DJ McAteer offers an insight into the lyrics of his original song, Echoes of Dawn which was written during the Covid-19 pandemic. DJ can be regularly seen on vocals and guitar at a PB gig.
Echoes of dawn is a song that came to me almost fully formed. It was the start of summer with the sky above light blue and still; I took my guitar outside with a coffee and started noodling with whatever came to my head. The melody at the start of the song came straight away, so I took out my phone and recorded it, whistling it so I wouldn’t forget.
The rest just flowed out in about 5 minutes. The first verse came fully formed, and was basically about appreciating the beautiful things in life, the calmness, the simple things, and the importance of remembering the good times for when the inevitable winds of change come.
I tried to convey that it's better looking forward, not dwelling on the mistakes you may have made (the echoes of dawn) but being awake for the changing of the day (the sunset) and looking ahead to face whatever the future brings.
I generally don’t overthink my songs, and let the lyrics come from a subconscious place, sometimes they make sense, other times they can be a bit ambiguous. I guess I don’t really think in black and white, life is better in full colour.
- DJ
Echoes of Dawn video - https://youtu.be/PKPrp8gDIB0
Latest videos released:
Star of County Down / Tell Me Ma - https://youtu.be/VOK_6TK5yT8
The Parting Glass - https://youtu.be/Of2bTSv7_bY