KEN BIERSCHBACH
Singer / Songwriter
Did you ever wonder what a song was "about" - Well I have. So below I've put the stories behind my songs in print. I've included all of the songs from my 2001 release "SOMEWHERE OUT THERE", as well as from my 1998 release," THE BOLD TYPE." While I don't attempt to explain every nuance, I do give you a piece of what I was thinking and/or doing while these songs were being written. I hope you enjoy the "stories" and thanks for reading.
If you would like to read about the songs from my 2004 release, "Voyeur Constant", click here.
This song is exactly what it says – nothing more and nothing less. It’s just another one of those songs about writing songs, which is my traditional fall back position when I don’t know what to write about. In retrospect the “road kill” lyric probably isn’t my best, although I really like the bridge.
This is actually the title song of “Somewhere Out There”. Those three words were running around in my head and seemed to work well for what I was thinking. The fact that all people are generally the same is another theme I return to quite often. I played this song for the first time at a benefit for a women’s shelter in Pontiac, MI. Some seem to remember that I wrote the song for this benefit, but that’s something I simply don’t remember – That’s Life!
I’m a fan of the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, and this song got its start from his poem, “HOWL”. I spent some time writing down all of these interesting phrases from the poem and kept them around for a couple of years. I then linked a few of them with my own words and ideas and came up with the song. The line, “water giggling over rock” I also had lying around for several years and threw that in for good measure. This remains one of my favorites.
No, it’s not about my wife and me. I wrote this song in my sisters upstairs bedroom in Huntsville, AL. At the time I was writing a song about a woman trapped in an abusive home situation, but you should draw your own conclusion.
One of the easiest songs I ever wrote, but also one of the most painful. It’s the most personal song on the album. The chord progression is straight from Donovan’s “Catch The Wind”.
My good friend (and fabulous singer/songwriter) Lucy Webster, utters this phrase often. I’ve taken many a title from her lips, and this is just one of them.
This is me on me, and is the 2nd most personal song on the album.
I actually heard this lyric in a song that I don’t remember and really liked the whole concept. My wife Lucia, while cooking, helped me finish the lyrics on this one. She also wrote all of the lines I like best.
This song is me wondering why I sometimes take things too personally. The very first line is specifically about not getting something I really thought I deserved and was going to get, and the rest of the song is just a variation on the theme. The religious angle just seemed to fit what I wanted to say, albeit in a cynical kind of way.
My daughter Sarah brought home a poem she wrote for a school project. It was essentially about the people at her school bus stop. I really liked that idea and expanded it a bit with character sketches we’re all familiar with. I then changed most of the words so that my daughter couldn’t claim any royalties J (if in fact that ever happens). She does, however, get credit for the idea.
This song was written with my good friend (and often-time bass player) Cherie Hagen. This was our very first attempt at co-writing and we were both quite pleased. My idea for the song was about how tough it can be to be a musician, playing to people who aren’t listening or aren’t there. Cherie’s signature line in the tune is, “this life of mine is the darkest shade of blue”. It’s one of my favorite lines.
For the last couple of years I’ve attended a songwriting
retreat in Harbor Springs, MI run by a very cool musician by the name of John D.
Lamb. One of the requirements of the retreat is that you write a song, and JD
assigns the topics. This was my first year’s assignment. Specifically it was
to, “write a song about going to Graceland and not liking the interior
decorating.” Here you go.
Three songwriters are sitting at a bar in Grand Rapids, MI. The first, Ralston Bowles, writes “Green curtains on the window” and passes the napkin. The second, me, writes “green carpet on the floor”. The 3rd, Barbara Jordan, writes “green matches in the basket”…and the circle (triangle?) continues for a few more lines. I then take the napkin home and turn these few lines into a story about a disgruntled pyromaniac – Go figure.
The verses were constructed from a March 1996 issue of The Grand Rapids Press (a Wednesday I believe). I wrote down about thirty headlines and then put them together in a way I thought sounded interesting. I then wrote a chorus and a bridge that fit what I wanted to say.
The chorus came first on this song (like on many). It's just a story about wanting something you can't have, and is very loosely based on a 5th grade crush I had. I was listening to a lot of Melissa Ethridge when I wrote this, and I remember thinking the bridge was something I could hear her singing.
I introduce this song as something I wrote for my teen-age daughters, but it's really just a song about individualism and the strength it takes to be your own person.
This song is about people who through their circumstances, intended or not, end up living on the edges. This was my favorite song for a long time.
I watch a lot of Sunday news shows, and I noticed that a lot of politician's were using the phrase "at the end of the day" in order to let everyone know what the final outcome would be (in their opinion of course) of whatever they were discussing. I was hearing this phrase a dozen times every Sunday and it started to bother me. To make myself feel better, I wrote this song.
This was my first theft of an idea or phrase (many more followed). I found some lyrics my brother-in-law, Rodney Vaccaro, had written for a show many years ago. I put my own music to them, rearranged a few things and had the chorus to this song. The issues in this song have bothered me for the majority of my adult life and it was a good release. It was Tom Hagen's (producer of The Bold Type) idea for the taped segments you hear at the end of the song. They helped me say what I wanted to.
This song was written specifically for my wife (pronounced LOO-sha), and is about our time together since 1980. As the liner notes say, "truly the best thing that ever happened to me".
Sometimes a songwriter just needs to write a song. This is what happens. To help with the chorus I went through a "fake book" and looked at every song that didn't have actual words in either the chorus or verses. I've always liked this one.
I wrote this song shortly after my grandpa, Ed Fedewa, passed away. Everything in the song is true. This was one of the first songs I picked for the CD, and at the first meeting said I wanted to include a bit of my grandpa singing and playing at the end of the song. After I picked the song Wabash Cannonball, we discovered that both songs were in the same key and fit very well together. That's Karma.
This song was written specifically for my wife (pronounced LOO-sha). After writing this song my name was pronounced M-U-D. I seem to require more private time than most and this was my "not so subtle" way of saying so. This is also the song that kept me plugging away at the "business" of music. In the very early 90's this song landed me a single song contract with a west coast publisher (impressive, ain't it?). The song was never picked up, but hey, Bette Midler's people listened to it.
This song was written for a friend with some problems. I'm terrible at the whole face-to-face thing, so I wrote this song instead. I don't think my friend has ever heard it.
To be honest, it's a song about me feeling good about feeling a bit sorry for myself because "I'm not the only one". This is also an oft repeated theme of mine.
Table 29
A song inspired by a conversation with my daughter, Maria. She works at a restaurant and mentioned a particular table that had a place of importance in the restaurant. It was Table 29. Just got me thinking about how the table might feel about the people who sit at it.
Back To Beal
For a couple of years this was the working title of my next recording. My parents are both from Beal City, MI, and after they retired they went back there. It’s really about any place that holds a special place in your heart.
Down On The Farm
This song was actually inspired by two things. The first is a music festival called Farm Fest that I went to several years ago, which is where the song got its start. The second is a yearly family reunion and golf outing that occurs near Beal City, MI each year (see Back To Beal). This is just a song about having fun.
Final Conversation
This is a very special song about phone conversations between my wife, Lucia, and her brother Fil, shortly before his death. The song began when one night when after a phone call Lucia told me that Fil said “I love you” before the conversation ended. She couldn’t remember that ever happening before. This song is dedicated to the memory of Fil.
Daddy’s Eyes
This is simply my recognition of the fact that children do indeed become their parents. It is dedicated to my father, who helps me every day as I ask myself the question, “what would dad do?”
Trying Too Hard
Without going into detail, this song is inspired by people that seem to work way too hard at being important. Importance is in the eye of the beholder.
Hope For Our Peace
War on terrorism…Iraq…will we ever learn?
Down The Road
This was a song written for the first year anniversary of a local gathering of songwriters headed up by Lucy Webster, a wonderful performer and songwriter. I changed a few words for this version, but it is still essentially about taking one step at a time to achieve your goals.
I Love The Rain
This song was inspired by a family trip to New Orleans, LA. Each evening about 4pm we would walk out on our balcony and watch a storm roll in. It was magical… and really humid. One afternoon I was on our balcony and through the pre-storm heat and humidity heard a lone sax player playing Summertime. I felt like I was in a movie.
She’s My Girl
A Sunday morning at home alone and my wife and kids were traveling somewhere. My wife called me and we chatted. After we hung up I wrote this song. It’s a love song.
I’ll Be At The Bar
This song is based on a girlfriend I had in the late 1970’s. I could type several pages but I won’t. I’ll just go get a drink, smile, and be glad I ended up where I did.