Over the weekend Jake and I were working on one of my uke songs, and we kept coming to a grinding and awkward halt upon reaching the bridge. For me, the bridge is always hit or miss. Sometimes it’s a lovely and intelligent part of the song, and sometimes it’s just a dud. My dad told me that a song must have a bridge, however, so sometimes I carelessly slap one in whether it fits or not.
Rather than accept the mediocre and misshapen bridge of this particular song, I handed it off to Jake’s capable hands to reinvent. He came up with a fitting and unique bass line, and I let my uke fall in after the fact. What a relief to be able to let go of something, to change a song from “mine” to “ours”, and unchain it from the place where my bright ideas cease to be bright.
The next time I’m stuck on a sour bridge, a crappy lyric, or a piece of song anatomy that just doesn’t sit right… I won’t hesitate to cut it from me and see what someone else can do to craft it in a different way.
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