Turn the Record Over

Foreword

“And all my friends say, ‘turn the record over…’”

It might seem a funny thing to write a story inspired by a three-minute song. If the reader knows the opening lyric that has inspired the story, they may start reading it with assumptions already in mind. How the prose should relate to the tale the lyrics originally tell; if the song’s upbeat- in turn, so should the story. More often than not, though, that won’t be the case here.

I’ve drawn on music for a lot of things in my life; inspiration, guidance, and as a compliment to emotion: Heartbreak, rage, happiness, regret, love lost, and love found.

These stories touch on a variety of tones and themes that don’t always reflect the presented down or upbeat to the song that inspired it. Sometimes horrifying or dangerous, some are lovelorn or revengeful, but all of them were inspired by the first and last lyrics of tracks about someone, and no longer than four and a half minutes in length.

Songs are brief windows into another world much in the way a short story can throw you into the thick of someone’s joy or pain. While you don’t stay in either world for long, the hum in your head- or a quote on your mind, can resonate long after you’ve flipped the page- or turned the record over.