.png?height=200&name=Untitled%20design%20(3).png)
I have lived several decades with the writing of songs as the underlying force field. Those songs,...
Mike’s Muse: Mike’s Top Ten Strange Songs
I have recently listened to the songs entered into two of our Play It Strange songwriting competitions. As always, the experience was immersive. The songs proved to be a creative force once again this year. It is a joy to witness and wonderful to be involved.
They arrived carrying stories, questions, observations and moments of revelation. Some were delicate and reflective. Others came with urgency and conviction. Together they formed a remarkable chorus of young voices, each seeking its own pathway through the mystery of songwriting.
Listening to them led me back to a number of songs from the Play It Strange archives. Songs that have stayed with me.
Songwriting has always been a curious force. It gathers experience, memory, hope and wonder, and transforms them into something that can travel beyond the songwriter and find a place in the hearts of others.
The ten songs gathered here are among my favourite Strange songs. They remind me of the depth of creativity that exists in young people, and of the extraordinary songwriting journey that continues to unfold through Play It Strange.
Listen, and enjoy.
Kristen MacDonald (Finalist, 2009)
I had a dream
House was burning
Standing so still
Was this little guy hurting
And I couldn’t help him - no
He couldn’t move And all that was left Was the lace on his shoes
Jessica Holland (Finalist, 2011)
Couldn’t be a better time
To run away Cause all my life
I’ve never felt this way
I’m standing here all alone
Maria Schryvers (Finalist, 2011)
It seems It was only yesterday
We were making our mistakes
And soaking up the rain
And I hear her singing ‘
If you love me let me go’
Fletcher Mills (Finalist, 2011)
Rocks come falling
Barely missing The people down below And I can’t even help them
And I can only scream And no one can hear me A little boy sobs beside me
He doesn’t understand And the parents are screaming
And the brothers are screaming The sisters are screaming
And the city is Crying
Aaron Fausett (Finalist, 2010)
One more chance
Please; one more chance
‘Cos we got crying & screaming
Shouting and fighting
One more chance
Louis McDonald (Finalist, 2011)
Balloons they fly
The sky falls low
The basket
it hovers
And puts on a show
And I wait for a sign
Something to take my mind away
Guntaas Oberoi (Finalist, 2023)
I watch the sunlight dance across your face
As the dark clouds Tippy- toe away
Roseanna Gamlen Greene (Finalist, 2010)
Birds - like Golden teardrops
Music to those
who listen
Not to all who hear
Grace Lawrence (Finalist, 2022)
I’ve been told so many things I wish I had written down
And I can hear this faint buzzing in my brain
There’s a strange relief in the sound
Caitlin Nicole; Paige McOnie (Finalist, 2023)
I hear the Captain calling
Got my ticket down the River Styx
Cos maybe it’ll fix what’s broken
And I’ll know all I’ve missed
Blue Butterfly
Annah Mac (Finalist, 2006)
Well walk on in
Yea I see you standing there
I won’t let that interfere with what I’m doing
