Okay, I know it's early in the thread, but I hope a bit of thread drift is tolerable. The original question was posed way back in '99 so I'm assuming it has been answered. I was just thinking about starting a thread about songs, and bingo! The moon phase must be with me. I jump on the Cat, and here one is to post to with a title that's got reasonable latitude.
So, here's my twist. I've written a few songs of late too, and have noticed a curious side effect. They not only wish or sometimes demand to be written, but then they seem to insist on being heard as well. It's as though they have a mind of their own. Like a junkie lookin' for a fix, I find myself drawn to any sort of venue that'll have me, just to satisfy THEIR desire to be heard. Once performed, the feelings subside, but not for very long. Soon I find myself needing to seek another venue, not to play the old obscure stuff I've played for years, but to release these new songs. It's a feeling very much like lifting a burden from within. It's as though they (the songs) expect this as part of the bargain. They reveal themselves to me at times, it seems, from the ether, and for that privilege, I must also agree to perform them. That last part, about performing them, must have been in the fine print section of whatever contract I signed because I had no idea it would be like this. I don't really mind singing them. Hey, who else is going to do it? But it's this compulsion inside, this weird feeling that's a little spooky. It's as if I'm being driven to sing them. Folks still enjoy all of that other stuff I've been singing and request it, but it's as I said, I find that these new songs want or desire to be heard. They nag me, and drag me to my keyboard late at night or early in the morning to write them down, but that isn't enough. Then they gnaw at me to memorize them and learn their melodies. Once that's done they're still not satisfied until I bring them to a gig and perform them. It's as though the birth or the idea of the song was not enough. Once born, written down, and joined with a melody, they grow needy with desire to complete themselves and finish their circle, their cycle, and be heard or consumed by those who would listen.