Little Liars, Big Laughs: When Kids Try to Talk Their Way Out of Trouble
- Esther Ling
- Apr 14
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 16
I have been enjoying this journey of releasing my latest song, Cheeky Wind; a story of a young child unexpectedly coming up with a clever excuse to save him and his cousins out of the trouble they've caused.
From writing the song, winning the Grande Prairie Boys Choir Songwriting Competition, engraving the music, experiencing the Junior Boys Choir perform the song at their Spring concert to producing and releasing my own recording of it...
“This song, in the vein of Fred Penner, is a fun and inventive piece for children that had the entire audience and our panel of judges giggling…” - Matthew Dalen, Assistant Director, Grande Prairie Boys Choir
I never thought this song would make it this far.
Since my energy levels have been unpredictable, I was looking for ways to come back into music work after experiencing serious health challenges last year.
Five months into my ongoing recovery, and I’m glad I did my best to show up with Cheeky Wind.
I found myself drawn to create with it more; it was like a constant whisper that it wants to be released.
Being mostly confined to the bed and home, I'm glad I was able to work at my own pace, on a simple recording for this song with LogicPro on my iPad and my portable Alesis midi keyboard controller.
After performing the song at the finals and winning the competition, it took me two months to arrange, record and mix and master the song.
Even though I used virtual instruments, it was still good to practice the mixing and mastering skills with the tracks.
I have lots to learn and hone my skills in DAW production and it was a fun family project that I could get my kids involved as well.
My two kids, who are featured in this song, were very intrigued with the whole recording and publishing process.
I remember my daughter being very eager to sing into the mic. We had some fun with a couple of Taylor Swift songs that she likes too.
My son, however, took a bit of cajoling… but when there is sibling rivalry, it can bring out the best in him.
I have been very happy to know children enjoy learning and singing the song, and that it has brought joy and laughter to people who have experienced it live at the Grande Prairie Boys Choir Concert, and who listened to my recording that was released.
It is the greatest reward as a composer to know your music is well-received.
The whole intent of writing Cheeky Wind was truly for this purpose; to have something happy and fun for the boys choir and all children to sing.
My approach to writing the song was to include soloist parts as well so that the children could have fun interacting with one another during the performance of the song.
Why not have some fun while singing, right?
The Grande Prairie Junior Boys Choir incorporated the gestures and added their own creativity to the performance; I absolutely loved it!
“…the children absolutely loved learning to sing the song!” - Katherine Pernal, Junior Choir Conductor, Grande Prairie Boys Choir
Since it is a relatable song; a song that brings nostalgia to all, I’m glad adults, parents and grandparents alike, are having a good laugh listening to its story.
We were all once children, and we do get into trouble. Just like you and me, we have found interesting ways to get out of trouble too.
I am so grateful to folks who have shared their cheeky childhood stories with me. It was one of my strategies in teasing the music and creating content to push into social media days before its release.
Curating these stories, brought about nostalgia for me and my parents too as we went down memory lane together to talk about the cheeky things I did as a kid.
From me plucking gems of a statue at home and lying about it being a school project; and my ninja pursuit to find a friend to play with and blaming the neighbours house alarms on a stray cat...
It was also fun to revisit my own children's keepsake videos and remember funny stories of their childhood antics.
When my son was 3 years old, he had peeled a clementine orange by himself to eat, and the peels were strewn all over the couch. I asked who did it, and my daughter said it was her brother, and my son deflected the blame and said it was the cow.
I was so confused about this "cow". Where did it come from? Then I realized he meant the deer that visited our backyard a few days ago. He called it a "cow"!
Such fun childhood memories!
I was inspired to write Cheeky Wind by a funny memory that my mother-in-law had shared with me, about my husband when he was a young child playing with his cousins.
Being the youngest of the lot, it was unexpectedly clever of him to give a cheeky excuse; saving everyone from trouble by blaming the wind for a tomato that fell from his aunt’s tomato plant.
It was really fun to see how it all came together from a simple idea; writing about a child's play and evading punishment with a clever lie, to my husband's story being my muse, and having it come to life on stage and in recording.
As always, the most challenging work of any music release is the promotion and marketing aspect of it.
It's been 21 days of hard work and I'm still not done.
The next part begins for me with cold pitching to children’s choirs all over Canada (and maybe the rest of the world too!)
I’ve been thinking about my journey in social media recently since I started to post on November 2023.
Having once been afraid of it, I am almost in disbelief that the hard work I’ve put in and the training I’ve invested in has brought me to 500 followers on Instagram this week.
It wasn't easy, having to be vulnerable, show my face on camera (talk to the camera, eek!) and share a piece of my life with… whoever!
Yet being brave to embrace it and learn the skills for my music work has been an invaluable experience.
I must be doing something right. This is a huge win for me.
And those cold pitches I've been doing to radios and news stations? It's super intense work and I face lots of rejections at each release.
So I’m really grateful to get ONE interview. Even with just one, it is an opportunity to talk about my work.
I'm so grateful to have received the chance to do so with Curtis Galbraith from Everything GP news.
It was also hillarious that I had no idea the recorded interview was aired on two radio stations in Grande Prairie, Big Country 93.1 FM and 98.9 Rewind FM.
A few people messaged me saying they heard me talking on the radio, and I was so surprised.
In closing, I just want to say I’m really proud to be here; still here, learning, playing, and singing.
I hope you will give Cheeky Wind a spin, enjoy it with your children.
If you work with children choirs, I would love to have your children singers experience the fun and bring the same joy and laughter to their families!
Cheers,
Esther
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