2 Tell The Truth

My first piece of advice is very simple: always TELL THE TRUTH, your personal truth. When you write a song, TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT MEANS A LOT TO YOU AND SAY SOMETHING YOU TRULY MEAN.

When I first listened to “The show must go on” by Queen I was moved by it, the song is so deep and meaningful. The lyrics, the music and Freddy's voice combine perfectly to convey that message.

Or think of “Marry me” by Train, no wonder that song is the soundtrack of every wedding now, and it's not just because of the title. When he sings: “I promise to sing to you when all the music dies” you can tell he really means to be by her side forever.

Or do you remember “18 till I die” ? Bryan Adams could sing that because he's actually looked 18 his whole life, but, what I mean is that the song is simple, genuine, 100% fun.

So, whenever you write a song, put your personal truth into it. Your own experience, your ideas, your true feelings. When people listen to your song, it will take them a second to realize if what you say is fake or trivial. On the contrary, if your song is truthful, people can agree with it or not, but they will not skip it or forget it that easily.

Check this song that I wrote for my Acoustic Duo TwelveNotes (www.12n.biz) : the title is “Partner in Crime”.

“We’re the king and the queen of the view we can see from the balcony...”

The main idea for this song is the word girlfriend, “GirlFRIEND”. Thinking about my husband, I realized that he's my best friend and I'm his best friend, we have been sharing our passions (such as music, of course) and we have dealt with big problems side by side. Friendship is the core of every long lasting love story in my opinion. This is my personal truth. Every time I sing this song I can feel the same happiness I felt writing it, 'cause I kinda...you know, see the movie of the life we have lived together so far. Everything I say is true: for example: the amazing sunsets on the hills from our balcony, our motorbike, and the black and white keys of the keyboard are the reason for the name of our duo (twelveNotes). And, well, yes, I also mention the hard times we went through when my husband was fighting leukaemia. I included the sentence “omnia vincit amor”, that is latin, it means Love Conquers All, that was the sentence I kept repeating myself to find the strength to carry on until my husband finally recovered.

So, now, do you get what I mean? Talk about something really meaningful to you and tell the truth. Always.

Ok, that's it for now. Thanks for listening to this second episode of Blank Page - Songwriting, come visit my website www.martainnocenti.com and now, enjoy my song. I'll talk to you soon! Bye bye!

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The lyrics:

PARTNER IN CRIME (by 12N – twelveNotes-)

music and lyrics by Marta Innocenti

We’re the king and the queen of the view we can see from the balcony

of the sunset on the hills, of a milky way ceiling

we’ve been feeding a dream

and we know what it means to sweat for each step

well we made it happen in the end oh yeah!

Yes Man! I’m your Girlfriend, I’m the Best Friend that you ever had

Yes Man, that’s right, I’m your Partner in Crime

I’m the mirror you need to remind you the warrior you can be

I’m the music that you hear with a speedy heartbeat

And the road’s getting clearer riding together the same motorbike

We keep playing all the keys, both black and white oh yeah!

Yes I will never forget the whisper of death In that room of the hospital

But we painted the walls with the colours of love

Cause we knew : 'OMNIA VINCIT AMOR'

and bad weather may come and the angels may fall

we got each other !