drink of coffee to bolster her nerves, followed by a deep breath, and began to sing.
I’ve been battered, I’ve been bruised
I’ve been hurt and I’m confused
Then you walk in my life and turn it upside down
And I find myself wearing a smile, not a frown.
***
Chase listened with a critical ear. Sometimes he found rhyming lyrics to be forced and contrived, but these didn’t bother him. They worked, and even though the verse was short, it was a good starting point and segue to what would be his part of their story.
“Do you hate it?” If Kenzie spoke of smiling in the song, she now sported an uncertain frown.
Yeah, someone tore her down, and good.
“Not at all,” Chase said. “I think it’s a good solid start, and I could see this song going from uncertain and wary in the beginning, to something hopeful and positive in the end.” He furrowed his brow as he thought of what they might be able to do with the piece. “I think a little more stretch in your middle register after ‘confused’ to build to the next section can help build a little tension, though.” He was thinking out loud now. “You know, the first part’s pretty sad, then there’s a shift there, to a more positive-sounding song. With that little stretch, maybe people aren’t sure what they’re getting.”
“Hmm.” Kenzie’s eyes narrowed in a thoughtful expression. “You may be on to something there. Are you sure you’re not a producer?”
Chase couldn’t help but laugh. “Hardly, and Keith may have a completely different idea about how to arrange the song.” He shrugged. “I have a passion for music, though.”
“It shows.”
“Thanks.” Chase averted her gaze and reached for his coffee. He appreciated compliments, but was still never exactly sure how to take them. Maybe it came from having a family—with the exception of Colin—that still insisted on treating his music as a silly hobby he’d grow out of. “If I haven’t said this before, I like your voice. It’s got a real Stevie Nicks quality to it. Deep, smoky, sultry...”
“Stevie Nicks?”
“You have heard of her, right?” Chase asked, half-teasing.
“Um, yeah... I’ve just never been compared to her before.”
“Then those people are crazy or dumb,” Chase said. “She’s the first one that came to mind when I heard you. Stevie’s a legend.”
“That’s for sure,” Kenzie said. “I... thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So what do you have?”
“What?”
“For lyrics,” she said. “What do you have for lyrics? You did write your verse?”
“Oh, that. Of course.” Chase reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the piece of paper with lyrics he’d finally managed to keep and not discard. It had been a process that probably killed a few trees. “You want me to sing it?”
Kenzie smirked. “I think that’s only fair...”
Yeah. He figured she’d say that. “Can’t get anything past you, can I? Okay, here goes.” Chase took a deep breath, trying to ready himself to capture the right tone.
I wasn’t looking for anything
I sure wasn’t looking for you,
Then there you were, in front of me
Now I’m feeling things that scare me,
Thrill me, Turn me upside down,
And I don’t know what to do.
Chase kept his eyes on the paper as he sang the words, all six lines of them. Six freaking lines, and it’d taken him almost as many hours to write them. Worse yet, he wasn’t even sure he liked them all that much. This might end up being the hardest song he ever wrote.
When he finally had the nerve to glance up, he noticed Kenzie was smiling. “Well?”
“Turn me upside down? Seriously?”
It took Chase a second to realize what she meant. Upside down. They’d both written a lyric about being turned upside down. Coincidence? Or fate? Not that he actually believed in fate or anything. “Yeah. Weird, huh?”
“Maybe,” Kenzie said. “Or maybe it was meant to be. We were meant to write
I’ve been battered, I’ve been bruised
I’ve been hurt and I’m confused
Then you walk in my life and turn it upside down
And I find myself wearing a smile, not a frown.
***
Chase listened with a critical ear. Sometimes he found rhyming lyrics to be forced and contrived, but these didn’t bother him. They worked, and even though the verse was short, it was a good starting point and segue to what would be his part of their story.
“Do you hate it?” If Kenzie spoke of smiling in the song, she now sported an uncertain frown.
Yeah, someone tore her down, and good.
“Not at all,” Chase said. “I think it’s a good solid start, and I could see this song going from uncertain and wary in the beginning, to something hopeful and positive in the end.” He furrowed his brow as he thought of what they might be able to do with the piece. “I think a little more stretch in your middle register after ‘confused’ to build to the next section can help build a little tension, though.” He was thinking out loud now. “You know, the first part’s pretty sad, then there’s a shift there, to a more positive-sounding song. With that little stretch, maybe people aren’t sure what they’re getting.”
“Hmm.” Kenzie’s eyes narrowed in a thoughtful expression. “You may be on to something there. Are you sure you’re not a producer?”
Chase couldn’t help but laugh. “Hardly, and Keith may have a completely different idea about how to arrange the song.” He shrugged. “I have a passion for music, though.”
“It shows.”
“Thanks.” Chase averted her gaze and reached for his coffee. He appreciated compliments, but was still never exactly sure how to take them. Maybe it came from having a family—with the exception of Colin—that still insisted on treating his music as a silly hobby he’d grow out of. “If I haven’t said this before, I like your voice. It’s got a real Stevie Nicks quality to it. Deep, smoky, sultry...”
“Stevie Nicks?”
“You have heard of her, right?” Chase asked, half-teasing.
“Um, yeah... I’ve just never been compared to her before.”
“Then those people are crazy or dumb,” Chase said. “She’s the first one that came to mind when I heard you. Stevie’s a legend.”
“That’s for sure,” Kenzie said. “I... thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So what do you have?”
“What?”
“For lyrics,” she said. “What do you have for lyrics? You did write your verse?”
“Oh, that. Of course.” Chase reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the piece of paper with lyrics he’d finally managed to keep and not discard. It had been a process that probably killed a few trees. “You want me to sing it?”
Kenzie smirked. “I think that’s only fair...”
Yeah. He figured she’d say that. “Can’t get anything past you, can I? Okay, here goes.” Chase took a deep breath, trying to ready himself to capture the right tone.
I wasn’t looking for anything
I sure wasn’t looking for you,
Then there you were, in front of me
Now I’m feeling things that scare me,
Thrill me, Turn me upside down,
And I don’t know what to do.
Chase kept his eyes on the paper as he sang the words, all six lines of them. Six freaking lines, and it’d taken him almost as many hours to write them. Worse yet, he wasn’t even sure he liked them all that much. This might end up being the hardest song he ever wrote.
When he finally had the nerve to glance up, he noticed Kenzie was smiling. “Well?”
“Turn me upside down? Seriously?”
It took Chase a second to realize what she meant. Upside down. They’d both written a lyric about being turned upside down. Coincidence? Or fate? Not that he actually believed in fate or anything. “Yeah. Weird, huh?”
“Maybe,” Kenzie said. “Or maybe it was meant to be. We were meant to write
Similar Books
