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music and lyrics by Transfer Point

I’ve been carrying this weight
since I was a lad
This fight with gravity
I’ve been gathering my sorrows
and dreading my tomorrows
I have magnified the bad

I’ve been running from my dreams
and punching my card,
deferring happiness
I’ve been skirting ’round the drama
Ignoring my own trauma
Should life always be hard?

Each drop that falls is a thorn in my heart
Pooling in sorrow that rips me apart
But what can we ever do with this pain?
Let’s keep moving on while we’re dancing in the rain

Dancing in the rain

I’ve been walking in wind
like a hurricane
It blows me down sometimes
I’ve lived in the past and future
with hidden wounds unsutured
and dwelling in the pain

I can see a light ahead
to steady my way
It’s all too marvelous
I’ve been loosening my feet
and finding my own beat
I focus on today

Each drop that falls is a thorn in my heart
Pooling in sorrow that rips me apart
But what can we ever do with this pain?
Let’s keep moving on while we’re dancing in the rain

Dancing in the rain

Springtime rain makes waterfalls,
Makes gardens green
And flowers vivid colors endlessly
Rains fill the rivers
Flowing to the sea

Tom Sanderson: lead vocals, keyboards, drums
Alan Sanderson: guitars, bass, ukulele, backing vocals, keyboards

Tom’s Notes

The genesis for this song was a fragment with two segments that I used to play on acoustic piano. I can’t place the time period this came from and also I am not able to find a demo. My best guess is the main idea came from 20 years ago or more. For whatever reason – unprovoked from what I can tell – I got the song idea in my head again recently. I made a proper demo consisting of only my original idea: a shuffle-rhythm “A” section with descending chord changes, and a boogie-woogie inspired “B” section. I presumed the “A” section would be the verse and the “B” section would be the chorus.

Alan had some positive feedback from the demo and expressed some ideas he had. Shortly after that, the song fragment started playing relentlessly in my brain – it actually got quite annoying. With that constant mental repetition, a melody started bubbling to the surface. I decided also to extend the “B” segment by having a reduction first (a “pre-chorus”) and then multiple instruments (a “chorus”). I modified this segment to expand the existing sequence.

I wrote lyrics for the song and demoed them with vocals for Alan, not sure if they were a good fit for the project. Alan gave positive feedback for the words, so they stayed in. I shared my tracks with Alan and he recorded some great guitar ideas. I thought the song needed another couple segments and Alan was able to come up with a great segment that worked well as the introduction and bridge.

After we got deeper in the song and Alan added backing vocals, bass and additional keyboards. I thought the song needed another level change – this time a coda to the song. I suggested to Alan that it would sound nice to include a ukulele mini-song at the end with a different take on rainfall. Alan took the idea and ran with it, submitting a great ukulele bit at the end. I added some more words and we both added some vocals and more instruments to the this lighter end segment.

Lyrically, I think the listener/reader could take the words in a few levels. I suppose the most obvious interpretation is the literal one about learning to like the rain. I am not sure but perhaps the words could be generally about adversity in life and our reaction to it. Continuing with that possible interpretation, in the main part of the song there is adversity (rainfall) and the narrator reacts negatively to these bumps in life but ironically believes that he/she should embrace the trials. The last segment might then reflect an actual acceptance of maladies as a purifying agent. I am curious to hear another take on the lyrics.

I think in general this song and recording is a good patchwork of musical ideas and also a harmonious blend of Alan’s and my own creative leanings. I can hear bits of other artists that may have influenced the composition (we create from what we observe/hear and then pollenate those ingredients into something mostly new) and thankfully I don’t think we borrowed too heavily from any one source.

Alan’s Notes

This recording turned out really well, in my opinion. I like the frequent changes, which hold the listener’s interest. Tom did a nice job on the composition, and I think my contributions were helpful too.

We have made videos for a few previous songs (see here and here and here), but I think we will do it more often moving forward. Video is an engaging medium, and I like how it can complement the mood of a piece of music. Most of the clips in this video were downloaded from Pexels, but three were made by Johann and one was from Wikimedia (by Cayobo, CC BY 2.0). I was hoping for a good monsoon rain so I could get more of my own footage, but it has been a very dry summer in the Southwest.

We made a new YouTube channel for our music videos, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_ij_imhEzNxPAJucNW3ZA.

We came up with several cover images we liked for this track, generated with AI and touched up by Meesie Patch. A few of the alternate images are scattered around this post.

This recording features an instrument I recently acquired, an Artist Ltd. ukulele made in Japan in the 1960’s. Someone donated it to the local thrift store, and I snatched it up. I had to upgrade the tuners in order to record with it, but it has a nice resonant sound.

Info and Stats

• Production Dates: June — August 2025
• Equipment
  • Interfaces: Behringer Xenyx 1204USB, Behringer Ultra-DI DI400P, Tascam DSP24SD
  • Synths: Roland FA-06, Yahama Reface CS, Yamaha YPG-535
  • Guitars and Basses: Ibanez AM53, Artist Ltd. ukulele, Royce nylon string guitar, Ibanez ASB140 bass
  • Amplifiers and Speakers: Fender Dual showman, Fender Bassman 60, Fender 12×2 cabinet
  • Microphones: Audio Technica AT2035 Condenser Microphone (with wrap-around PopFilter), Rode NT1, Shure SM-57
• Software
  • Linux Mint 20.2
  • Ardour 8.12.0
  • Dragonfly Reverb: Room, Hall
  • x42-plugins: parametric equalizer, dynamic compressor, digital peak limiter, setBfree DSP tonewheel organ
  • Calf Studio Gear: vintage delay, bass enhancer
  • Guitarix: GxTremolo
  • kdenlive
• Tracks and Busses: 35
  • Synths: 16
  • Guitars, ukuleles, and basses: 5
  • Drums: 1
  • Vocals: 14