New Single: "Chasing Stars"

Some snowflakes I captured that looked like falling stars…

My new song "Chasing Stars" is out on all platforms.

This song has been special to me, and I perform it often like this recent performance at Voice Works in Port Townsend (note instagram account needed).

Last Fall, I finally got to work with Seattle legend Jeff Fielder to get some production help on this song.

I didn’t want to produce this one on my own as I do for many of my songs. I wanted an outside perspective, and Jeff is wildly creative and talented. He loved the song right away, and so we began chipping away, adding vibey mellotron on top of his perfectly recorded acoustic guitars.

I wrote the song while taking a songwriting course with the a prompt so simple, I thought it was a joke.

The instructor asked us to “Write a melody” that happens before the song and then see where that leads you.

So, taking the “meta” approach, I then decided to write the song about writing the melody. In other words, I wrote about what I actually do most days, which is look for a melody… And where do melodies come from? I believe they come from the stars.

Sometimes we can’t see the stars in front of our face or they are blocked by cloud cover. Other times we see the whole sky. I had a lucky day that day and this song came along quickly once I stopped trying to know the answer.

Somewhere in the search, a song emerged about the challenge of finding a quiet moment. About chasing a muse, or a star, or whatever you want to call the thing that keeps pulling at you even when there are heartbeats behind the door and little feet running across the floor and about a hundred more practical things to do than sit with my piano or a guitar.

I don't know what I don't know. I keep chasing it anyway. Here are the lyrics:

Chasing Stars by Dave Hill Jr.

I'm looking for a melody in my mind

Chasing all the notes I left behind 

I don't know what I don't know 

But I sure hope I’ll find

A little music to waste some time

I'm looking for a melody in my heart

If I lose these notes again I’ll fall apart
I don't know what I don't know 

but I’d sure like to feel

a little music to make it all real 

I hear heartbeats beating down the door

I hear little feet scurrying across the floor

I don't want to put away my guitar

I just want some time to chase my little star 

To chase another star

To write another  part 

To open up my heart

To fix what fell apart

I'm looking for a melody in my soul

I spent too much time chasing Rock and Roll

I don't know what I don't know, but I know for today

A little Star will help me find my way

To chase another day

To find the notes to play

To play them my own way

Singing words I can’t say

Singing words I can’t say

Singing words I can’t say

Here’s the drum kit I used at Jeff’s studio.

Credits: Jeff Fielder produced and mixed the track, and played amazing guitars, bass, percussion, and mellotron. I sang all the vocals and played drums and piano.

Ed Brooks mastered it at Resonant Mastering.

"Chasing Stars" is a single for now, but it's also the title track for a full album I'm putting together soon. Most of the songs on it are already out, one at a time. This one's going to be the thread that ties the whole thing together.

You'll be able to stream it everywhere Monday: Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, all the usual places. I'll drop direct links here as soon as they're live.

If you've ever lost track of the thing you were chasing and found it again anyway, this one's for you. Have a listen and let me know what you hear in it.