Nostalgia song looking back at teenage dreamers.
Is this hook fresh?
Always looking to find ways to improve lyrics.
Thanks for the feedback Holden. Great points and I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and provide your thoughtful insight.
February 12, 2021
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I don’t know what it is about this song man. I’m playing it as I drive around town bluetoothed from this website, just love it. It’s so simple BUT you’ve got to be a crafty writer to pull off a “simple” song so well. It’s so tempting to overwrite sometimes and then throw the kitchen sink into production (I’m guilty of this lol). Without Crowns is a reminder to stay close to your heart and just let the song flow on its own.
February 12, 2021
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Hey Doug, another great song. I have to say I agree with Holden’s feedback. I think Holden’s thought about “time would run short” would be an interesting final punctuation to the story - if thats what you wanted to leave as a final thought. Really enjoyed the song, another great lyric and melody combo.
August 25, 2023
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Without Crowns Emily Clair, Patrick James Clark & Doug Folkins © 2021
DOC: Feb 4, 2021
Remember Friday nights rolling down main street
Best friends piled up in the back seat
In the parking lot of the BP
Just lookin for the party
Big time summer in a small town
Getting sunburned with the top down
Writing our names on the water tower
Looking back it was all ours
We weren’t Royalty, or celebrities
Just teenage dreamers trying get out of this town
We were skipping class and kicking back
Just regular kids trying to figure everything out
Never thought about where we’d be right now
We were just Kings and Queens without crowns
Forever young never gonna grow up
Just caught up in the moment
Burning like supernovas
Didn’t know that we didn’t know much
Never listened when they told us
We weren’t Royalty, or celebrities
Just teenage dreamers trying get out of that town
We were skipping class and kicking back
Just regular kids trying to figure everything out
Never thought about where we’d be right now
We were just Kings and Queens without crowns
Sitting on the roof of that Chevy, it was our thrown
We ruled that town like it was our own
Chorus
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I really like this song, Doug. It’s almost like reading an intimate short story- especially with lines like ‘writing our names on the water tower.” I would love to see more specific emotional images like this in the lyrics- but it still works anyway. But yes, one more verse/slice of small town life would be effective. And the idea behind Without Crowns is cool and fresh; kids comfortable in their own skin but with big dreams. But there is a subtle sweet melancholy in this song. Maybe a couplet in the last chorus could work, something like “We always thought that we’d be holding court, never dreamed that time would ever run short.” Also, this is a rare song where it sounds great unplugged just as you performed it. Maybe just a dialed back harmony on the chorus. Excellent work on this song!
February 11, 2021
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Thanks for the feedback Holden. Great points and I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and provide your thoughtful insight.
February 12, 2021
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I don’t know what it is about this song man. I’m playing it as I drive around town bluetoothed from this website, just love it. It’s so simple BUT you’ve got to be a crafty writer to pull off a “simple” song so well. It’s so tempting to overwrite sometimes and then throw the kitchen sink into production (I’m guilty of this lol). Without Crowns is a reminder to stay close to your heart and just let the song flow on its own.
February 12, 2021
0
Hey Doug, another great song. I have to say I agree with Holden’s feedback. I think Holden’s thought about “time would run short” would be an interesting final punctuation to the story - if thats what you wanted to leave as a final thought. Really enjoyed the song, another great lyric and melody combo.
August 25, 2023
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Holden Forrest
I really like this song, Doug. It’s almost like reading an intimate short story- especially with lines like ‘writing our names on the water tower.” I would love to see more specific emotional images like this in the lyrics- but it still works anyway. But yes, one more verse/slice of small town life would be effective. And the idea behind Without Crowns is cool and fresh; kids comfortable in their own skin but with big dreams. But there is a subtle sweet melancholy in this song. Maybe a couplet in the last chorus could work, something like “We always thought that we’d be holding court, never dreamed that time would ever run short.” Also, this is a rare song where it sounds great unplugged just as you performed it. Maybe just a dialed back harmony on the chorus. Excellent work on this song!
February 11, 2021
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