The Making of a Song (with help from friends)

Last month, while working on a concept for a new song, I posted a few starter lines on Facebook:

"Like jazz clubs need the blues...
Like Donald Trump needs the nightly news..."

Then I requested ideas of other need-based similes. My friends’ responses were awesome! Notably, Joe Mele told me to, "Avoid politics." That seemed like a wise suggestion, so I substituted “Donald Trump” for "the president" line to be more generic. Some suggestions made me laugh, but didn't make it into the song, such as:

"Like the weatherman needs to be wrong about rain." - Fr. Matt Fase

Really funny, but too complex for a pop song. Bonus points for being my best friend, though, Fr. Matt. Here’s another one:

"Like a vampire needs your blood,
Like a hippopotamus needs mud!
Like a rooster needs to crow,
Like a bladder needs to go!" - Andrew Reising

Creative! It also sounds like Andrew's been spending a lot of time with humans under the age of 7. (Likely, his two young children.)

In a more seriously poetic vein, my friend Luke Kavanaugh wrote, “Like the light needs the dark.” Rather breathtaking. That would make an intriguing theme for an entire composition.

Here are the contributions that found their way into the finished piece!

“Like the plants need the sun, like the rivers need to run." - Mike Debus
“Like drummers need a beat or fútbol needs some feet” - Christian Somerville
“Like tired moms need coffee, Like babies need cuddles” - Sarah Tindall Kopliku
“Hipsters need skinny jeans / teenage girls need magazines” - Emily Rushmore
“Flip Flops need the Sand” - Jennifer Lee

And! The sassiest and spunkiest contribution came from my beloved Auntie Vicki Vernon Lott:

“Like salsa dip needs some chips, like salsa dance needs some hips.”

Mix it all together, make sure everything rhymes, sprinkle on a little fairy dust plus some happy thoughts, and voilà! A song is born.