad Shank