At one point in their career, every performing songwriter will write a song about how they miss home. In 2006 I was nominated for a Canadian Smooth Jazz award against another such song, "Home" by Michael Buble and his co-writers (my story is that I was a close 2nd place). "If Only" is my song about missing home, or more specifically about missing my loved one while I'm away in some foreign city.
The song has been around in half-finished form for years - it was one of the first songs I wrote, but wasn't able to properly finish re-writing it until I'd gained years of writing experience. The intro section was written recently, in a songwriting exercise to write a "traditional verse-chorus song", the song form popular in the 1920's and 30's, when writers like Cole Porter would write an introductory verse section, followed by the more singable and memorable chorus. Songs like "It Had to be You", "Someone to Watch Over Me", and even "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" have a verse section which has been all but forgotten, with the more familiar chorus section feeling like our more modern verse-chorus form. Enough rambling...
More trivia... when I was rehearsing the songs with drummer Adam Bowman and bassist Matthew Lima before heading into the New Jersey recording sessions, I introduced the song to the band as a piano arrangement, but Adam suggested an electric piano instead. At first I didn't like the sound of it, but grew to prefer the more intimate feel of the electric piano part. Meanwhile, Adam grew to prefer the original piano arrangement. I broke the tie - after all, it's my album...
lyrics
If Only
My wake up call is set for early morning
I’m feeling very small inside this bed that’s made for two
Instead of sad and lonely, I'm imagining, if only
You were here with me, so near that we could never be unglued
If only you could see my eyes
And how they light up at the sound of your voice
If only you could see my eyes
You’d see the rush that turns a man into a boy
If I just close my eyes
I can pretend I’m home with you, not out of sight
And for a moment I can be, close enough I might believe
That you’re here with me tonight
If only you could see my smile
As I swear I catch a breath of your perfume
If only you could see my smile
As I picture us alone inside this room
It doesn’t come through every time
But it’s there inside my heart and only you
Can reach inside and take it, ‘cause I know you’d never break it
That’s a thing you’d never do
When I was a younger man, you made me see
Just how my life was laid out in front of me
And I knew that I could never let you get away
Darling, I know there's one thing, that I have learned
If I could love you twice as much in return
Ooh, Baby, ooh, Baby
I would still want to give you so much more
If only I could touch your skin
I would lay a serenade upon your lips
If only I could touch your skin
You would feel my every heartbeat in my kiss
It always makes my whole world spin
When your voice across that phone just calls my name
So now I’ll dream, and then I’ll wake, a little closer to that day
When I’m home with you again
When I was a younger man, you made me see
Just how my life was laid out in front of me
And I knew that I could never let you get away
Darling, I know there's one thing, that I have learned
If I could love you twice as much in return
Ooh, Baby, ooh, Baby
I would still want to give you so much more
It always makes my whole world spin
When your voice across that phone just calls my name
So now I’ll dream, and then I’ll wake, a little closer to that day
When I’m home with you again
And in the morning I will wake, a little closer to that day
When I’m home with you again
Yes, in the morning I will wake, one morning closer to that day
When I’m home with you again
Copyright 2009 Allister Bradley.
All rights reserved.
credits
from Never Came Down,
released July 15, 2011
Written and arranged by Allister Bradley (SOCAN)
Produced by Allister Bradley
Drums and Percussion, Bass Guitar Recorded by Jason Corsaro with Dante Portella at The Barber Shop Studios, Hopatcong, New Jersey
Electric Guitar, Electric Piano, Organ and Vocals Recorded by Allister Bradley at Left Side Studio, Kitchener, Ontario
Mixed by Allister Bradley at Left Side Studio, Kitchener, Ontario
Mastered by Peter Letros at Wreckhouse Mastering, Toronto, Ontario
Photos by Brian O'Brien
Illustrations by Paul Montgomery
Art Design by Allister Bradley
Drums and Percussion: Adam Bowman
Bass Guitar: Matthew Lima
Electric Guitar: Dave Thompson
Vocals: Allister Bradley
Electric Piano, Organ: Allister Bradley
Singer/Songwriter/Pianist/Producer/Engineer and many more things to many more people, Allister still can't decide what he
wants to be when he grows up. His music can perhaps be described as modern folk, since it contains rich storytelling and imagery, but it might be mistaken for Smooth Jazz, Roots or AC. You decide.
Any way you describe it, Allister's music will reach deep within and satisfy...more
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