Little Victories

Album: Finally Home (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The folk singer Pete Seeger advised young songwriters that if they want to make a difference, to keep the songs simple. The music sets the tone and the lyrics send the message. This song accomplishes exactly that.

    "Little Victories" was written by the Blue Sky Riders trio of Kenny Loggins, Georgia Middleman, and Gary Burr, with help from Richard Marx, who won a Song Of The Year Grammy award for writing "Dance With My Father."
  • This is a song of reassurance. Life throws curves, and losses come from many angles. They come from death, divorce, career, and numerous other ways. The song was finished for about a year when Georgia Middleman personally experienced the power of "Little Victories." Her father had passed away, and she had to leave the night of the funeral and fly to Canada to fulfill a job commitment the next day. Alone in her hotel room and overcome with sadness, she typed a tribute to her father on Facebook. She hoped to receive just a single reply acknowledging her tribute, but the responses flooded in offering encouragement and hope. Readers told their personal stories of loss and sorrow, reminding her that she was not alone. Georgia was able to make it through the night, peacefully supported by so many people and their kind words.
  • In The Huffington Post, Georgia Middleman wrote about how audiences are touched by the song: "When Blue Sky Riders is on stage, we perform a song that we wrote called 'Little Victories.' It's about how when times get so emotionally tough that it feels like it's impossible to get through them, you somehow do. Sometimes it's about doing all you can to just get through the night. It's those everyday things you do that are the little victories. Inch by inch, day by day, you slowly discover you're moving forward. Every night, because of 'Little Victories" someone comes up to us and tells their story of what that song means to them.'"
  • The ballad's soothing tone is underscored by a subtle cello that runs like a quiet stream underneath Georgia Middleton's vocal. It is accompanied by the acoustic guitar playing a simple chord progression, picked arpeggio style with a single note walk up and walk down occasionally dropped in between chord changes. Bluegrass music uses this technique with slower tempos to emphasize the sadness of the story told.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.