It used to be I would write a song and once it was finished – lyrics and music – then I would begin to look for someone to record it. Perhaps make a demo of it and put it out there. Wait months before someone might pick it up. Then wait again until they recorded it and the album came out. Even then, I might never get the feedback from it. After all, most people never check to see who wrote a song on an album.

In fact, I’ve often found that most people think the singer always writes the songs and they’re often shocked to hear that they often don’t.

As an example, Barry Manilow is a good, solid songwriter, but he did not write his hits. They were written by other guys. Among the hits, which he did not, write are “Mandy“, “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again“, “Weekend in New England“, “Looks Like We Made It“, “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Ready to Take a Chance Again“.  Even “I Write The Songs,” for example, was not written by Barry, but was written by Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys.

Barry did write “Copacabana.”

This is to take nothing away from Barry. He’s a great performer with a tremendous career. This is only to give a proper nod to the songwriters who often toil in obscurity.

Well, that said, now it’s a bit of a different world. It’s now the world of the Internet, of blogs and instant messaging and email and instant everything. It may be a lot more confusing, but it certainly is faster.

I wrote a lyric last night (instead of blog writing), worked all day and all night in my studio yesterday writing and recording the music and will finish up some lyric fixes while I’m up this morning. I’ll spend the week in the studio working on the arrangement and orchestration of the song and by end of next weekend it will be recorded and ready to be mixed for my new CD.

In a couple of months when the CD is finished, it’ll be released through Watchfire Music.

Tonight I shall publish parts of my lyric on this, my blog, for all to consider. That’s a 24-hour turnaround where it used to take 6 months to a year if I was lucky before I was able to get the ideas out there into the public consciousness.

I like it this way. I do this work to eat and put a roof over my head, but really, I do it for the feedback – to communicate.  I do it because I don’t want to bury my talents, but spend them freely. Well, perhaps not quite freely. There’s a little too much of that going on these days. But that’s another story… or another post.

I woke up 4 nights ago and a song title popped into my head.  Kerrr-Pop! “There’s A Mountain In My Way”.

I thought, “Now there’s a good title for a gospel song”, and so I wrote it down on a Post-it that I keep next to my bed for just such occasions.

Three days later, having completely forgotten about the Post-it, I came across it in my stack and realized that it was the perfect title for a missing beat in my new CD, entitled Going Home. That’s the way God works it sometimes. He gives us those great ideas and we don’t even know it at the time. He’s a step ahead of us and it’s up to us to run those human footsteps just to stay up with Him.

All I had to do was to figure out what the “Mountain” was. I knew that, in this instance, the “mountain” was in the way of my getting to heaven. That’s what the CD is about – dying and going to heaven. But what was the “mountain” a metaphor for?

I GOT MY EYE ON HEAVEN
I’LL BE GOIN’ SOME DAY
BUT EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND
THERE’S A MOUNTAIN IN MY WAY

What stands between us and the letting go of this mortal existence? Often it’s huge and we can’t let go. I’ve seen it over and over in my life with friends and family. It happened to my mother and my grandmother as well. They couldn’t let go and so they lived and suffered far past their time. By the time they passed, I was grateful to see them finally be able to let go and go. I’m determined that when the time comes, it won’t happen to me.

I CAN’T GO UNDER
I CAN’T GO ‘ROUND
GOT TO CLIMB UP OVER
TO THE HOLY GROUND
AN’ I CAN’T TURN BACK
CAN’T GO ASTRAY
AND THERE’S A MOUNTAIN IN MY WAY

What to do? Let’s face it. As much trouble as this mortal existence is, we love life. It’s what keeps us alive. Loving life. Even the worst down-and-out derelict bum has to love some part of his life, has to have some hope for a brighter day. What keeps us here?  The hope to get that next meal for some, the chance to love again for others, the opportunity to realize dreams for still others.

IT’S THE AGE OLD STORY
OF HOW WE OVERCOME
TALKIN’ ‘BOUT THE QUEST
FOR FAME AND GLORY
AN’ HOW I GOTTA GET ME SOME

You might say it’s the mortal trap, but oh what a beautiful trap! The joys of this life are great and it’s really hard to separate them from the joys of the spirit. That’s what’s so confusing about this experience – sometimes it’s so difficult to tell the right joys from the wrong ones.

YOU SEE I LOVE THE THINGS
OF THIS EXISTENCE
FAR TOO MUCH
I’VE NO RESISTENCE
AN’ THE ROAD IT STRETCHES OUT
SUCH A DISTANCE
THERE’S A MOUNTAIN IN MY WAY
OH!

And so we come to the age-old question in the age-old story. What are we here for? What’s this all about? Simply put, I’m thinking these days that we’re all somehow trying to get back home, trying to get back to the real man/woman. It’s a dilemma. Yes, it’s a dilemma, but it’s a sweet one. I’m glad I’m livin’ it.

I GOT MY EYE ON HEAVEN
I’LL BE GOIN’ SOME DAY
BUT EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND
THINKIN’ ‘BOUT HEAVEN
AN’ HOMEWARD BOUND
I’M STILL LOOKIN’ AT A HIGHER GROUND
THERE’S A MOUNTAIN IN MY WAY

For more inspirational music, thoughts and ideas from Peter Link,
please visit Watchfire Music.