By Jason Gabak
For singer/songwriters, creating something that is timeless, a song that touches people on an emotional level, one that resonates even years after it was written is a goal that many strive for, but is not easily achieved.
For Manlius based performers Donna Colton and Sam Patterelli, a song they wrote 13 years ago seems to have joined the ranks of some of the timeless songs and songwriters they admire.
Written in 2007, “Time for a Change” seems as if it could have been written with in the past few months and has been getting a lot of plays on Youtube recently and attention around the world.
Colton said the song was written during the administration of George W. Bush, inspired by what she and Patterelli were seeing and feeling at that time.
“It is about disapproval about what was happening at that time,” she said. “We were frustrated with the administration at that time.”
As is often the case with creative endeavors, inspiration can come from many places.
Along with their thoughts on what was going on in the world in 2007, the musicians were also watching a documentary that proved to be inspiring.
“We were watch a documentary by Martin Scorsese on Bob Dylan,” Colton said. “We were watching it and we thought we could write a protest song.”
The movie, “Don’t Look Back,” traces the career of Dylan, who is well know for his early folk songs which helped him build a strong and loyal following for his often enigmatic lyrics.
While his lyrics were not always easy to decipher, his poetic approach often spoke to what was going on throughout his career, particularly in the tumultuous times of the 1960s with songs like “The Times They Are-a Changing” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
These songs inspired and comforted many people and continue to do so.
Colton and Patterelli combined what they saw in the documentary with what they saw taking place in the world around them and created “Time for a Change.”
Colton said often the writing process begins with Patterelli.
“He started writing the lyrics,” she said. “I’ll usually work on different melody lines. We collaborate. We worked all the lyrics out and we collaborated on the singing.”
Colton and Patterelli recorded the song for the CD they were working on at the time at Subcat Studios and over the years they found that people related to and connected with the song.
And now 13 years later, the songs seems all too relevant still and Colton and Patterelli have found that the song has taken on a new life of its own. But the message and problems it speaks to remain the same as they did in 2007.
Colton, who along with Patterelli, is active in the local community, often volunteering and performing at benefits, said the song has been shared on many platforms recently.
Colton and Patterelli have shared it with their local community in Manlius as well as with others like Assemblyman Al Stirpe, who Colton said has been sharing the song and plans to use it at future blood drives he hosts.
The video they created has also been getting a lot of plays on Youtube.
Colton said the video was created using a lot of publicly available images found online.
Colton said she hopes by sharing the video it sheds a light on what is going on, as well as the people who are capturing these images and chronicling what is taking place in the world today.
These images depict the turbulence and challenges many are facing right now.
But the song’s message speaks to hope even as these challenges are happening, locally, nationally and globally.
Most recently Colton said the song and video has been included on the video queue for BlackLivesMatterUK, which she said is an honor.
That the work she and Patterelli have done has reached out beyond their hometown and into the larger landscape and become part of the discussion taking place around the world right now is also an honor.
While, like many artists, Colton said they want people to take their own meaning and understanding from the song and she hopes the work speaks for itself, she hopes there are themes and ideas people can connect with.
“We need to try to strike a better balance,” she said. “We need more unity and less division.”
To view the video visit donnacolton.com.
