rooms without furniture
by @miga
Liner Notes
We lived in a house without much furniture for a few weeks a number of years ago, and learned then how much comfort decent furniture provides. This song is about a season of #loss and says a bit about #resilience.
I guess it's #indiepop ?
If the relationship mentioned seems a bit whacked, well, it's about the Almighty - I'm prone to use songwriting to complain and lament.
I'd be interested to hear if the ending is bothersome (not that I'm necessarily going to take your opinions to heart š but...) It ends with a sort of bridge but never returns to the chorus. I enjoy departures from the pop song formula, but I wonder if this song would be better served by returning to a chorus of some kind.
Process: This one started with me humming the chorus melody. Eventually I wrote some lame lyrics. Gave up and wrote two other songs - ha! Then I scrapped the old lyrics and started again. A bridge/ending for the song appeared and the music was complete. But when I realized I was trying to do too much in the lyrics, I scrapped much of it and rewrote yet again. I do like it better now.
Lyrics
rooms without furniture
under the eaves
the old place was crowded
but you clean out houses
you emptied my rooms
all my assumptions
all of the trappings of years
I watched as it all disappeared
the soft leather chair
lamps and a piano
now thereās an echo
I heard what you said -
āI donāt want to hurt youā -
but you take far more than you give
a living room where I canāt live
rooms without furniture
nothing is comfortable
purposeless closets
stains on the carpet
I have a house not a home
Yes I agreed
gave you possession
gave you the keys
now I mourn what I lost
and I keep the change but I
lose ācause thereās no change to keep
like a bedroom with nowhere to sleep
rooms without furniture
nothing is comfortable
purposeless closets
stains on the carpet
I have a house not a home
I thought the whole thing would fall
I thought the end was the loss
Rooms without furniture stand
then you put the keys in my hands
I hold the keys in my hand
The process sounds familiar! Being brave enough to paint over bits that just aren't working!
The overall vibe works very well: jangly guitars, resonant lyrics -- that "change/no change" phrase sums things nicely -- and melancholic lilt. š