Scary Guy is a campy tune I came up with when my publisher was asking for anything ‘Halloween.’ Since Zo was first in line for a new song at the time, I penned something that matched up with her retro Betty Boop vibe. At first, Scary lyrics were in the pocket, but then they took on a life of their own to cover much more.
From my publisher: “Great song, but, you know, it’s not really about Halloween.” I laughed, agreed, and asked him what his point was.
Fast forward. Zo enters Scary in an American Idol international internet contest, coming in fourth without even promoting herself. Go Zo!
Why be funny?
‘Funny’ can dig deep without feeling like a lecture. Funny can save the world without feeling corny and square. Funny can fly in all directions, shining a light on bad choices and careless behavior in a way that leaves a person feeling it’s silly not to try and be better and all that. Funny can paint dark moods as a lack of common sense. As far as I’m concerned, humor is an under-rated super power we should all be taking advantage of. It’s free and at our fingertips!
Downer People are a Snore
Use humor to make your point and kids won’t groan, they’ll be amused. In fact, if you’re clever enough, they’ll follow you to the moon. Happens to me all the time.
Think outside of the box. Want to present a new idea? Try humor. Point out illogical behavior? Try humor. We don’t always have to be deadly serious to make a serious point.
Whatever feels better
Rachel walked in begging me to write a song she could sing back to her mom in her head; “when she’s acting hormonal and being unreasonable!” If I recall, this had something to do with a wet towel being left on the bathroom floor. FYI, this event was way before Shake it Off came out. We actually got there first! Small world. But back to our topic…
Because Whatever feels better
When kids hear ‘whatever feels better,’ they laugh – simple as that. The rest of the song is details; no need to soak in another person’s grumpy mood. Think about it. Why wouldn’t a person want to feel better? We’re not telling anyone what to do, we’re just pointing out they’re likely to feel better, they can take it from there. Aren’t we clever?
No pressure. No lecture. Just pointin’ out a bit of common sense.
Humor is Beautiful
I encourage using humor whenever possible to help young people take a peak inside themselves. Better self-awareness teaches young souls to forgive themselves and not become perfectionists, which, in turn, helps them understand others more, which, in turn, evolves them into more empathetic people over-all. How cool is that?
And don’t squeeze my grapes…
I’d rather write a humorous blues song like Sour Grapes; “Don’t you dare squeeze your sour grapes over my easy-going attitude,” or Scary – got no candy for you, lol, than be in-your-face serious- obvious all the time. Being clever often works better. Slip a bit of wisdom in. They’ll never know what hit ’em.
Humor is beautiful like that. It’s pure magic. It makes it’s point, but doesn’t lean in or lecture. It’s just, at it’s core, funny stuff.
K. That’s all I wanted to point out.
