In the Beginning

By Lesley Young

    Once there was the word . . . an inspiration, a concept, a realization. She burst forth into song. The story of every song always starts somewhere. When I recall the moment of inspiration, it's always charged with a high voltage electricity and a specific kind of focus. Notes, words, images all gather together in a flash of insight. When it strikes, it is never certain, but as a songwriter, you are ready to receive and transmit the message that has been broadcasting through to you. You are a voice of the muse.

     Sometimes there is also a catalyst; such as the invitation I received in the 1990's to write for a themed songwriters event called Song-Along. I chose from three themes and the theme I was inspired to write about was 'front porch.' It triggered memories of my grandparent's house where I stayed every summer, in Ottawa's Woodrooffe area situated near the Ottawa river. I did not know then, that several years later that I would be asked to write down my recollections of these special moments I spent with my grandparents or that the neighbourhood would be ripped down to make way for a subdivision. Little did I know that this house on Deschenes Avenue, would become the center of a local history project, or that in 2011 my memoirs would be published in a book: River Road and Rail - Woodroofe Memories.

    When I wrote Deschenes Avenue, I could not know that these precious recollections of summer vacations by the Ottawa river, in this beloved house, where I spent the best days of my childhood, eventually would be changed beyond recognition and later be resurrected in this song.

Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Current city: Montreal, Canada
Website: http://www.lesleyyoung.com
Song featured: Deschenes Avenue, (Inside/BlueSong Records, 2007) by Lesley Young.

Blog updated 10. 07. 2021.
Coming up later this summer: Several guest songwriters will be sharing their experiences and writing blogs!