Filming the first Song of June
I’ve been so excited to finally get my 30 Songs of June re-recorded and filmed, so that I can share them with you, and have something to show for the many days of near-sanity that this project caused me (don’t get me wrong – it was great fun, but it is extremely testing to have to write a song when you’re feeling completely uninspired and it seems impossible to come up with something new and original!).
So, last night I decided to put together a list of all 30 songs (I know – what kind of person doesn’t do that in the first place?), so that I could determine which ones need a bit more practice, and also try and figure out the order in which they were written.
I listed all the songs in my archive that were written in June 2011. The list only numbered 29. Um, 29?! Are you kidding me? I scoured every single folder on my computer, and even dug out a really old notebook to try and see if I’d missed one somewhere.
I did in fact find something. A title, amidst a list of all the songs I’ve written, sitting nicely amongst the other Songs of June titles. I figured this must be the elusive song, but I cannot remember a single thing about it. The title rings zero bells. But I’m choosing to trust that it must be the missing song, and that I’m not just so bad at math that I can’t even count to 30!
A couple of weeks ago I had a clear-out, and I threw away an old diary (not a journal, an actual schedule-keeping diary). Now I have a terrible feeling that this was my 2011 diary, and may well have been the place where I jotted down songs when not at my computer. I thought I transcribed all the songs eventually, but one must’ve slipped through the cracks.
I feel pretty annoyed with myself for being so disorganised. 29 songs just isn’t the same as 30 songs. The whole point of the challenge was 30 songs in 30 days, and although I still believe that I was successful (I mean, why else would there be a mysterious song title amidst the other Songs of June titles, in my list of completed songs to date?), it sucks to not have 30 complete songs to be able to show for it.
So here are my options:
- Just record 29 songs and call it an almost-victory.
- Write another song to the mystery-title (it is June, after all), and add it to the list, despite the fact that it will not be the original song that was written as part of the challenge in June 2011. I will obviously not try and pass it off as an original, 2011 Song of June, and will explain why there’s a new song in the list.
Which do you think I should do? I will obviously keep looking for the lost song (please pray that I find it or remember it!), but in case I don’t, which of the above options would you prefer? Or do you have an even better suggestion that I haven’t thought of? Please, PLEASE let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!
On the plus side, I’ve decided that when I have a quiet month (probably August), I will do another similar challenge, and will be more organised about it this time around! Who’s going to join me?
Photo courtesy of Cuan Korsten.
Definitely just forgive yourself Mali., and either leave it at 29, knowing that the whole thing thing was a resounding success., and that this is just a funny thing life throws at you…. Or take this occurrence as an opportunity to write that last
song, perhaps even about the disappointment/forgiveness that this brought up.
Well done. It’s all perfect. Xx
Thank you! Yes, I definitely need to try not to beat myself up about it. Very frustrating, but I suppose that there are worse things in life that losing a song 🙂 ! And 29 is still pretty good 😉 xx
Why don’t you write a song entitled “June’s Lost Song” It has a nice haunting ring to it 🙂
Just thinking aloud. . . you could describe the effort you went to, to meet the challenge, but it slipped through your fingers and now is lost. A graphic metaphor for many things in life 🙂
Thanks for your input, Malcolm! I guess that if this whole thing inspires a new song, then it’s a good thing! (Although I don’t think I would include the bonus song can really be included in the original series – it wouldn’t feel honest!) But I agree that “June’s Lost Song” has an eerie ring to it!
How about calling it “Songs of June,” and writing a new song (which year it is in June doesn’t really matter, though you could make a distinction if you’d like to — or a special one like Malcom suggested)?
No, I won’t be joining in any one-song-a-day-challenge (one song a month is a good speed for me)– but hope it goes well for you 🙂
Funnily enough, the very first song of the original Songs of June project is called… “Songs of June”! So that wouldn’t work. But I suppose I could call it, “Songs of June, Part II”, or something similar?