Where Did You Come From?

Here is an original love song I wrote for and dedicate to Pam, but the theme is universal. One day you find yourself in love, and you wonder how it all happened.

The origin of this song dates back almost two years. I was at my piano one evening, playing with some interesting chords, and I came up with what I thought was a nice melody. A few days later, I wrote a few lyrics, then I played a very early draft for my CPR Trio bandmates. It still needed a lot of work, and we had other musical projects queued up, so the song sat around for several months before I returned to it. When I wrote it, I thought it had an early 1970’s John Lennon vibe to it, but I’m not sure how much of that is present in its final form.

Shortly after the start of the new year (2024), I made demos of this song and another original and played them both for Peter. Peter liked this one and was a little spooked by the other (stay tuned … it’ll be our next release), so we elected to move forward with this one.

It took several weeks for this to come together. Following that initial review of the demo, Peter and I both got some sort of respiratory virus, then we each had periods of travel, then, you know … life. I used the in-between time to work out the drums, zero in on an appropriate bassline, and finalize the lyrics (credit Peter for an assist there). Peter used that time to write the guitar parts you hear, which, for my money, are not only the highlight of this song, but also the most beautiful and expertly crafted guitar work Peter has contributed to any of our recordings to date. The day after we recorded his parts, I found myself alone in my studio, working on the mix, and getting very emotional as I listened to Peter’s guitar tracks over and over again. It wasn’t just that the rhythm and solo parts perfectly fit the spirit of the song; it was also my recognition of the commitment, time, and effort Peter put into making the song whole. It’s an honor to have Peter as a friend, neighbor, and collaborator. I hope you are as moved by what you hear as I was — and continue to be — with each listen.

You’ll see from the cover art above that the song is credited to our new band, The PR Campaign. Here we are:

On this recording, we have a drum track that I programmed using native GarageBand drum samples, Peter playing both rhythm and lead guitar on his Fender Telecaster, and me playing my new Rickenbacker 4003 bass (outfitted with flatwound strings) and my Roland RD-88 keyboard, on which I contribute both the piano track and a very short string accent. I actually recorded a bass track on my Squier bass only to completely redo it after purchasing the Rick near the end of this project.

For both rhythm and lead guitar tracks, we bypassed the amp and plugged the guitar directly into the iPad, dialing in a classic Fender amp emulation. We added a bit of overdrive and tremolo to get the sound we wanted.

I sing lead, and Peter adds the harmony tracks. The lead vocals were a challenge, so much so I considered trying to find someone else to sing it. I ended up having to rely on my falsetto in many places (not a strength), but eventually got to a point of satisfaction. Note to self: write melodies in your range.

Following my standard, the cover art for this release is at the top of this page, and the lyrics follow the additional audio format, MP3, below.

Lastly, I want to note that I am releasing this song on May 12, Pam’s birthday. Happy birthday, sweetie!

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Lyrics

Where did you come from?
How did we end up here?
I wasn’t looking,
But now it’s all so clear.
What was I doing
Wond’ring where I belong
Uncertain if my world was right or wrong?
Where did you come from,
And have you been here all along?

Where did you come from?
Why was I unaware?
You were a vision
And then you’re suddenly there.
What were you doing?
Will I be torn apart
If fate’s unkind and takes you from my heart?
Where did you come from,
And have you been here from the start?

There’s a magic we possess,
And it’s so easy to express, my love.
When I hold you tight,
We feel it’s right.
Where did you come from?
You’re here tonight.

Where did you come from?
Doesn’t it seem unreal?
Nothing is certain
But the love I feel.
What are we doing?
Is it not how it seems?
I’ll know it when I see you, I’ll see you in my dreams.