Danette McMahon
I started singin’ before I could talk
And, I was dancin’ before I could walk
When I’d get hurt, mama sang to me
Helped more than the bandaid she would put on my knee
Songs came easy when life got hard
‘Specially the times when love would catch me off guard
Always felt I had somethin’ to prove
Music had the rhythm that would get me to move one step
Chorus:
Closer to my dream, closer than I ever could imagine
Closer to my dream, so close that I can almost touch it
My hearts beating louder than the sound of the drums
This is my chance, my time has come
All that I’d hoped for, everything I’d planned
Has brought me to this place where I can be one step
Chorus:
Closer to my dream, closer than I ever could imagine
Closer to my Dream, so close that I can almost touch it
Bridge:
Every time I’d think about quitting
I’d remember the hours I’d spent
Sitting alone in my room at the end of the day
Imagining a night just like this…..like this
Chorus:
Closer to my dream, closer than I ever could imagine
Closer to my dream, so close that I can almost touch it
Closer to my dream, closer than I ever could imagine
Closer to my Dream, so close that I can almost touch it
Closer to my Dream, onestep closer,
Closer to my dream, one step closer
Closer to my dream
Story
In 2007, American Idol opened up an opportunity for songwriters to submit an original composition for the semi-finalist. The song picked would be sung the night before the winner is announced…this number would have a huge impact on voting. I made a last minute decision to write a song and I turned to one of Houston’s best engineers/producers/musicians, Buzzy Smith, to put the track together, adding a great guitarist, Mike Wheeler.
I did my best to create a pop sounding tune, veering from my more jazz centric, somewhat offbeat style. I wrote it in a key that nearly killed me to sing it in, knowing so many of the contestants had very high ranges. Did I write a power ballad? Nope!! Is that what they usually sing? Yes!
The winning songwriter had had some previous hits. I’m not saying I didn’t have a chance in hell to win. What I AM saying is I’m glad I didn’t find an excuse not to enter. I didn’t give myself a chance to talk me out of it!
In writing the lyrics, I visualized what it might feel like to be standing on that stage with blinding lights in their eyes…that ‘so close that I can almost touch it’ place! I thought about what their journey to get there might have felt like.
Well, like all my other originals, written in 2006-2007, this one was put on a shelf and abandoned! November, 2022, when Duke Davis informed me that I had to do an album and he would produce it, I started sending him my tunes. This one had such a pop sound, it didn’t seem to work with the project. It did not want to be left behind (yes, my songs have feelings, too!) so it needed to be rewritten and given a new groove. Bill Murrell and I put in some time on a new chart, attitude adjustments and gave “Closer To My Dream” a new life.
As I prepped for the studio session and reviewed my lyrics (they remained unchanged from the beginning), it was so apparent that this was meant to be MY anthem! It is MY story! It was passed over by American Idol so it could be part of my journey. At my age, to be standing in a recording studio, working on my first album, with such incredible musicians, these lyrics express it all! I let go of a dream that wasn’t ready to be buried. I’m afraid we all may have experienced this. Perhaps, you will be blessed to find a way (or someone to help) to bring yours back to life!