Dan Rosenberg

Shades of Meaning

“Shades of Meaning” was born out of one of the final MU45 assignments, where we were asked to compose lyrics and set them to music. All I could think about was my inability to write lyrics, and this writers' block became the beginning of the song. As it developed, however, it began to take on the narrative of a person who is struggling to find a creative voice in the absence of a loved one. The chorus reflects the dual nature of songs and how a song about writers' block can be imbued with additional, more personal messages. I composed the melody and chords in one sitting at the piano; this might be the first song where the melody was in my head before I began to write.

Lyrics

Shades of Meaning — Dan Rosenberg

Sit and stew, pass the time
Try to find the words to rhyme
Maybe I should go to bed

Play a chord, sing a note
Read some lyrics that I wrote
There's just silence in my head

Shades of meaning, trains of thought
Twist this into what it's not
Suddenly I reach the end...
I start over again

Toss and turn, clock strikes two
Can't forget I'm missing you
All the inspiration's gone

Think of you, and I find
You are all that's on my mind
As the nighttime shifts to dawn

Shades of meaning, trains of thought
Twist this into what it's not
Suddenly I reach the end...
I start over again

Shades of meaning, trains of thought
Turn me into what I'm not
Suddenly I reach the end....
I start over again

I start over again...