Song review ‘Cry me a river’ by Ella Fitzjerald./ Things that make a good writer. By C.W. McGee.

Callum McGee.

Hello everyone, I’ve taken some time to discover what kind of writer I’d like to be now that I’ve adjusted to university. I’ll be writing reviews of novels, scripts, songs, movies et cetera whilst posting some of my creative writing draft samples; make sure to check out my new posts.

After listening to the song:

Today I am reviewing the song ‘Cry me a river’ by Ella Fitzjerald. Her voice is full of emotion as she bellows sweet lyrics about moving on from a past partner. I love how she covers such a delicate topic and mixes it with RnB/Soul music; it creates such a calming flow that chilled me right out.

Though this song has no narrative, it clearly describes the feelings of heartache and makes the context of wanting to move on clear. 

 “Now you say you’re lonely, You cried the long night through Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river” Ella Fitzgerald (1961, jazz) she is telling us she doesn’t care about her ex-partner’s feelings and rejects his attempts to come back to her. 

But later similar lyrics “Told me you were through with me and Now,

 now you say you love me Well, just to prove you do Come on and cry,

 cry, cry me a river, cry me a river Cause I cried a river over you” Ella Fitzgerald (1961: Jazz)

She still feels the wounds of lost love- but will not allow her heart to be vulnerable again.

You can tell just by listening this song is full of emotion and harmonises so well with the calming soul music. 

“You drove me, nearly drove me, out of my head
While you never shed a tear
Remember,” Ella Fitgerald (1961: jazz) She shows how much this affected her mental health in the song , and how she wants him to cry a river over her in the past, rather than now when it doesnt matter to her anymore.

I’ve always been a fan of writers, and singers et cetera; who use their emotional experiences to fuel their writing; as I believe the passion for creativity comes from painful experiences, it adds a sense of realism and relatability in my opinion. Her genre is heavily jazz based, which creates a calm flow in the background that goes well with her blues voice.

Her voice is low and deep like the blues music genre; mixed with African American soul beat. The qualitites of her voice go from high when she is humming inbewteen the lyrics.

The genre music of RnB mixed with soul creates a smooth flow to melancholy lyrics, though her voice goes well with the instrumentals. I love how the song deals with a breakup context that is widely relatable to most people, and me as well. Overall, I give this song 9/10 for connecting to my emotions and giving me a new tune for my writing, Spotify playlist.

I will be reviewing more novels, movies, shows, and songs in the future with different contexts and hidden meanings, stay tuned.

Here are three paragraphs of advice if you want to be a good writer.

  • One of the most important things that make a good writer is how well you write a character story ark/journey; what human flaws do they possess? How do their actions create conflict that keeps the narrative going? What is the purpose of your side characters? These are many things you need to consider when writing a game, novel, show or movie narrative. Why should they care about your world and story? Make the characters relatable with genuine flaws. Find your theme for your idea what emotional memories are buried deep within your heart? Use that to bring out the passion and magic in your creations.
  •  Consider what themes your story narrative surrounds? Go to a library and look into history the tragic events many cultures and races have dealt with over the centuries will inspire your storytelling. J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin, for example, inspired their fantasy worlds by Britain’s wars and industrialisation, and Martin using brutality of medieval bloodshed for power. I look around and see nature dying as well as innocent people hurting- this is what inspires me to want to make a positive difference through storytelling.
  • I have mentioned this a few times in previous posts, but I reiterate in any form of writing in script, poetry, short/novel stories, you should rely on using your five senses to show how your characters are experiencing their journeys. Instead of telling me ‘Mike felt something behind him’ try ‘Mike’s throat clenched as an ice-cold chill bounced of the nape of his neck.’ See, doesn’t that sound way more interesting to read?

My opinion on companies destroying nature for profits. By C.W. McGee.

This image is to show my love of nature. As well as my opposing views aganst selfishness, and greed.
I have noticed this issue for a few years now. Greedy housing markets continuously destroying natural fields that belong to animals! It breaks my heart, seeing all these poor innocent creatures being treated like lesser life-forms. Behind my house, I wake up every morning admiring vast open fields of mother nature. These fields have so many incredible creatures living in them. Such as prowling foxes, families of field mice, and many different birds that live in trees.
I believe animals should have just as many rights as we do. We live on the same planet, and breath the same air.
Who are we to take their rightful habitats from them? It’s beautiful views helped Inspire many of my stories and book characters. I doubt anyone would get the same inspiration from hundreds of brick houses. It saddens me, seeing how much money contaminates the human mind. It kills compassion, boosts the ego, and brings out the worst in everyone.
It is not just the field behind my home. I have seen many fields around Widnes, and across Liverpool being treated the same way. I see more bricks than green these days. I wanted to belive the experience of the pandemic would open the shriveled hearts of business people. Unsurprisingly, it did not.
I care about the well-being of this planet, as well as its creatures. I am sure many others do too. The Earth is something humans do not own. It has been here before the age of the dinosaurs, before the birth of Christ, and long before we walked upon its surface.
I am starting some poetry drafts based on trees, valleys, and fields, showing all the good they do for us. I have always seen the importance of nature throughout my lifetime. Yet, there are so many people out there who don’t seem to care. These select few people treat their surroundings like rubbish bins.
The Pixar movie Wall-e is a great example of the consequences of people’s continuous greed. I know it’s a fictional movie, but It does seem the likeliest root the world is taking.
There are no reasonable excuses for the unnecessary destruction, of defenceless trees and nature. I advise everyone to take care of their surroundings. Try not to litter, and don’t let materialistic things like money blind your better judgement.

My interests and experiences that formed my beliefs of equality. By C.W. McGee.

Since I was a child, I have always loved nature. I have always been intrigued by the sights of Mountains, forests, and valleys. Rather than being a stereotypical boy who’s expected to follow the social norms, I was exploring places and finding adventures in the wilderness.
I have always been passionate about slowing down and admiring the world around me. I enjoyed being different and doing my own thing. But as many people know, we are reminded to live in a society that must abide by the unwritten rules. Many deny they exist, but the people who do not follow these expectations know what I mean.
I am a left-side brain user. I love expression and all forms of creativity. Honestly, I could not do science or maths if you paid me. Mysteries have always been more appealing to me than life-sapping lessons about useless symbols and numbers.
Rather than trying to impress the popular kids, I was being myself enjoying marathons of Ghost adventures, Ancient Aliens, and Sasquatch documentaries.
To tell you the truth, learning was fun for me; only if it involved mythical creatures and urban legends. I loved to question history lessons- Instead of being forced to accept the stories of corrupt people. But School is no place for ideas and opinions for people, I’ll tell you that!
I watched cartoons and fiction movies so much in my youth that I got sick of living in our normal boring world. During lessons, I regularly entertained myself daydreaming of traversing the skies on a flying bison or receiving a letter from Hogwarts.
I witnessed many good pupils being treated differently, which always frustrated me, knowing I couldn’t do anything to help them. You had to keep your head down and mouth shut in school. I sympathise with bystanders who see injustices, just as much as I do with victims. Because I understand that the fear of being labelled a “snitch” is awful.
I realise now, that the world around us, has been built upon the pain of others. From cities being built on the lands of peaceful cultures, the deforestation of the beautiful trees, and the growing scorn against races, and people with different sexual orientations. My goal is to help all those people: the oppressed, the wronged, and the defenceless, with my story telling and planned books.
Everyone deserves the right to be happy, loved, and appreciated. You matter, even if some people make you feel that you don’t. I say some, because not every person on Earth is bad. I learned that from the unconditional love and support of my family, who supported me throughout my darkest days.
Whether it is your friends, significant others, your parents, or anyone, just know, those people will love and support you throughout anything. I promise things will get better; like the seasons of nature, we change constantly and the worst feelings always get better.
My inspirations as a child were heroic fictional characters. Some being: Batman, Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, Danny phantom, Avatar Aang, and Robin from Teen Titans. These characters were never afraid as they fought against the problems with humanity and won most of the time.
But most of all, they learned and grew from their experiences. My favourite animated character of all time was Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He showed me that no matter what your reputation, no matter what you have done, it is never too late to start over and fix your mistakes.
I knew these fictional characters were more than entertainment for kids. These protagonists were beacons of hope. They made me believe anyone could fight against evil injustices. I am sure they inspired many others growing up as well.
My aspiration is to create book characters that connect with people who are oppressed by the wrongs of society, and to give them hope to become stronger people. And to live in a world of equality and respect.