THE RINGER AND THE PRINCESS
Iāve come to realise over the years that a lot of people assume and, I think, hope that songs - or for that matter, any work of art - come in a flash of fire. That somehow, the quality of a creative piece is linked to the āmagical flurryā of inspiration.
This has been reinforced by many artists who claim their productions have come complete in dreams or some trance-like state and that the old adage 1% inspiration 99% perspiration tends to signify a lesser work. Personally, I think that view fits conveniently within the romantic notion of the artist as a specially gifted individual, set apart from mere mortals.
What I do know from years of conversations with successful songwriters is that, yes, there are occasions where that happens but more often than not a creative work is just that - work. A product of days, if not weeks of false starts, rewrites and frustrations leading to the end result.
'The Ringer and the Princess' is a classic example of the latter. The tiny kernel of inspiration came via an off the cuff comment about a couple in Queensland's gulf country and a solid month of wrestling with words and music finally produced this song. By the time I completed it I was exhausted by the process and relegated the song to the bottom drawer thinking it was too long, too difficult a birth, too detailedā¦
Until a concert in Gladstone a year or so later with an audience that refused to leave the theatre. I let the band go and decided to introduce what I figured would be the show closer. Well the response was thunderous and the song became a signature piece for me!
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