The End of the Line

Thanks for following along with this crazy project of mine. You can download this entire collection of songs for free over at Bandcamp. Follow the rest of my music projects including my podcast and blog over at jakehaws.com.

Song #50: Ethan

This is it! The last song! It's been a lot of hard work but I've had a lot of fun putting these songs together. I hope you've enjoyed listening.

For this last one, I decided to finished a song I'd been kicking around the last year or so. I had the guitar part, the melody, and a few lines figured out but the rest of the words just weren't coming together. I took some inspiration from my 1 year old son, Ethan. These last few weeks, I've had to play mr. mom because my wife started a job. It's been nice to spend more time with my two kids but it seems like they are growing up so quickly. I already wrote a song for Zoe ("Baby Girl" with Adding Machines) so this is Ethan's song and my way of letting him know I always want to be a part of his life.

Song #49: Autumn Leaves

This song is for all the parents who lost children in the Newtown Connecticut elementary school shooting. When I heard about it on the news, I was in shock and horror. How could anybody do anything like that? I went home, hugged my children and hoped nothing like that would ever happen to them.

I started writing the piano part for this when I was a missionary in New Canaan, Connecticut (about 35 miles from Newtown). Connecticut is gorgeous in the fall so I was able to come up the title "Autumn Leaves" along with a few other lines. The song took on a new meaning after the shooting. I finished the words and recorded it tonight. The lyrics talk about the seasons passing and a parent never really able to get through the grief of losing a child. They question God and if there is any justice in the world. Then, the departed child visits the parent in a dream, comforting them and letting them know they in a better place, that the love they share continues and they will be reunited. I hope this song will bring comfort to a few people.

Song #48: Get Out

This is a rootsy folk rock song in the vein of Wilco. I've been a fan of there's for years and one of my favorite tunes there's is "Via Chicago". My song is probably a little more straight forward than's "Via Chicago" but I still think of it as an influence.
The song is about an abusive relationship where the wife has had enough and kicks her husband out. When he later comes back for revenge, she pulls out a shot gun and nearly blows his head off. I played all the instruments, which include an acoustic guitar, 2 electric rhythm guitar tracks (plus another electric guitar for the solo), bass, vocal, and drums (recorded with 2 mics). Hope you like it.
 

Song #47: I Try

This is a song I wrote back around Junior High. I was going for the sound of the Beatles "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away." It's about learning to care about people.
 

Song #46: You Don't Mind

I wrote this in a practice room during my last year in the music program at BYU (2008). I was in a Cold War Kids phase at the time so I tried to write something that sounded like "We Used to Vacation," including the tempo slow down parts. It also has some influence from the Sara Bareilles tune "Love Song."
The song is about a conversation between a world traveler (extreme extrovert) and a hermit (extreme introvert). Basically, the the traveler is trying to help the hermit work out the courage to come out of their shell and see the world. Sort of a metaphor I guess but try not to think too long about it too hard.

 This was a beast to record. As with the rest of these 50 songs, I played all the instruments. The tempo changes meant I couldn't really use a click track so I ended up recording the piano part first, then trying to add everything else on top of it. I took several takes of each part (along with some editing) to get the timing close enough to use. I'm proud of the guitar solo. I think it's pretty rocking.

Song #45: What Am I To Do With You

This is the 4th song I ever wrote (back when I was 15). It's super cheesy and I'm embarrassed by it but I thought I would get it out there anyway, zits and all. The sound copies Jack Johnson.

Song #44: The Way I Feel

This is a fun upbeat song that sat unfinished for a while. I think it sort of has a Beatles/Elliott Smith vibe  with a garage rock twist. It's a bit sloppy with the drums but I think I like it that way.
 

Song #43: Come Back and Stay

This is an oldie. One of my first. I'm not really sure who is sounds like. Maybe 90s post-alternative? Or that song from the Wedding Singer when Adam Sandler goes off about his ex-girlfriend? Recording the last few lines, I broke a guitar string but I decided to keep it in. That's how rock and roll I am.
 

Song #42: Bright Side

I wrote this one around my freshman of college. Originally, I it was written on an acoustic guitar and I had something more along the lines of early Coldplay. When it came to record this, I started trying different things with the piano and drum machine and ended up with something closer to electronica/dub-step along the lines of Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" or James Blake.


The instruments for the recording are a keyboard part (with delay and reverb added), two vocal tracks, a keyboard synth (with phaser added), 5 Ebow guitar tracks put together to make up the chords (with distortion, reverb, and delay added), and an electric guitar part for the solo section. I think it turned out way cool! I love this one!

Song #41: Sunny Rain

This is an oldie I had written back when I was about 15. I was going for something like the Jimi Hendrix version of "All Along the Watchtower." I had since written it off as a throw away song. When I was going through my notebook deciding what to record, I played it played it more along the lines of Cat Power's version of "Satisfaction" and liked it better.



The instrumentation is pretty sparse: just a voice and an electric guitar.

Song #40: Speak My Mind

Another oldie from around the sophomore year of high school. I had the piano line in the place of the chorus with the intention of eventually writing something there but I decided I like the idea of having an "instrumental" chorus. At the time I wrote it, I was going for something along the lines of Radiohead's "Karma Police."



When it came time to record it (about 15 years later) my thoughts for production were more in the line of Menomena's "E. Is Stable"

To record the drums, I did each part of the drum separately for a few bars each(kick, snare hit, snare roll, closed hi-hat, open hi-hat, ride cymbal, crash cymbal and floor tom). I then looped and layered the tracks, adding delay until I got a sound I liked. The sound sort of reminds me of a drum corp. I also have three tracks of guitar with an ebow played at octaves so that it sounds like a synthesizer. Finally, I put distortion on the vocals, added acoustic guitar, and bass. I think it's one of my better efforts. What are your thoughts?

Song #39: Talk About Love

This one is a little ditty I wrote my sophomore year of high school. It's in the vein of 90s acoustic pop/rock, namely Hootie and the Blowfish. Not my best song but still an ok tune that I felt was worth documenting.

Song #38: The Optimist

This one is inspired by the beatlesque rootsy-guitar sound of Elliott Smith's album, Figure 8, and in particular the songs "Stupidity Tries" and "Pretty Mary K."


The arrangement is fairly straight forward: one vocal, one acoustic guitar, two electric guitar, bass and drums. I don't usually have very many guitar solos in my songs but this one seemed appropriate.

Song #37: Hanging By A Thread

This is a oldie that sat half written for a several years. All I had were the first two lines. I finally got around to finishing it by adding a few more lines, a bridge and an ending. The arrangement is a cross between something Coldplay would do and Death Cab For Cutie's "Transatlanticism." 


This arrangement includes acoustic guitar, several electric tracks done direct with no amp (including 2 tracks where I did "volume swells"), drums, bass, and several vocal tracks sung at different octaves and occasionally staggered. It gets pretty epic at the end. What do you think?

Song #36: Lounging Around

This week's tune is in the style of bossa nova! It's inspired from probably one of the most famous bossa nova tunes, as well as a jazz band standard (and elevator music), "The Girl From Ipanema" by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz. 



I used the my small keyboard to get a bossa nova drum machine beat and added maracas, a jembe, and a guiro to round out the percussion. I found a cheezy organ sound on the keyboard, which helps with the elevator music atmosphere. Towards the end of the song, I layered on harmonies (at one point, there are 10 vocal tracks). I'm happy with the result. It's the first song I've done like this.

Song #35: Red Dress

This week's tune is inspired by the Black Heart Procession's "It's A Crime I Never Told You About The Diamonds In Your Eyes."


I attempted the same waltzy piano feel and swing. The drums were recorded in my basement with two mics. It's not the greatest tone but I think it works for the song. There are actually two piano parts: one that's a little lower playing mostly the chords and another playing more a lead part and little higher. I think it helps fill it out. Lyrically, the song is about getting tied up with deceptive women. Enjoy.

Song #34: Reminders

I wrote this song very late at night several years back. In order to keep from waking my roommates, I had to play and sing very softly, which dictated the direction of the song. The inspiration was Nirvana's "Something In The Way."



The instruments are an acoustic guitar, voice, and one electric guitar with an ebow. It felt like it dragged a little so I programmed a kick drum into the song, which totally changes the feel of it. It think it makes the song come across a little more like TaughtMe (acoustic guitar with a driving kick drum).

Song #33: Not Aloud

The sound of this one is inspired from the bands Low (particularly the song "Over the Ocean") and Red House Painters. I would definitely call it minimalist approach (or "slow-core," as it is often cited). The elements of this sound that I emulated: soft clean electric guitar strums, use of brushes and ride cymbal on the drums, whispery vocals with a second voice an octave higher, and a hypnotic repetitive beat and bass line.   



This is one of the slowest and longest songs I've done. With the drummer in my band leaving his set at my house recently, I had access to a drum set for the first time in a while. When I had my studio at Muse, I would usually use 7-10 mics to record a drum set. Since now I'm only using an MBox Mini, I can only record two tracks at a time so it was a bit of challenge to get a good sound with just an a mic overhead and one on the kick but I think it works for this song. I used the Ebow on the guitar to add more texture, which is becoming my trademark sound these days. It ended up being 8 different Ebow tracks! I also added a minimal piano line. Hopefully it's not too long. Thoughts?

Song #32: Based On A True Story

This song is influenced by the Radiohead album, "The Bends" and in particular, the songs "High and Dry" and "Bulletproof... I Wish I Was." My goal was to create the same type of atmosphere with the acoustic guitar strumming and a soft pick electric guitar part. I added a "flange" effect to the guitar to give is a washy sound.

Song #31: Night Sky

Another oldie written during high school. At the time, I was digging the mandolin sounds on R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." It was kind of surprising to look back and think that a song with a mandolin was such a big radio hit in the era of grunge. As I set out to write it, I didn't have a mandolin so I tried to approximate that sound by playing my guitar with the capo on the 4th fret.


When it came time to record this, I was planning on having the mandolin (which I now have) replace the acoustic guitar (or at least play the main lead part) but it wasn't sounding right, so instead I had the mandolin play a simple part to supplement the two acoustic guitar tracks. I added one vocal track, two tamborines tracks, and a shaker and thought it felt like it was done. Does it need something else?

Song #30: Invisible

I wrote this song in 2003 while I was a missionary in New York City. I was volunteering weekly at the Bronx VA Hospital and I got to be friends with one of the patients. I showed up one week to find out he had passed away. I wrote this song shortly after on one of my days off on the church piano. It's about memories, death and the connection between this life and the next. The style of the piano line and melancholy lyrics are influenced from Ben Fold Five's "Brick" and the drum machine and strings sound are influenced by Coldplay's "Paradise."





This recording features four tracks of ebow guitar, a drum machine, tamborine, three tracks of synth strings, a glass jar hit with a spoon and three tracks of keyboards played at different octaves. This is one of my favorite songs so I took a lot of time to get the production right and I think it turned out great!

Song #29: You Only Live A Day

This one is another oldie written when I was around 15 years old. The feel I was going for was R.E.M. and I think I achieved that with the guitar part, which mimics Peter Buck's picking style. I used the keyboard for the drum sounds, which aren't great but I think they work. What do you think of the song?

Song #28: Friday Night

This is one of my first songs written back when I was about 14. It's about a time when I went to a school dance and the girl I went with ignored me the whole time (write what you know, right?). The chords kind of rip off the Alanis Morissette song "Head Over Feet." Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed by it cause it's kind of corny song but I felt like it should still be documented to capture some of early songwriting.



I decided to just keep the production sparse and just do an acoustic guitar and a single vocal.

Song #27: Descent Into Madness

Another old tune written back in high school. At the time, I was heavily into the band Sunny Day Real Estate. This song in particular is influenced by the sound and atmosphere of "Grendel." It's probably one of my darkest and heaviest tunes.



Without having at drum set handy, I used drum machines so it would put the genre at "Industrial Emo" (maybe?). I did all the guitars direct (no amplifier) then doctored them up after the fact. There are 4 tracks of Ebow guitar drones, which altogether make up the chords I am playing and sound something like an organ combined with feedback and strings. It's becoming a trick I've used in several recordings lately. I put distortion on the vocals and put the threshold on the compressors so low that they make a "static" sound during the parts where I am not singing. I played with these static moments by looping them in reverse and adding strange sounding effects to them. I think it gives a real sinister and creepy feel fitting for the song.

Song #26: What Can I Say

This is an oldie written around 1999. It was influenced by the Sixpence None The Richer song "Kiss Me." I probably would have been made fun of by my friends back then if I ever admitted that so it was kind of a guilty pleasure at the time.



I added the piano part on a whim and I think it kind of makes the song. Instead of using a bass guitar, I played bass notes on the piano. For the solo, I used an ebow (which seems to be getting a lot of use these days). I also decided to add the jembe track last minute. Any suggestions?

Song #25: Patience

With Song #25 posted, I am officially half way done with this project! Today's tune sat half finished for several years. All I had was the chorus. Today I wrote some versus and finished it. As evident with the words, it's about couple dealing getting through hard times. Some of the inspiration came from my personal frustrations with finding a job. The sound is inspired by the band, Black Heart Procession. Check them out. I think I might try to find a saw later on and add it to the song.

Song #24: Underwater

This week's influence is Sigur Ros. I saw this Icelandic band play a few years ago and it was one of the most incredible shows I've ever seem. Such power and emotion with such a unique sound. Here is one of my favorite tracks of theirs.


My song borrows some elements from Sigur Ros' sound: a repetitive piano line, harmonic chimes, the ebow (Sigur Ros uses a violin bow but the sound is pretty close), a thudy bass and kick drum, and soft quarter note electric guitar strums on two strings. Since I can't sing like Jonsi, I went a different direction with the vocals and layered them. What do you think?

Song #23: Have I Loved You

This song is actually the very first song that I wrote with words! (I wrote a few piano instrumentals before then). It dates 15 years ago back to July of 1997 (according to my notes) when I had just turned 14 - and now I FINALLY recorded it! At the time, the song was much slower. I thought of it as a ballad patterned after the Beatles "In My Life" (where I not-so-subtly lifted the line from). The lyrics also very lovey-dovey like the early Beatles. Later on when my high school band was taking a break, I jammed with may buddy, Jeff, on sax and picked up the tempo, giving it the Jack Johnson meets Dave Matthews feel. Unfortunately, my friend was not in town to play sax so for purposes of this project, I decided to whistle the solo parts. I also added jembe, snaps, maracas, and bass guitar to fill it out. I think it works. It's not the best lyrics I've written but it's a snappy, catchy tune that I'm still proud of.

Song #22: I Get By

This one is influenced by both John Vanderslice and Pinback. I started writing it back in 2005 and it stayed half written until this month. The arrangement was a beast to figure out; I tried lots of things out that didn't seem to work but I think I got it now. The arrangement features drum programming, guitars (including ebow guitar parts), synthesizers, a noise pad (using my ipad), and beat boxing.... yes, beat boxing! There's a first for everything. I think this is another one of my favorites of the project. What do you think?

Song #21: I Don't Know

This one is yet another oldie from the high school days; one of my first. Although this is far from reggae, I'm going to go ahead and site Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" as inspiration. I love the sound of the organ in that song so I tried to maintain a little of that feel. Also, the jembe (sort of like a congo drum) adds to the "island ambiance". The lyrics are a little bit of a downer so hopefully the production elements help balance it out.

Song #20: Dad

In honor of Father's Day, I wrote and recorded a song about being a Dad, which I've appropriately titled, "Dad." Kept it super sparse: one guitar, one vocal, no effects. It's influenced by the style of my friend, Drew Danburry, along with the softer, folkie side of Wilco.

Song #19: The One I Love

Six years ago today, I married my wife. I wrote this song and performed it on our wedding day. Now for our anniversary, I decided to record it. The lyrics and melodies are influenced by the Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova from the movie "Once"). The production elements are influenced by the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album: thick harmonies with ohs and ahs, sleigh bells, vibraphone, cello, etc.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Photo by: Ashley Beal Photography

Song #18: I'll Sit Here and Wait

This an oldie written back in high school. I was really into the Beatles at the time so this was influenced by the song "It's Only Love" from the album "Help." You can also hear a little bit of the Goo Goo Dolls sounds in their. What do you think?

Song #17: No Wall

This song is influenced by the group the Beta Band. My first exposure to this group was a scene from the movie High Fidelity where one of their songs in played in the record store. I later witnessed the group open for Radiohead, which really got me into them. Their album, Hot Shots II is one of my all time favorite albums. But their song "Dry the Rain" (off their also excellent Three EPs album and the one featured in High Fidelity) is probably my favorite track of theirs.



So, as you will probably notice, my song heavily borrows on several of the production elements from "Dry the Rain": strummed acoustic guitar, layered drum machines, multiple tambourines, double tracked vocals, overdrive electric guitars, and a long and repetitive "Hey Jude" style ending with a fade out. What can say? I love it. This is one of my favorites in the project so far. Lyrically, the song is about being caught in a lie. What do you think?

Song #16: Over Me

With this song, I initially had something in mind close to the Beatles song "Across the Universe" when I started recording it. I planned on putting bongos but I didn't have one handy and I couldn't get any of the midi bongo sounds to sound right. So, I started to drift in a little different direction by layering on the harmonies with heavy reverb and adding multiple organ sounds layered. I think the result ended up more along the lines of Panda Bear's album "Tom Boy" with the repetitive lines and drones. I'm think it turned out pretty cool. Any suggestions?

Song #15: Anonymous

This week's song is influenced by the atmospheric Mazzy Star song, "Fade Into You," which is one of my favorite tunes of all time. I could listen to it over and over again and not get sick of it. For those of you not acquainted with this song, it was minor hit in the early 90s. I think it's been on a handful of movies and TV shows since then. The band has recorded 3 albums and kept playing off and on over the years but for the most part have stayed out of the spotlight. They are actually working on a new album this year, which I'm excited about.  
 


I tried to capture the same atmosphere that "Fade Into You" has by having a similar strumming pattern with the acoustic guitar, the same sort of tambourine part, a fair amount of reverb throughout, and a 6/8 time signature. I used the drum set sound on the keyboard for the kick, snare and cymbal. Does it sound believable?

So, what do you think? Any suggestions?

Song #14: Lonely Day

Growing up, I was a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins. Their discography (for better or worse) is all over the place stylistically, which I think has kept them interesting over the years. But this week's song is influenced by the electronica sound of the song "1979", along with some of dense guitar layers and octave distortion lines on the album Siamese Dream (the synth parts are also influenced by Broken Social Scene). While I'm talking about the Smashing Pumpkins, they are also somewhat the inspiration behind this whole project. Back in 2009, they started a 44-song concept album called "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope." They have released songs sporadically (on their website for free) as they were recorded one at a time. I think they are up to like song #12. I liked the idea of a massive project released one song at a time so I decided to put my own twist on it and try this out.

I recorded most of the guitar parts for this song using my trusty Marshall full stack. Killer tones, man! But seriously, although this is a little tiny novelty practice amp, the tones sound surprisingly big, wouldn't you say?!

The background of this song goes back to around 2001. When I started playing it live with Declaration,  it sounded much slower; more along the lines of Pedro the Lion or Low. Not having access to a drum set has caused me to use programmed beats a lot more lately, which has steered many of these songs so far in a new (and I hope exciting) direction. What do you think?

Song #13: I Needed More

This one is an oldie written back in high school and left unrecorded until now. At one point, I played it with Declaration as a full band with the distortion and full drums kicking in after the second chorus. Keeping it acoustic gives it a little different feel but I think it works. When I wrote it, I had something in mind of the Lit song "Miserable." So, I guess you could call it acoustic/emo/punk? I think it's a product of it's time....
 

Song #12: Hello Hello

So this puts me at about a quarter of the way through this project! Only 38 more to go. This week's tune is influenced by the feel of the Death Cab For Cutie song, "Coney Island" and by the elements of the sound of Portishead (the swung drum machine with the electronic piano - although my voice is not nearly as sexy as Beth Gibbons!). When I first wrote the song, though, I had something more in the mind of Train's "Drops of Jupiter" but as I started recording it, the feel just didn't seem right (maybe it needs a full band?) so it sorta morphed into what it is now.



Lyrically, it's about a fictional plane crash, which causes a shift in perspective about how one views one's life going forward (something along the lines of the TV show Lost). What do you think?

Song #11: Change My Design

This week's song is quite possibly the sappiest love song ever written! I wrote it a long, long time ago (election day of 2000, to be exact)! Although its a breakup song at its core, the lyrics were influenced by the idea of campaigning for an election and how it relates to love and relationships; the idea that the decisions we make during a relationships (our "votes", if you will) can determine what the future course of our life will be and whether the other people will be a part of it. I thought it was appropriate given that we are in the midst of presidential primaries right now.

The music was influenced by the Scottish band, Travis. I saw them back in high school when they came to Seattle and opened for Oasis. I remember liking them so much better than Oasis. I went out and bought "The Man Who", which remains one of my favorite albums to this day. When it came time to record the song, I didn't have a snare drum so I ended up using a shoe box instead! But I think it works.

So, I'm thinking this could be one of those big cross-over country and/or R&B songs ("I Will Always Love You"). Any ideas on who I should try to get to record it? (Unfortunately, Whitney Houston is not around. Otherwise she would be my pick!).
 

Song #10: Fictional Heros

This week's song is influenced by John Vanderslice (along with Postal Service and Beach House). I used an old retro organ for the drum beat, which I think sounds a little lo-fi and quirky but also fits the song. This song has a corny story behind it.... So, one of my friends was trying to get people to come to an activity every monday but no one would come because everyone stayed at home and watched 24. At one point he said something along the lines of, "What's the big deal with 24!? It's just fictional heroes saving cities from fictional disasters!" After he said that, I thought to me myself, "That's it!" and quickly jotted the line down, which then became the basis for this song. In a broader sense, it's about our perceptions of reality and how we sometimes think a situation is worse than it really is, or conversely, we make light of situations that we ought to take more seriously. Enjoy!

Song #9: Predictions

This week's song is highly influenced by Radiohead. I've been a pretty big fan of theirs ever since OK Computer came out. To be more specific, I would say the song, Videotape was a big inspiration for the sound and feel of this song. I tried a few new things: 2 harmonizing ebow guitar tracks (recorded direct, without an amp), a "choir" of harmony vocals (at one point there are 8 vocal tracks), and a "blippy-sounding" techno beat I created by playing each part on the keyboard, looping it, and layering effects on top. I'm really pleased with the results. I think it's my favorite song of the series so far. Hope you enjoy it!

Song #8: Beyond My Control

This week's tune is a sad song influenced by David Bazan (AKA Pedro the Lion). I wrote this late one night when I was contemplating whether or not I should try to keep making music. People always say "follow your dreams" but what if following your dreams means you'll be broke for the rest of your life? I think ultimately, I concluded to just make music for music's sake and not worry so much about the outcome... and here we are. What do you think?

Song #7: I Waited For You

This one is an oldie written back in high school (around 2000). This is one of my first attempts at country influenced folk rock. I think the inspiration lies somewhere between Travis and Bob Dylan. I think I'd like to add drums, bass, and an organ. What do you think?

Song #6: Apology

This week's song was inspired by one my new favorite bands, Beach House. There latest album, Teen Dream, is excellent! I highly recommend it. What do you think of the sound of this song? Is it too far away from the sound of my other songs? Would a more sparse approach better suite this song?

Song #5: Petals + Roses

This week's song is super chill and inspired by Elliott Smith (especially the double tracked vocals and guitars). It's about boldly going into a relationship without knowing what the outcome will be. I'm not really sure where to take this song in terms of additional arrangment. Any ideas?

Song #4: Outside

This song is about admitting that you are wrong in a relationship. The approach to this recording I've had in my head for a long time (kind of early Coldplay maybe?) but is there another way to approach the song that might be better? Also, does it need some harmony vocals?

Song #3: The Golden Age

Another old song written back in 2003. It's about where we've come as a people and how we define progress. I kept the instrumentation sparse with just a piano and vocal. It's influenced by Coldplay and Aqualung (and now that I think about it, John Lennon). Do you like it sparse or should I add some drums to it? Maybe a cello?

Song #2: When I Was Young

Here's a ditty I wrote back in high school (10+ years ago!) and finally got around to recording it! It's about  the time when you are a kid and anything is possible. It's heavily influenced by what I was listening to at the time: REM and Oasis. Please give your suggestions on what I can do to make this song better.

Song #1: 4th of July

Seeing as we just had New Years Day, I'm starting things off with a song about a holiday (although this holiday is still 7 months away, but the sentiment of celebrating a fleeting moment with fireworks remains the same). The production is inspired by the Pinback. Please give your suggestions on what I can do to make this song better.