The 2 Sides (2012): The Beginning

Story

"The Beginning" was always one of my favourite tracks in the original disc. It was different from the rest of the songs, as it contained no verses, and only the chorus, which itself was a few words.

However, I knew that there was room for improvement.

The idea of a thunder ending the song was one of the first ideas I had after finishing the original disc - but the song was done, so I couldn't edit it. This was one of the first plans for a remake of the CD.

After I created some new songs for this new edition, and remade some others, I wanted to remake "The Beginning". However, this song was, perhaps, the most difficult song to remake. I wanted a new intro, a longer one, to correctly represent God's creation. So I made a new intro, but I wanted to match it with the old, "Oh, oh, yeah, the beginning." So how to make it?

Weeks and months passed, and I couldn't figure it out. I made a demo for the remake, but wasn't satisfied with it (and it got deleted). I created this longer intro, combining some violins, piano, and the classic "space sound" from the original. This was followed by a distorted guitar - a guitar I had put in the original but was deleted by David -. After this, I played three notes in the GarageBand keyboard for piano, to create a mystery aura. Since this song was about the creation of God, the three notes heard correspond to those letters in the keyboard - "G", "O", "D" - repeated over and over. Many random keys were pressed and they were matched with the original organ. However, I wasn't convinced with the match, so I put a heavy sound to match it (somehow representing the Big Bang).

After that, the classic chorus is sung, and instead of simply ending it, I put the thunder I wanted, and heavier sounds of water. One of the last minute things I added, was the sound of God saying, "Let there be light", to emphasize the next song's purpose.

Concept

The song begins with notes pressed, which represent the elements being created. The space sound represent the void state of time and space in that moment.

After that, a distorted guitar enters, representing the strange, lonely and erratic creation of a being - God. Three notes start playing rapidly while He is created. A explosion is heard - the Big Bang somehow enters the story -. After God admires Himself, the song sings, "Oh, yeah, yeah, the beginning...", since its the beginning of everything.

However, His existence, doomed by the future fate, may seem like the beginning of the end, so the last line sings, "The beginning, or the end."

After this, a thunder is heard. Water is heard later, as "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1, 2).

After this, God decides to create everything, so He says, "Let there be light." (Genesis 1, 3).

Lyrics

Oh, oh yeah, the beginning, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah, the beginning, oh yeah

Oh, oh yeah, the beginning, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah, the beginning, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah, the beginning, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah, the beginning, or the end

Let there be light

Technical stuff
Lyrics and production by James Castells.

Download
To download the song, right click - Save as this link.