Story Behind The Song

See above. I'm a baseball nut, and I've always wanted to write a song about baseball. Well, I may not be able to live the dream, but I can at least put the idea into song.

Besides, after writing a bunch of sappy love ballads (which I seem to do well), I wanted to show that I could write something that's uptempo.

PERFORMANCE NOTE: The demo includes a clip of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," which is not part of the song, but is used to enhance what I envision in a potential production of it. It is used without permission; I intend to get the proper permissions (possibly from Major League Baseball) if by some chance someone is actually interested in my song. The actual copyrighted song itself begins at 0:34 into the demo.

Song Description

Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Lyrics

THE NAME OF THE GAME
Words and music by Ray Kim and Bob Blanchard

1: Ever since he was eight years old
He dreamed he?d make it to the show someday...
Spending his summer afternoons
Trying to make that big play...

Now here he was in the big-leagues,
Ninth inning, with two men out...
Just like his childhood heroes, Jackson and Nettles,
It?s what this game?s all about...

Chorus: It?s the name of the game,
Played within the fields of our minds...
Going back to times of innocence,
Dreaming of making the big time...

2: He started out in Oneonta
And worked his way through Double-A...
He?s paid his dues down on the farm
Just to get himself a chance to play...

He doesn?t care about the money,
He doesn?t care about the fame...
He?s in it for the little kid in him;
He?s in it for the love of the game...

(To Chorus)

Bridge: (instrument and vocal ad lib)

3: He steps into the batter?s box
With his team down by a run...
His comrades hold at second and third
With a slider called for strike one...

The pitcher goes into his windup...
He stares him down with eyes so cold...
The pitch comes in, there?s the crack of the bat,
And fifty-thousand fans explode...

(To Chorus)


Copyright 1994, Ray Kim