LJ Idol LPF Week 1

[encrefloue]

Topic: "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."

 

"giveup" (Watch on YouTube)

 

Hey it’s not a game

You can give up

There’s no shame

Hey it’s not a game

You can give up

There’s no shame

Always someone to beat

Let’s laugh at the loser in utter defeat

Always something to prove

Why do anything without someone who approves?

Hey it’s not a quest

You can let go of your unrest

You don’t need a goal

To prove to yourself that you’re whole

Hey it's not a game
You can give up
There's no shame

Hey it's not a game
You can give up
There's no shame

Trapped by the Capital C

So apt to adapt to the clash for currency

Unhappy Capitalist friends

No mirth! Where’s your worth if you can’t pay the dividends?

Hey it’s not a fight

You don’t always have to be right

Hey it’s not a brawl

Don’t have to compete to stand tall

Imagine America

Where it’s allowed

To lose, to refuse

The regard of the crowd

Where rom coms of Hollywood

Don’t teach our men

After eighty NOs

Eighty-one could be consent

Where imaginary

weapons of destruction

Were not an excuse

For a bloody production

Of vile hostile takeover

Civilian massacre

Presidents’ makeovers

As peace ambassadors

(Peace can be Image

But Peace can’t be Winning

And Winning’s America

From the beginning)

Where Peace is not Image

Not gain, not illusion

Not 330 million in delusion

Where people can realize

When we’re at War

Where people can realize

When we’re at War

Where people talk about War

When we’re at War

Where people talk about War

When we’re at War

Imagine America

Without a War

Can you

give up?

Hey it’s not a game

You can give up

There’s no shame

Hey it’s not a game

You can give up

There’s no shame

Comments

[thephantomq]

This is quality and I always admire your bravery in recording yourself playing these songs. :) You've got quite a talent for it!

[encrefloue]

Thank you so much! I'm hoping to push myself further with the compositions and recordings this season. Fingers crossed!

[rayaso]

I'm glad to see you and your songs back! This was another good one. I especially liked the chorus.

[encrefloue]

Thank you! It's great to be back! First entry, first song...first bar I've set for myself to surpass ;)

[tatdatcm]

Loved the part where it built up and up on itself. It was even more effective listening to you sing.

[encrefloue]

Thank you very much! I would have liked for my instrumentation/musical composition to really bring out that building feeling, but I was running out of rehearsal/recording time. Goals for next time!

[adoptedwriter]

I enjoyed the upbeat music. Sometimes it is OK and the best choice to say, "I'm done". There is no shame in knowing your limits.

[encrefloue]

Thank you! And I agree completely (well, I guess that's obvious, haha). I wish we could frame less aspects of our lives in terms of success and failure!

awesome

[dragonswimmer]

This is anson and I loved it encrefloue.

Re: awesome

[encrefloue]

Thank you so much, Anson! <3 So happy to see you in the Idol land! Excited to see more of your writing, Dragonswimmer! :)

[the_eternal_overthinker]

I loved the twist to the prompt and its nice to hear it with the music. Lovely work! Looking forward to more :)

[encrefloue]

Thank you so much! I thought it was important to voice an anti-competitive view. But I recognize the irony in posting it to a "Literary Prize Fight"! Haha, oh well. Here's to a new season of exploration!

[bellatrixe]

I loved this so much :D

[encrefloue]

Thank you very much! Glad it could bring some joy :)

[murielle]

Hey! Welcome back! Great to see/hear you again!

Always love your songs. Love the wordplay and the warm tones in your voice.

You're back! :-)

[encrefloue]

Thank you so much! Glad to be back, and to see you in LJ land too! Can't wait to see what we come up with this season :)

[bewize]

Powerful! Loved the video, too!

[encrefloue]

Thank you so much! Cheers to the new LJ season :)

[troof_therry]

I appreciate the subject matter most. You deal with some worthy themes for this particular moment. Nicely done.

[encrefloue]

I really appreciate that, thank you! There were so many things I wanted to talk about here, because I feel like there are so many things upon which we unjustly impose the filter of competition. Even though I only touch on them in passing, I'm very glad that those themes are heard!

[moretta]

So good! And so awesome that you have us the video of the song as well as the lyrics. Just so you know, I'm harmonizing under my breath!

[encrefloue]

Oh? Harmonizing?! Do I smell a collaboration in the works? :)

Thank you so much! I'm always happy when I manage a song for LJ. Hoping to push my envelope with songs this season!

[moretta]

Ahahah, maybe! I always harmonise along to songs. Too many years being in a choirs makes it automatic! :)

Fingers crossed for inspiration, then!

[halfshellvenus]

It's the poetry inside your music that I really like-- always something deeper than just a song, and this one definitely speaks to the state of our country today.

I especially liked the takeover/massacre/makeovers/ambassadors stanza, which was both clever and true. :)

[encrefloue]

That means a lot; thank you so much! Since LJ is a writing competition at the end of the day, I try to make sure the writing in the songs are worthy of submission. Sometimes I feel like I strike the right tone, other times I feel like they can be overly wordy or too conversational. Makes an interesting balancing game! I think even more so, I'd like to try bringing the same kind of writing voice I have in my poems into my songs this season. Fingers crossed!

[favoritebean_writes]

Nicely done!

[encrefloue]

Thank you very much!

[bleodswean]

It is such a treat in Idol that participants can bring a powerhouse of creativity, and you have been doing that consistently and fantastically. I love that you share yourself, the song, the music and then your words/lyrics!

[encrefloue]

That's super kind of you; thank you so much! I definitely want to take more risks and push myself further. Cheers to a new season of exploration and growth!

[flipflop_diva]

Yay, I'm so glad you're back and with more songs! I really loved this one, especially the chorus. It's nice to have a different take on the prompt.

[encrefloue]

Thank you so much; I'm really happy to be back in Idol land, and to see you back as well! I'm really happy that the spin on the prompt was well received. Here's to a new season of writing and discovery!

[tonithegreat]

Our family rocked out to this in the car a few times!! Awesomeness! I miss you and your uke in person so much!

[encrefloue]

Oh my gosh, yay! Maybe one day I'll be requested in the pick-a-song car game <3 I miss you so much, too! Keep it on the DL as it's not officially decided, but I've been thinking a lot about being back in Tallahassee come March/April.