Off I Go to a Songwriting Retreat…

In September 2021, I took a songwriting course with London Songwriters. Later this month, I’ll be joining facilitator Murray Webster and other songwriters for a retreat in the Peak District.

I’ve enjoyed making up songs since childhood, though not with the same intensity as I’ve pursued other types of writing. I look forward to making new connections, building skills, and enjoying some time in the countryside.

During my university days, I wrote a song I was quite proud of, inspired by Neil Postman’s book Technopoly. I’d like to think I’ve learned a few things since then, but the theme of technology and the value of the human experience (emotions, relationships) remains relevant. I’m sharing it below, with guitar chords (they remain the same across verses unless indicated otherwise), in anticipation of writing new music soon. Enjoy!

The Technopoly Song

Dmin C
Forward turns the lever
G
Onward grinds the mill
Dmin C
And this earth we stand on
G
Follows where they will
A Emin
Jehovah’s chained by numbers
A Emin
That practice to deceive
A Emin
In this world of aimless masters
A Emin
Tell me, what can we believe?

Chorus:

Bmin F#min
They say all roads will lead to Rome
Emin D (A)
Where is the path that guides us home?
Bmin F#min
Industryscapes where even love is mechanized
Emin D (A)
Is there a battle burning there behind your eyes?
Bmin F#min Emin
You take a step, beat steadying calls on certain drum
Emin F#min Bmin
Sing, will the sunrise in the city ever come?

We’ve been searching for our bearings
While money paves the street
Living as automatons
With strings pulled at our feet
We’ve harvested the oil wells
We’ve ravaged all the wood
Built a kingdom up of skyscrapers
Just because we could

Chorus

Our legends have no heroes
Disaster’s been foretold
Schumacher held a candle
While the masses mined for gold
But in the bonds of boxes
Searching eyes began to blink
And in the halls of bars and malls
Our souls began to think

Chorus

Take a moment to remember
Surrender your control
Your neighbours have begun to
See, they are growing whole
As we take time to breathe, to listen
Bonds of friendship will grow tall
Regaining what we’ve thought was lost,
Maybe never lost at all.

They say all roads will lead to Rome,
We walk the path that guides us home
Knowing true love never can be mechanized
Can’t you feel the passion blazing in our eyes?
Take up the drumbeat, hand in hand, one by one
Over the city can’t you see the rising sun?

They say all roads will lead to Rome,
We walk the path that guides us home
Knowing true love never can be mechanized
Oh can’t you feel the passion blazing in our eyes?
Take up the drumbeat, hand in hand, come everyone
Emin
Over the city can’t you see
Emin
Over the city can’t you see
City, can’t you see the rising sun?