Update:
Wow! The submissions keep coming in, and they're AWESOME! Scroll to the bottom of this story to listen to the epic covers of Taylor's terrible, terrible love song.
If you'd like to submit your own version of our love song, upload it to SoundCloud or YouTube and share it with us on our Facebook page! Or, you can email an MP3 to tquimby@nhpr.org, and we'll make sure to include it in our post.
Love songs, which by their very nature tend towards the melodramatic and saccharine, are ripe for parody. We at Word of Mouth thought it would be fun to compose a love song using only chart-topping lyrical clichés – so we asked for your suggestions, and then set to work.
It turned out to be a humbling experience. Love songs, which may sound to the layman as though they consist entirely of extra-long notes, flamboyant R&B runs, and an excessive use of the word ‘forever’, are MUCH harder to make than one might think.
So we’re calling on you, our listeners, to make up for the talent we lack. Below are the lyrics and chords to our failed love song experiment. We want you… nay, NEED you to take a stab at making this love song sound good (or funny, at the very least), and upload your version (via SoundCloud or YouTube) to our Facebook page. To get a sense of how it shouldn't sound, you can listen to our version at the bottom of the page.
WORD OF MOUTH'S FAILED LOVE SONG:
G maj B maj
You walked into the room.
C maj
You walked into the club.
G maj
You walked out of the rain.
D maj
Wet rain.
G maj
You looked at me I looked at you.
B maj
Our eyes locked I looked away.
C maj
Then I looked back your eyes still looking back at my eyes,
G maj D maj
And this time I didn't look away - I knew just what to say.
G maj
Set me free, be with me, by my side
C maj
All we’ve been through, wrap my arms, hold me close
G maj
Moments like this, my heartbeat , for all time
D maj
When you walked in the room…when my dreams come true
G maj
When we first met, first kissed, first touched like this baby
C maj
Baby baby baby (etc.)
G maj
Nothing compares, nobody else
D maj
Hit me with your best shot, I’m crazy in love
G maj C maj
This is the part of the song that I sing in falsetto
G maj D maj G maj
And this is the part of the song where I suddenly stop
D maj
Before the beat drops.
Em
Two lovers
C maj
In love
G maj
Making lovely love
D maj
Like lovers do
Em
True Love
C maj
Pure love
G maj D maj
Do or say or change anything for You.
(repeat)
G maj, C maj, G maj, D maj
Here's our version. Yeesh.
And here's our first challenger! The background is MESMERIZING:
This one was submitted by John Shore and his daughter, Sadie. They did the smart thing and ditched about 99% of the existing lyrics in favor of their own, hilarious prose. Great job guys!
A couple NHPR employees have caught wind of the love song project, and are adding their voices to the mix! Here's Ross Boyd (sounding quite different than he does during newscasts):
And here's Word of Mouth producer Zach Nugent adding some funky distortion to the mix:
Submission #5: California's Coco Harris on the piano and the vocal pipes:
Here's Noah Watson's 'countrified' version:
