1 (edited by TIGLJK 2021-02-16 20:52:46)

Topic: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

ahhhhh.... to be young again !

Just kind of reminiscing how I used to be brash and wild.
It's amazing how we change over the years.
If I was a songwriter when I was 16- this is probably something I might have written.

Chasing my dreams, hope I never caught by Jim  Kenyon


.




[E]Never believe everything I’m told


[E]not gonna have my mind controlled


[E]Maybe someday I can break the mold


[B7]Let’s hope it happens ‘fore we [A]all get [E]old




.




[E]It’s hard to face life’s reality


[E] we live in a world full of fantasy


[E] I wanna see the world like I want it to be


[B7]Guess it’s just a young [A]mentali[E]ty




.


Chorus


.


[A]They tell me that I should do just as I’m taught


[E]Putting steel chains on my every thought


[A]I might get sold out, but I’ll never be bought



‘cause I’m [B7]chasing my dreams, hope I [A]never get [E]caught




.


[E]It’s really hard to see, like black on black


[E]But it seems like freedom is what I lack


[E]Ain’t nobody ever gonna cut me no slack


[B7]I’m breaking away and I’m [A]never looking [E]back




.


Chorus


.


[A]They tell me that I should do just as I’m taught


[E]Putting steel chains on my every thought


[A]I might get sold out, but I’ll never be bought


‘cause I’m [B7]chasing my dreams, and hope I [A]never get [E]caught


Yeah , I’m [B7]chasing my dreams, and hope I [A]never get [E]caught


[B7]chasing my dreams, and hope I [A]never get [E]caught





Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine.
Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except only the the best." - Henry Van Dyke

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

sounds like a hit. i did (try) to write songs in my teenage years the theme is there but I wasn't as highbrow as your writing! mine would have been a lot simpler and more mundane. I'd love to hear how it goes as I couldn't pick out the rhythm.     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

3 (edited by TIGLJK 2021-02-16 20:59:07)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Phill

Yeah that's the hardest part for me - never the lyrics - always the music.
It might help if I could actually play or sing worth a hoot !  smile

As far as this song, I just kinda tried to play it like fast little bluesy song.
I'm sure I probably screwed up how it should go musically. 
That's why i love chordie - the guys who actually know this stuff usually tell me how to fix it. As usual, I am always grateful for criticism,corrections and changes.

Thanks for the kind words - just a couple of rebels we are !  smile

Jim

Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine.
Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except only the the best." - Henry Van Dyke

4 (edited by beamer 2021-02-17 19:13:47)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

I LIKE IT!   and the progression is basic!  heck my song Standing over my grave is primarily  E D and C built something close to this.

I defiantly am going to have a go at this! Not this weekend,  I'm one tracking on my song,, but this is gonna be good!     

maybe try it this way and see how ya like it? Its what Im gonna play with. (WE SHALL METALIZE IT)

I LIKE IT!   and the progression is basic!  heck my song Standing over my grave is primarily  E D and C built something close to this.

I defiantly am going to have a go at this! Not this weekend,  I'm one tracking on my song,, but this is gonna be good!     

Play it in power chords and Root 5. Dial in some dirt big_smile

A5   x 0 2 x x x
E5    0 2 x x x x
B7  x 2 4 2 4 2
Maybe see if the b7M would give it a nice  sound?
Bm7  x x x 4 3 5  or 7 5 7 7 x x
Or just play the root 5
x 2 4 x x x

This is heavy rock and roll big_smile palm muting and some chugging/chunking.  (see you tube if you don’t know how to do this)

“Find your own sound.  Dont be a second rateYngwie Malmsteen be a first rate you”

– George Lynch 2013 (Dokken, Lynchmob, KXM, Tooth & Nail etc....)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Great poem Jim about letting those thoughts escape their prison to the big wide world of thought.     

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

WOW! Excellent work Jim

Yeah that's the hardest part for me - never the lyrics - always the music.

At the songwriting seminars I've attended they say lyrics are the hardest part of making a good song but you have a natural gift for it.  I'm also one who struggles with the music - trying to find a melody/rhythm/progression that works with the lyrics. As I read your lyrics though, there was a chord progression and melody that got stuck in my head. Do you mind if I give it a try?

Ken     

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Ken
OMG YES !!!

PLEASE DO.


I WOULD LOVE IT  !

Jim     

Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine.
Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except only the the best." - Henry Van Dyke

8 (edited by Dirty Ed 2021-02-18 16:11:18)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Jim, you said you played your song in a fast, bluesy style. When I read the lyrics I envisioned it as sort of a "Youth Anthem".  Here's my rendition. I apologize  for changing a few words to fit my style. I used a simple chord progression - just D and G for the verses with an A thrown in at the end of the last line. For the Chorus it was just a walk-down to Em and A.  It's just me and an acoustic and a little reverb. I'm sure some of the more talented chordians could do a better job of showcasing what you've written. It's a fabulous song.

https://soundcloud.com/user-198880521/j … -my-dreams

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs

9 (edited by Peatle Jville 2021-02-18 20:01:48)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Ken you have done Jim's song real good showcasing it like a real pro.. It almost felt like John Denver was doing it.

10 (edited by TIGLJK 2021-02-19 13:24:41)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Ken
Thank you so much, that is really fantastic.
It's amazing how someone can turn the way a song is written
into something quite different that what they thought it was going to be.

It happens more often than we think.  There are many versions of songs we know and love.
While I had this song in my head as a country rock, or bluesy type song, I was amazed how nice it sounded and flowed the way you did it.

It's funny too, a couple of the lyric changes you made were exactly how I had written them but had changed them for some reason.

I know that Graham had said he might do a copy of it when his voice gets better which would be a true blues version that he is really good at.

I can't wait for Beamer to give his rendition as a " Metalized" version. Should be quite a contrast  smile

This kind of reminds me of how we used to have the FSOTM (Featured Song of the Month) here on chordie where someone would choose a song and a lot of members would do their own version.  It was quite fantastic

I always encourage any of our members to use my songs and make any changes necessary.

Phill is a Godsend here on chordie for many of us - he has had such a terrific way of helping me with my songs ( and others) .
I probably would have stopped writing a long time ago if not for him.

That's what makes Chordie so great.  What a collection of superb musicians (except for me  smile  ) and composers of so many various genres - yet all support and encourage each other.  If only the world operated the same way.


Thanks again Ken.

Jim

P.S.  and I agree with Peatle - it really does have that John Denver feel to it. 
It didn't occur to me at first, but after Peatle pointed that out and I listened again, I certainly got it.

Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine.
Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except only the the best." - Henry Van Dyke

11 (edited by Dirty Ed 2021-02-19 19:00:44)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Thanks Jim.....Whew! I was worried that I had changed the song so far from your "vision" that you would hate my version.

Years ago I used to drive 80 miles twice a month to attend a songwriters group. We often did songwriting "exercises". Sometimes we would be given a song title or "hook" and we'd each write a song from it. Sometimes we were given lyrics and told to create a melody for it. It was interesting how different the songs would be. I remember once the exercise was to view an event from someone else's view point. A newspaper article was read and then we each were assigned a character and write a paragraph or two about the event from that person's viewpoint. Once there was an article about two teenagers killed during a drive-by shooting. I was assigned to write a paragraph about the event from the viewpoint of the hairdresser that worked at the salon where the two mothers had their hair done. smile

My favorite was when we were given two slips of paper. On one we would write an idea for a song title and the second we wrote our name. The titles would be placed in one hat and names in another. The group coordinator would pull two names out of a hat and tell them they had one hour to write a song called (then he'd pull the title from the other hat). After the hour was up, each duo had to perform their song for the group. Not many great songs were written, but over time you got to work with a lot of different songwriters and learn their methods and how they approached writing a song. I was able to learn a lot of different styles and little tricks and get some insight how other writers worked.

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Jim,
I'm curious about your hook/title  "Chasing My Dreams, Hope I Never Get Caught" and why you chose that phrase.  The last line in the first verse states: "Let's hope it happens 'fore we all get old", so I would have expected the hook to be "Chasing My Dreams, Hope They'll Soon Be Caught".  Is there something you were trying to convey that I'm missing?     

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

I'm confused...ED or KEN? How do i address our esteemed colleague?

Any way, I take that last line of the chorus as...I'm chasing my dreams. Hope I'm not caught by the establishment before I get there...? Obviously I don't want Jim to change his words to that mouthful, just how I understand his writing process.     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

14 (edited by TIGLJK 2021-02-20 12:45:09)

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Ken,

Good question, and Phill got it exactly right. ( at least in my head. )

I can think of many instances of people that never got the chance to achieve their dreams b/c some establishment type obstacle thwarted them.
Two that comes to mind right away were Robert Kennedy and Martin L. King, Jr, in their cases, by  an assassin's bullet.
I think many young African American Musicians in the early years of the music industry who were robbed of their songs and $.
People that have spoken out on civil rights issues, whose ideas somehow get buried in the media or social prison ( I think of the women's rights movement)
Or more commonly, just a teenager that wants their own identity, wanting to break away from the authority of their parents, school rules, or other social norms. 
(I know that there were many times I did stuff that I hoped and prayed that my Mom never found out about. smile  )
Try to understand the kid that doesn't want to work the farm, or go to college, but wants to follow there dream of being an artist or musician.
( or someone telling Beamer to only play classical music, instead of METAL smile   )
So this song just comes down to basically a young person being rebellious, and not wanting to be stifled in what they wanted to do or say.

As for that the last line in the first verse, it means ( at least in my head) that the young person would achieve that freedom before they get old and change-
and end up being part of the establishment. Thus the line before it - want to break the mold.  (I think Pete Townsend wrote those famous words - " Hope I die before I get old! ")
The world would never have progress if there weren't dreamers that break tradition.
(Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly come to mind, musically) 

My brother told me a story once about a little girl who was watching her mom cook a roast beef.  The mother cut the ends off the beef and threw them away  and then proceeded to cook it. The little girl asked why she did that.   The mom said because that's the way her mother did it and it always tastes great.   The next week the little girl visited her grandmother and told her what her mother said, and asked her why she cut the ends off the roast beef.  Grandmother replied, b/c that's the way my mother did it and it always tasted great. The next week the little girl got to visit her great grandma. Sure enough she asked her, " Great grandma, My mommy and her mommy both cut the ends of the roast beef before they cook it and throw them away. They said it's b/c that's the way you did it. Can you tell me why ?  " 
Grandma smiled at her great granddaughter and said , " Sure, it wouldn't fit in the only pan I had".
smile  smile smile


This is just another reaffirmation that a song can be interpreted many ways.

Thanks for all the interest and the way you performed it. Hope this clears it up.

Jim

Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but what your mind can imagine.
Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried.

"Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except only the the best." - Henry Van Dyke

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the explanation. Being a lyrics kind of guy I'm always curious what the writer of a song was thinking and I suppose my technical/engineering backround sometimes causes me to over-analyze what i think are great songs in an attempt to understand how each part of the song works together to achieve the end product.

Phill - you can call me Ken or Ed, I answer to both. Just don't call me late for dinner. wink     

I want to read my own water, choose my own path, write my own songs

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

or early on Sunday morning?     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Re: Chasing my dreams, hope I never get caught

Great song Jim  love it.     

Hard times create strong men,Strong men create good times,Good times create weak men,Weak men create hard times.Cantwere rice INVICTA!