Life (Is Still Worth Living)
Time to make the most of what is left
This recording was made for a School of Song workshop with Robin Pecknold.
I chose the “fixer” prompt and wrote a new bridge for a 2009 demo I found on an old hard drive.
I changed the last note of the chorus melody from the root to the third (G#) which allowed me to modulate from E major the C# major for the bridge. The bridge also modulates down to C major briefly before going to a B7 to modulate back to the original key of E major for one more chorus.
The line “breathe in, life is still worth living” is from a song a former bandmate wrote during high school, which was the inspiration for the original 2009 demo. That friend ran into some trouble and ended up in jail. This song was intended as a kind of meditation on him and our friendship. The new bridge is comprised of bits of lyrics from songs we wrote while in a band together.
you were a boy, now you’re a man
you were a stranger who became my friend
and you taught me that we must work
you were a girl, now you’re grown up
I didn’t know you and then we hooked up
and you showed me how to love
you were so great but somehow you failed
you hit someone and they put you in jail
but you showed me how to breathe in
life is still worth living
you won’t find love
in the past we’ve run past
there’s time to learn
time to laugh
time to rest
time to make the most of what is left
so fly, black crow
from your house of knives
there’s so much to know
and nowhere to hide
and all you are
is nothing anymore
you won’t find love
in the past we’ve run past
there’s time to learn
time to laugh
time to rest
time to make the most of what is left