Hey gang... the story thus far: I wrote this tune July 8th, after the bombings in London. Wrote the music that day, brought it to band practice the following Tuesday, and the band rocked it out. It started out as a very gritty, Neil Young-like rocker... and morphed when we became a five piece band. Now it is a very angry rock song... song blows up into a dynamic, distorted thrust on the line "Deafening sounds..." but then quiets down for an ethereal first chorus. The second verse gets loud again, and the second chorus is very heavy - palm muted and gritty, nasty, reflecting the anger of caused by terrorism, and the will of people to stand tall and proud and not be beaten back by those who are too cowardly to fight like men, who target innocent people. It soars off into space-land at the bridge...

So anyway, the song's about the will and strength of the human spirit, to triumph in the face of adversity. It was originally named "Fastpitch Softball," but the guys in the band hate that name... so what should we call it?



Knock me down, my eye is bruised
I couldn’t see myself through your ruse
Deafening sounds when it came through
Blood on my face because of you

Knock me down, I’ll get back up
Broken bones and nasty cuts
The world is silent, mouths are shut
Blood silence blood is not enough

Chorus:
But try as you may, you can’t strike me out
Staring out the batter’s box with a full count
Mighty Casey’s gone home, and I’m here to stay
So throw me your best, and I’ll swing away

Knock me down, dwell in the dust
Wipe off the blood and shake off the rust
You fooled me once, but now there’s no trust
And I’ve got a feeling this one might crush

Chorus:
But try as you may, you can’t strike me out
Staring out the batter’s box with a full count
Mighty Casey’s gone home, and I’m here to stay
So throw me your best, and I’ll swing away

Bridge:
Long ball always beats the slider
And I’ll die but you won’t see the tears
They’ll stay locked inside her
And they’ll praise my name as a star

Well, if you buy into the traditional methods of writing songs (e.g. Jimmy Webb, et al), you'd want to pull the name from a line that is repeated in each chorus like "Swing Away" (especially good because it's the last line in each chorus). This method is very good especially for aspiring songwriters/artists. New faces and songs need a "handle" and this kind of title is very memorable.

Another way is to reach into the verses for a repeated line or sentiment like "Knock Me Down" (however this title seems to fly in the face of the sentiment of the song).

Looks like this song is begging to be called "Swing Away" to me...

Also, for come great info regarding working with titles and songwriting in general, I can recommend three very good books (listed here in the order I would buy them):

1. Tunesmith - Inside the Art of Songwriting by Jimmy Webb

2. Six Steps to Songwriting Success - The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs by Jason Blume

3. 88 Songwriting Wrongs & How to Right Them by Pat and Pete Luboff

Oh, and I like the song Dustin. How about an mp3 when you get a chance?
John
Co-founder of the Apple Acoustic Worldwide Coffee House Tour

Looks like we're recording in January, and this song is in the set to be recorded, so yeah, I can provide an mp3 then...

"Swing Away" would work, but I was thinking something more prog-rocky, like "Joltin' Joe and The Shot Heard 'Round The World" - j.k.

Hey, who's the other co-founder of the AAWCHT? Does that include me?

You know it. Gonna be a good time.
J

Agreed that "Swing Away" is a good title.

I think you can use a few titles with the baseball metaphor:

Down in the Count
0 and 2 (or Oh, and Two)
Digging in Deep in the Batter's Box

You know, anything that deals with tenacity in the face of adversity.

Ooooh... I really, really like Down in the Count...

so, dustin finally did record this song, and a couple of others, with his band, but, since he doesn't come here very often, he didn't tell anyone.

you can listen to them http://www.myspace.com/indynewblack]here.[/url]

we're going to be participating in this as a minor sponsor. i just talked to them and firmed things up on friday of last week. i *might* come up for it, haven't decided yet, just depends on how busy things are.

let me know, bill...i'll be down for that, but i'll have to hustle back to make it to work at 3:00.

i f'in' hate second shift.

This is a great idea! Good song title and lyric. I definitely hear Neil Young in the beginning. And in the solo.