Hey my friends! Ok – so I’ve been working really hard the last few days on fleshing out a new song: “Butterflies.”
What is “Butterflies”?
The song is about reminding lovers to look for the love that still exists between them, even if time has made that initial fire of romance cool off somewhat. And by working “really hard,” I mean a good 7-8 hours each day, for the last 4 days, staring at my little iPhone screen, singing into the earbud microphone, playing piano and guitar, and building the song on iOS Garage Band (Apple’s beginner recording software modified to work on iPhone and iPad).
Why I love GarageBand for iOS
Now, it may sound a little odd (recording a song on a phone) but I’ve found that what Garage Band for iPhone lacks in size and capabilities, it makes up for in sheer practicality. I can’t stress enough how amazing it is to always have the newest iteration of a creative piece with me on my phone, so that I can listen to parts and jot down ideas as they occur to me (whether I’m in the studio or at a grocery store). I may or may not have even recorded ideas into it while driving (I plead the 5th!) GarageBand for iPhone has been such an amazing tool, I even wrote a whole blog about it on CecilCharles.com – so I won’t go into it too much more here. That said, I think this “Butterflies” sketch demo gives a great idea of what I want the song to be, and I can’t wait to get it into the studio.
Why I need your help
And, since this will be the first time back into the studio in months (and since launching my Patreon), I’m using this as an opportunity to hopefully enlist more supportive patrons!It’s going to cost about $1500 to record this song, so I’d love to fundraise for it if possible. But rather than start a Kickstarter or GoFundMe, let’s just keep things simple and keep it here on Patreon.So, please take a listen to the song and hear what it is I’m going for. And if you haven’t yet signed up for Patreon, please consider joining my patron team for even just one month – it’ll only cost you $5.
Benefits of joining
By joining, you’ll get to come with me into the studio. I’ll be sharing video of the recording process, samples of the song as we build it, and interviews with Dominic Gibbs (my producer) and the other musicians I bring in to work on the process.You can cancel after a month and I’ll still gift you the songs I’ve written so far as well as Butterflies when it’s released. Either way, I’d love to build some momentum around this song and so if you know anyone who you think might like it, please share away. I won’t normally be sharing publicly the sketches of upcoming songs (I usually save those for my subscribed patrons), but in this case I just want to bring anyone and everyone along for this ride.
“Butterflies”, lyrics
by Cecil Charles
VERSE 1
Will I soon find some loving feeling still behind your eyes?
Maybe time you stop hidin’ it.
‘Cause even though you play the game
You give it away when you say my name
Baby why are we fightin’ this?
PRECHORUS
Now I just can’t keep my mind
From thinking that I’ve
Been nothing but blind
Till now
CHORUS
Let’s take off these disguises‘
You know I’m feeling butterflies baby
No need to keep feeding to me these pretty little lies
Lay ’em on the floor, we won’t wear ’em anymore
After all we’ve been through -I’m still feeling butterflies
VERSE 2
I’ve been running way too long
And holding on to memories
Help me remember how to heal
‘Cause even though I play this game
Beneath it all, girl, I’m still just the same
Little boy whose afraid to feel
In conclusion
It’s a sweet song, and hopefully it both feels authentic and resonates with anyone who has been in a relationship and wanted to rekindle their love with their partner.
My love life hasn’t been easy of late, and it’s definitely an aspirational song.
I just feel lucky that I can take difficult experiences and attempt to make something aesthetically beautiful out them in musical form.
So please, share away, and thank you so much for the incredible support I’ve received so far.
~ Cecil
