I have a song that's affectionately become known as "the traffic song."
If you're familiar with Toronto, you're familiar with our epic traffic. Crowded highways, endless construction, and an ever increasing population make for slow driving at the best of times. One day, I was driving home from visiting my parents in Burlington. The 45-minute jaunt turned into a 2-hour odyssey of drifting down the QEW at 10 KM an hour.
I tried various radio stations, but nothing caught my ear, so I shut off the radio in frustration. As I sat in the silence of my car, a little line started drifting through the air...
"I wanna make some noise for the Lord..."
I started to repeat it until a second line came, and then a third. Before I knew it, I had this groovy, Gospel song building. It sang about evangelism in a fun, cool way. But how to capture it? A song idea can slide out of your hands like a wet fish. I knew I had to record it or risk losing it forever.
Because I was driving, my options were limited: I couldn't call my voice mail, there was no one to write it down for me, and truthfully, I didn't know how to use the recording device on my new phone. So as legend goes, I sang it over and over and over and over again until I finally reached home. By the time I pulled off the 401, I had a complete song written and memorized.
We recorded I Wanna Make Some Noise with an awesome Nashville band and included it on our Infinitely More debut CD. To hear a sample, visit the Downloads section of our Store.
Lessons of that day?
- Turn off the radio and just listen.
- Always have a way to record your song ideas.
- Sometimes, traffic ain't all that bad!
What are some strange places where you've found songwriting inspiration?
Please leave your story in the comments section.
Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page & visit us every Wednesday!
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