How Music Influenced My Writing

by David Burnsworth

How does music influence your writing? Salad Bowl Saturdays is pleased to welcome David Burnsworth to share his thoughts on the subject. Welcome, David! — Paula

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Most of us have a favorite song, or ten. A song that takes them to a special time and place in their past. I was born in 1973. My first memories of music were thanks to my mother. Our house was filled with Simon and Garfunkel, Credence Clearwater Revival, Jim Croce, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.

I remember when I was four-years-old, Mom bought a new Volkswagon Rabbit to replace the Bug that had seen better days. The Rabbit had an eight-track player, which was a big deal for us. Those same artists filled the little VW with tunes as I played with my Matchbox cars in the backseat. And, no, I did NOT have my seatbelt on. We didn’t start wearing those until the mid-eighties, thank you very much. The first time I recall hearing “Margaritaville,” I wondered why the singer was so concerned about losing his shaker of salt. It wasn’t until years later that I understood the significance and deeper meaning, right about the time I started looking for my own saltshaker.

With the coming of CD’s, I found myself enjoying reading the lyrics provided with the disks while the songs played. And I grew into my own taste in music. U2 and REM top my list. So do the Eagles and Bruce Springsteen.

A good beat and a witty phrase, no matter the genre, are all I really need. One of my favorite memories as a teenager was riding in my friend’s mom’s Volvo station wagon (it was the eighties, after all). He loaded a cassette and turned up the volume. What came out was the B-52’s Planet Claire. The “Peter Gunn Theme” intro created such a powerful atmosphere of adolescence that I can’t remember where we were going or what we were doing because it really doesn’t matter. At that moment, we were invincible.

What does this have to do with writing? In particular, my writing? When I wrote my first Southern noir mystery, Southern Heat, I did it while listening to the local classic rock station. As the radio played track after track, I found myself incorporating the songs into scenes. The setting for Southern Heat is Charleston, South Carolina. With the surrounding water such an important part of the city, and my story, I had to place my main character, Brack Pelton, on it for at least one scene. So, riding up the Intracoastal Waterway in his boat, Brack turns on the radio and Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River” blares out of the speakers. Another scene has my hero entering a run-down bar on the wrong side of the tracks. B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone” fills the establishment. The song choice became an important detail to add another layer of noir to the setting.

This habit of using music in the story did not go away for the in-process follow-up mystery in the series, Burning Heat. A beach theme has replaced straight rock, but I worked hard to make the songs fit. And I still listen to music while I write. In fact, the only time I like a silent room is when I’m line editing. Otherwise, I keep on rocking in the free world as my typing fingers try to keep up with my thoughts.

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David Burnsworth became fascinated with the Deep South at a young age. After a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and fifteen years in the corporate world, he made the decision to write a novel. Southern Heat is his first mystery. Having lived in Charleston on Sullivan’s Island for five years, the setting was a foregone conclusion. He and his wife along with their dog call South Carolina home.