Joy Sitler - Work In Progress

from SpinTunes 18 Round 2 by Spintunes

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about

Sometimes, I suffer from bipolar disorder. Other times, I revel in it. Such is the nature of a manic cycle.

This song is a depiction of me talking to myself while manic, and trying to manage the resulting boost of energy and positive emotions while remaining somewhat grounded and level headed.

Typically when I write songs, I sit with a guitar and hash them out with music and lyrics simultaneously. In order to adjust to the "tempo change" challenge, I approached it more like I typically approach more formal composition- I composed the first stanza of vocals in my car and then fleshed out the rest of the song in notation software, writing music first, and then crafting lyrics. Then, I exported midi for the drums and piano and sent them to my friend Nathan, who ran the parts through some Kontakt synths and tweaked the sounds with me. I recorded the rest of the song around these synths.

lyrics

I took my meds, but they haven’t kicked in yet
I made my bed, but I haven’t left it
I gotta hangover the size of a fighter jet
And I’ll drink again to forget it

I am forever a work in progress
Not always getting better but I do my best
Because you never know when something might come ‘round
And put your whole damn life to the test

Slow down
And take it easy
You don’t know what you’re doing
Just settle down now
And find your stable ground

To be blunt I never thought I’d get this far
Because I never really set a bar
But now I’m giving it my all
And I won’t stop until I have no gas in the car

I am forever a work in progress
But what that even means is anyone’s guess
Because eventually you’re gonna trip up
And you might make a mess of it

Slow down
And take it easy
You don’t know what you’re doing
Just settle down now
And find your stable ground

I am forever a work in progress
Not always getting better but I do my best
Because you never know when something might come round
And put you to the test

I am forever a work in progress,
I am forever a work in progress,
I am forever a work in progress,
I am forever a work in progress.

credits

from SpinTunes 18 Round 2, released October 18, 2021
Nathan Mulch- piano and drum mixing
Joy Sitler- everything else, including additional piano mixing

license

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about

Spintunes Union, South Carolina

Spintunes is a semi-annual songwriting contest. Every other week, the competitors receive a challenge and a week to meet it.

Each album on this site contains the responses to a single challenge.