Song Writing
Neville has written songs since he was a young boy. He shares some of his thoughts on the subject below;
I have always found song writing to be a great way to tell a tale and to express myself . My earlier attempts were basic stories that rhymed but as I developed I started to become much more critical of my work. My basic premise is that a really good song must have multi layers of interaction. This means that there will be a surface story that is being told as well as various other interactions with the listener. My other rule is that song writers should write like a painter that has minimal paint so every brush stroke has to count. Likewise every word/line should add to the song. If it doesn't it is just fill. Too many mediocre songs have too much fill and most great country songs have very few lyrics.
I like to write songs that have a lot of imagery and interaction. I would like to think that people will pick up on these connections as they listen to the songs at different times. I enjoy listening to songs I have heard before and picking up on a new slant that the writer may or may not have intended.
I also like putting words and images together out of their normal context but in a way that connects.
I do not like to over explain my songs but Wind Over Embers and The Corners of My Smile are good examples of songs that take imagery and bring it together with a seemingly unrelated theme. In Embers the constant referral to things associated with fire ( embers, flames, glow, burned, matches, flicker etc) and the image of an old camp fire that once raged that is is down to coals buried in the ashes that glow as wind passes over them linked to the notion of a love that once was strong and then died down but is now being stirred.
The Corners of My Smile links the imagery of a home that is run down and filled with old dust that needs a good clean out, with images of a heartbroken man who has a chance to clean up his life if he can just take a broom to his lost loves memory.
Blessing's in disguise is also a play on words and imagery.
The Bush Ballads or story songs I write can be a little less complex but I still try to make them a bit of a challenge for the listener so that they do not get board. If people can tell me their favourite line from a ballad I know that I have struck a chord somewhere. For example the line in Old Images "when black and white was piebald and not much more than that" is often commented on by first time listeners and it is a fair way into the song. In Friendly Henry the linkage with the second and third verses is another example.
I hope you enjoy my writing and work at picking up the layers of interaction.
