Canyons and Thieves

I cannot believe how incredibly long it takes to write a song. It’s an entirely different process from writing anything else. At the peak of my novel writing I was cranking out 1700 words before leaving for work at 7:30 AM. I saw my word count as a measurement of what I could produce, even though many of those words would get cut later. My new song is only about 200 words, several of which are repeated. And that’s only the beginning of the irony.

I started several weeks ago with an alternate chorus, which still might become something one day. I had chords for a verse that I would play over and over while singing, “And the verse goes like this, and the verse goes like that.” That’s how it went for a few weeks. When it was all about to dissolve I realized that the subject matter wasn’t getting me far enough, so I had to switch to something that’s been with me for a while—something I have a lot of experience collecting examples of. I turned to one of my favorite topics: Time.

This is where the novel writing—and the abandonment of said novel—really came in handy: the only way to write a book is one page at a time. Like everything else, it’s not about having a great idea or making a grand, dramatic gesture once in your life. Songwriting, guitar playing, and most other things worth doing are all about the tiny increases over time. Yes, I speak of the “distributed practice” doctrine of Gladwell and others. As my friend Jacob likes to say, “You can’t fake time.”

You Are What You Repeat

Praise and admonition carry kids through halls

lesson after lesson adjusts us one and all

A waif becomes a bully, a dreamer takes the stage

practicing so line by line he feigns convincing rage

Chorus

Time fashions canyons and thieves

You are what you repeat

I am only telling you what jugglers and surgeons already know

This is how we grow

Meals and mass and dominoes, four times five times six

Pyramids ascended brick by sundried brick

How'd you lose your faith, did it happen overnight?

How do you save money, do you wrap it up real tight?

Time fashions canyons and thieves

You are what you repeat

I am only telling you what jugglers and surgeons already know

This is how we grow

Time is there molding and scolding and holding us

(Chorus)

I tried and failed to meditate, I tried and failed again

Until I fail at trying I can say I'm courting Zen

Assuming bad intentions, defending my beliefs

Readying my arguments before we even meet

(Chorus)

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