Song - "People Like You" (Ben Cooper/Georgia Middleman)

Here's a song I wrote with Georgia Middleman. We grabbed an entire five day week to write together last fall, and here's one of the songs we came up with. I included this chart on a recent post, so I figured I'd let you hear the song! Please leave any feedback if you'd like.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU                                                                             11-2-10

(COOPER/MIDDLEMAN)

MAYBE IT’S THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I CAN DO ANYTHING

MAYBE IT’S THE WAY YOU TELL ME HOW I’M THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE

MAYBE IT’S THE WAY YOU NEVER LEAVE ME HANGING WHEN I’M ON THE EDGE

YOU ALWAYS HAVE MY BACK
WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT

PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE GOOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME

OUT OF ALL OF THE FISHES IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA

I FOUND SOMEBODY WHO MAKES ME AS HAPPY AS CAN BE

YEAH, PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE GOOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME

MAYBE IT’S THE WAY YOU LET ME HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON A DOZEN TIMES

MAYBE IT’S THE WAY YOU TELL A JOKE AND YOU DON’T EVEN CRACK A SMILE

MAYBE IT’S THE WAY YOU UNDERSTAND I DON’T LIKE MY EGGS RUNNY

NONE OF MY IDIOSYNCRASIES FRIGHTEN YOU

AND THAT SAYS TO ME

WHAT DID I DO

BEFORE THERE WAS YOU

I CAN’T EVEN GO BACK THAT FAR

IF LOVE IS THE SONG

THEN YOU ARE THE DRUM
IN PERFECT SYNC WITH EVERY SINGLE BEAT OF MY HEART

Writing Tools - Diamond on the 1

I talked a couple months ago about the recording process and how studio musicians have a way of notating chord and melody changes using the Nashville Number System. I’ve always been fascinated by how quickly they are able to learn and make changes to one song after another in a three-hour session. 

The system has somewhat been passed down from player to player over the years, leaving few textbook explanations outside the studio. To learn the language, you’d most likely have to get to know one of these professionals—until now.

My friend and fellow songwriter Jonathan Riggs has just made it much easier to communicate with session players during the recording process. In his new booklet, Diamond on the 1, Riggs gives a simple yet thorough overview of the Nashville Number System. As a professional, I’ve found my copy to be very helpful, even in the writing process. This is a booklet worth keeping in your gig bag.

A “diamond on the one” would mean that you play a chord on the first beat of the measure, for the entirety of the measure. The intro to The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” would be a diamond on the one (even though the song’s first measure begins with a strange number of beats). There’s plenty more to explain, but I’ll leave that to Riggs and his booklet.

Keep writing (and learning),

Ben

PS - Here is an example from my most recent session: