My fourth Quarantine Sessions article features one of my original compositions, “After the Death of Boo Radley.” Below, I will explain how I came to write this song and some general thoughts about creating art of all kinds.
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The Original Idea for After the Death of Boo Radley
Many years ago, I set out to compose a song similar to “Love Henry” – which I covered in an earlier Quarantine Session – and other classic folk murder ballads. In an attempt to reinvent the story, however, I set out to describe the murder in the past tense. I thought that telling the story of a murder in the past would put a sort of ghostly spin on the tale.
Unfortunately, my efforts were thoroughly unsuccessful. All paths led to a jumble of visuals and thoughts.
Refining the Song With Feedback
During the song-writing process, I shared it with a friend of mine who made a pastime of offering sometimes-unsolicited critiques of my work. Having already had my own qualms about it, I expected him to rip the draft to shreds. To my surprise, he instead offered some incisive analysis. I do not remember the exact words that he used, so I will have to paraphrase a bit.
My friend opined that my draft of the song was an astute nostalgia piece. He described it as a picture of someone looking back on a childhood backlit by rural America, before it was bled dry by the passage of time. In short, he described the song as painting a portrait of life after Boo Radley; after the mystery and magic is gone from life.
After thinking about my friend’s analysis, I went back and scrapped over half of what I had written. The final version of the song, which you can listen to above, was not what I planned when I set out to write it. Fortunately, it was much better than my earlier drafts. I had not performed the song in a while, but decided to kick to my good friend Mark Caserta for our fourteenth Quarantine Session.
Final Thoughts
One thing that I find most interesting about making art is that I never know whether the final product will look like my original idea. On occasion, I start from an idea and stick to it through completing the project. But, regardless of how closely a project hews to its blueprint, it is important as an artist to remain flexible. The priority in creating art is not fidelity to a plan, but fidelity to the work itself. Art done right should stand on its own and outlast the artist. Sometimes, a second set off eyes can help an artist discover what is best for his or her budding art piece.
I hope you enjoyed the article and video. Please follow this link to read and listen to my earlier Quarantine Sessions posts. I look forward to posting more Quarantine Sessions articles in the near future.
