This past week marked my first real tracking sessions over with Doug Wilkin (www.WilkinAudio.com) in Regent Square. Doug recorded Astronauts and Afar for the Calliope Songwriter Circles CD’s (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/pittsburghsc08)

It’s been a learning experience to me already, to see how different the focus can be in the studio vs. live. Doug has decided that there’s an “EMay” style - one that works great for me live but has probably always been why I can be hesitant to hit the studio. I rarely perform my songs the same way! We recorded songs that were upward of a minute difference between two takes! Somehow, he deals with me though, and we’ve got a few great songs in the works.

Here is the basic piano and a scratch vocal for the track “Charity”, which if you remember used to be backed with a hip-hop beat. Here’s a *very* back to basics version. Lyrics to follow:

Charity

We sped straight through the red / You were right, there is more to this Than we can comprehend / We didn’t get stopped on the first day /You were right, it’s better that way You said…

I’ve got a six-year-old running through my head / He’s your blood, you’re in my bed / And we’re dreaming of a universe today / We’re pushing a whole universe away…

Burning like a fire, a woman needs attendend / And a hand can only grasp whatever is extended / So between you and me / What was is what should be / So I suggest you bring yourself, lend a hand to your Charity

The windshield is a mirror and on this road / We can watch the whole world spinning around, spinning around / And my blinker’s stuck on turning left / But you know the way, you say, And it’s right up ahead

You’re putting miles of words down in your ledger / And we say “things just couldn’t get better” / Cause life is a playground and we’re players on the stage / But she’s underneath your words, the white on the page

Burning like a fire, your woman needs attending / And half your job is to keep that blaze from ending / So in time you’ll see / You just can’t love so freely / So bring yourself on home, to your lovely Charity