This is a repost from my Yahoo! 360 blog

Tuesday March 14, 2006

So recently I’ve been trying to get out there and perform. The most recent song I’ve been trying to get performance-ready was inspired by a suicide. I guess that’s what put suicide in my mind. (Hmmm…I dunno if that came out sounding right)

I’m in the middle of writing a new song about suicide, this time with a very different premise. The question I asked myself – what if someone who was completely happy committed suicide? What would the suicide letter look like? Death is normally looked at as something sad and to be avoided, but it is interesting to consider other perspectives, even if they are unlikely.

The character in my song does not go all the way to the extreme of wanting to die, but he’s not far off. He jumps off of a building with the goal of flying, with the full knowledge that it will probably kill him. He leaves behind a suicide letter just in case the most likely outcome – death – actually happens. The verses of the song are the actual letter. In the letter he explains that he’s not unhappy at all, in fact he’s lived a somewhat privileged and very fulfilling life. Death is not something to be feared, but flying is definitely desirable, so it’s only logical that he attempts it. There are so many places I can take this song and I’m only halfway through the first verse right now. I’m not sure if it’s going to end up being purely fantasy, cynical, or ironic. The music I picked is kind of uplifting but there is also a dark undertone that can be emphasized. So many possibilities…

Here’s the chorus. You have to picture a group of people saying the “jump, jump” part:

Jump, jump
Yeah, Can you fly?
Jump, jump
Reach for the sky
Jump, jump
Hey, it’s worth a try
Pretend you have wings
If you want to get high

All you creative people out there, where would you go with this premise?