Three Songs: A Writing Exercise

Cross posted from PepperWords.

I was riding BART yesterday, something I don't normally do, but I'd rather do that than drive into the city, and I was off to see Eddie Izzard. (Sherlock wrote about the night, if you're curious. Or you can find my notes here.) Anyway, I passed the time listening to my iPod. I find music very inspiring, but I don't get to listen to it as often as I would like. Sometimes a carful of children just keeps one from being able to focus on what's on the radio. And even when driving alone, paying attention to the road can mean having to neglect the music.

I used to have a rocking chair—a Bentwood—in my room that I would sit in late at night while listening to music, therefore completely devoting my time and attention to the beats and lyrics. Alas, that chair is long gone and I seldom have the time for simply sitting around anyway.

So as I was listening to my iPod, I was really enjoying being able to focus on the songs. Of course most of them I already knew very well, old favorites, but it seemed like it had been a long time since I'd felt them and allowed them to fill my heart and mind. My iPod is always on shuffle because I like to be surprised, so as it cycled through songs, I began to connect the sentiments into one big story. Here are three songs that got played. Tell me what story they make up:

1. "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy
2. "Hands Are Tied" by Gin Blossoms
3. "Santa Monica" by Everclear

There were lots of others, of course, but these three together seemed to tell a story. Boy wants girl (or boy, if you prefer); boy gets girl . . . but ends up in obsessive relationship in which she holds the power; boy seeks freedom, or at the very least a change in circumstances. Kind of a mini opera or something. At least, that's how I heard it.

It's kind of a fun exercise. Try it sometime. See how many random songs you can string into a story. If nothing else, it's a good writing prompt.