This past Saturday I invited the celebrated composer Malcolm Brooks and one of his colleagues, Will Foote, to teach seven of us the process of writing a song. 

Malcolm’s non-profit organization, Documentary Songwriters – Bearing Witness Through Music, helps people create songs from their own spoken words as they describe their own experiences ranging from trauma, isolation, addiction or conflict to personal history and recollections meaningful to them.

Here are the lyrics for the song. 

I woke up
My immediate thought was
About the cats
It’s so cold
Not loving another
Would only hurt me

Stray cats
They might be frozen
Frozen or dead
It’s so cold
Not loving another
Would only hurt me

I moved out
He and I had
A cat we shared
It’s so cold
Not loving another
Would only hurt me

Last night
I played with another
I could adopt
It’s so cold
Not loving another
Would only hurt me

 Click on this link to hear our song as the group sings it.  Loving Another

Feedback from the morning group included: 

I’m process-oriented and especially interested in creative processes, so I enjoyed experiencing our process unfold as we worked/played/sang together. Lois Anne

What an interesting, fun process to go through. Thank you Malcolm!! Sandy Weisman

Thank you all for your brilliance in helping a simple cat story turn into so much more! I am grateful for your acceptance and encouragement. Gabrielle Attra

Documentary Songwriters is an important cause. You can learn more about the organization at Docsong.org