Gothic Vibes from Whitby
I'm not always sure where songs come from. Sometimes it feels like you’re writing something very specific to you to help you process something and sometimes it feels like the thing already existed and you just grabbed it out of the air, or discovered it and channelled it for everyone else to have.
A few weeks ago I visited the gothic seaside town of Whitby for the first time. To give you full context, I read The Whitby Witches as a kid and I’ve read Dracula so the scenery and err vibe were somewhat expected.
Where I nearly died… possibly
But an 11pm walk one evening along the pier with my beloved became terrifying when we literally saw no- one and I mean NO-ONE. It was pitch black and the lights on the pier weren’t all working so walking out past the lighthouse towards the inky black sea became a tad Hitchcockian, like watching someone in a horror movie going down to the basement when the lights don’t work (don’t go DOWN there!).
Then when my (so called) beloved high on adrenalin/fear said we should head further out to sea to the very end of the pier across a rickety metal bridge, AND then I heard a noise from the lighthouse, well I became freaked out, suspicious of his intentions (I’ve seen Suspicion, ok?). I decided we needed to turn back and walked quick smart back to relative civilisation all the time trying desperately not to look directly up at the abbey, just incase. I’m still alive fyi.
My newly acquired Victorian mourning brooch made of Whitby Jet- Creepy eh?
Whitby was also delightful- in the daylight. On our last morning I ended up in one of the many cutesy little antique shops where I came across this Victorian mourning brooch with the words “DEAR MOTHER" carved into it. Creepy, yeah?
There were others with names and the antique shop owner told me these would have been commissioned during Victorian times when someone died and then worn to show that you were mourning that person and this one was obviously made for someone’s dear mother who had died.
Reader, I bought it as I’d wanted a piece of Whitby jet and all the things I’d seen in jewellery shops were either too polished or too generic and this was something weird and wonderful with history. I took it home and left it in its velvet bag for a bit but I couldn't stop thinking about it.
gratuitous picture of Bert on Whitby Beach- he’s not scared of anything, except balloons
gratuitous picture of interesting beach
I wasn’t necessarily thinking about the person who wore it or who it was made for, but about what it meant to me. I’d been thinking about writing something about… I’m not sure, mothers? mothering? parenting? loss? I had started a song called Mother/Father which I wasn’t sure about but the theme it was obviously on my mind. So I brought the brooch down out of its velvet bag, stared at it and tried to remember what had drawn me to it and what it made me think of.
I sat down and started writing a song about a little girl who has been left alone and is waiting for her mum to come and get her, she’s confused because she’s been left in a place called The Wasteland but she thinks her mum meant to take her to Graceland because she once gave her an Elvis CD.
The song isn’t finished but I thought I’d share a demo draft as it’s more interesting than just talking about it. I have no idea if I’ll develop it further but just wanted to share how a curio inspired me. Also just for the record, my husband is not trying to kill me. I mean you can never be 100% but I’m pretty sure.
I've put the snippet in the podcast bit of this blog
I have used items to inspire writing before- particularly script writing and there is a songwriting exercise called object writing, developed by songwriter and teacher Pat Pattison.
The idea is that instead of sitting down thinking, "I need to write a song," you start with something concrete instead. An object, a place, a photograph, an old letter, a shell, a key, a piece of jewellery... anything that catches your attention.
Then you spend ten minutes exploring it through your senses rather than analysing it.
What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like? Taste like? What memories or questions does it bring up? Who might have owned it? Where has it been? Why has it stayed with you?
For example with this brooch you might focus on:
- the weight of it in your hand
- the stone warming against your skin
- the tiny scratches on the back
- the residual smell of the place you found it
- the way the words Dear Mother caught your eye and how they can be interpreted
- how the brooch was displayed in the cabinet
- what memories it triggered
- what it might have been if it wasn’t a mourning brooch
I didn't lick it, but you know... you can use all your senses if you want!
The object isn't necessarily what the song ends up being about and it's interesting how someone else's history can suddenly become the starting point for creating or exploring something new for you. Finding this brooch helped me channel something I'd wanted to write about- thanks Whitby!
Sometimes I find I write songs in batches around a similar theme and sometimes it’s a bit like pancakes- the first one is a bit of a prototype. And something I’ve been learning about through writing for stage is that you might first write a draft version for you and then perhaps you can get some distance by writing another draft or you might feel able to take the idea somewhere else while retaining the emotional truth of the original.
Speaks for itself
So, is there something you feel pulled to write about? Is there an object you've collected on your travels which you love but you’ve stopped really seeing? Could you examine it for a few minutes and see what comes out of it? Maybe you have:
- An object you've kept for years?
- Something you picked up on holiday?
- An old photograph?
- A ticket/keepsake?
- A postcard?
- A broken watch?
- Or something in a charity shop that catches your eye for reasons you can't quite explain?
You don't have to know where it's going when you start. Just stay curious and see where your imagination leads.
I'd love to know where your ideas come from. Do songs or stories usually begin with a personal experience, a conversation, a place, an object, or something else entirely?
Hit me up if you’ve got a good story!