S1E1: Ave Maria (Tom Franz)

A song about unrequited love that finds the sacred in the most unlikely places.

Ave Maria on SoundClick: https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=6435965

More of Toms' music:

• SoundClick: https://www.soundclick.com/nicknasal 
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tom-franz

Transcript

Robert Howell:

My name is Robert Howell, and in this series I'll be sharing, and digging into, some of my favorite songs that I've come across during my time in the underground songwriting scene. Songs written by quietly talented people who are creating music on their own terms, in their own spare time. Songs that, more than likely, most of the world will never hear.

Welcome to Songs Never Heard.

This episode's song manages to be both a prayer and a proposition, mixing Catholic school consciousness with barroom desire in a way that shouldn't work, but definitely does. It's a track that reveals new layers each time you listen. What might initially seem to be a simple story about unrequited love reveals itself to be something much more lyrically rich. Let's hear "Ave Maria" by Tom Franz. 

Tom Franz:

In the bowels of the city

In the heart of the night

Where the lost and the lonely

Are drawn to the light

And fate will await the outcome

From desire to deliverance

Is impossibly long

‘cause perception to truth

Can go real real wrong

But it is what it is and then some

Our lady of the dark

I would love to embark

Does her holiness have a spark

In her eye for me

Ave Maria

Can’t you see I need ya

And can’t you feel the

Heart so true

Ave Maria

Come on let me see ya

I want to be the

One you choose

She wears a neon halo

And incandescent skin

And the sadness of the ages

Is there within

And her indifference is devastating

And her legions are stationed

At her flank

They embrace her honor

And hold her rank

And I am left to do the waiting

And I’d gladly pay the darkest prince

To weaken her strong defense

Find a way to convince

Our lady of the night

Ave Maria

Can’t you see I need ya

And can’t you feel the

Heart so true

Ave Maria

Come on let me see ya

I want to be the

One you choose

At the top of this bar

At the end of this world

My mind tumbles and twirls

As I praise your name

Ave Ave Ave Maria

Ave Ave Ave Maria

Robert Howell:

That was "Ave Maria" by Tom Franz.

A songwriter might carry certain words or phrases around in their head, waiting for the right moment to use them in a song. For Tom, one of those phrases was "Ave Maria," but not in the way you might expect.

Growing up Catholic and attending Catholic schools, those sacred words were essentially imprinted into Tom's consciousness. But so were the not so surprising desires he experienced as a teenage boy, where his environment not only included religious teachings, but also his coming of age classmate crushes in tartan plaid schoolgirl skirts.

That confusing semi sexualized contradiction where the words "Ave Maria" could potentially fit on both sides of the spiritual slash secular equation, is something the songwriter in Tom always found compelling. He just needed the right story to make it work.

That story came together during his post-college years in San Francisco. A 20 something sharing a cramped apartment with friends in the Castro district. Broke, but having the time of his life.

There was one straight bar in their gay neighborhood, which became their regular hangout. And it's here, Tom would find himself repeatedly falling for women who seemed completely out of reach. Beautiful. Aloof. Untouchable. And therefore unquestionably worthy of a young man's worship. 

From the moment Tom first picked up a guitar, songs just happened. He didn't have to try to write them, melodies would emerge as naturally as humming along to chords.

But there's a difference between writing songs and finding your authentic voice as a songwriter.

Tom had been crafting music for years, experimenting with different approaches. His creative process was thorough and slow. With songs taking long journeys through notebooks and occasional late night, turn back on the light moments, as he tried multiple melodies and word arrangements before landing on something that felt right.

"Ave Maria" marked a turning point. As Tom puts it, when he wrote it, he felt like he was "really gaining his footing as a songwriter," and using a truly authentic voice that was all his own. He was proud of it in a way that felt different from his other work.

And even though Tom tends to say his songs are never really finished, that he's always thinking of another adjustment or a different approach to try, "Ave Maria" was different in that way as well. Yes, it took the usual long, circuitous route, but when he landed on this version, he was satisfied. The song felt complete. 

Tom handled all the production of "Ave Maria" himself. It's a common approach among hobbyist songwriters born, partly from necessity, but also from creative control.

When I asked Tom about his production choices, particularly whether he'd considered adding more overtly religious elements like choir, like vocals, or church organ to match the sacred imagery, his answer was refreshingly honest. He would've loved to try those ideas, especially the organ, but he was limited by his recording abilities at the time, and he didn't own a keyboard when he recorded this track.

Sometimes constraints force better choices. Rather than trying to be literal with the religious theme through obvious instrumentation, Tom found a more elegant solution. Listen to how the song ends. Those repeated "Ave Ave Ave Maria" vocals that echo the traditional hymn. Tom calls this outro, his favorite part of the song, and he's particularly proud of that transition to what he refers to as "an overtly religious feel."

It's a perfect example of less being more. Instead of adding organ or choir throughout the entire track, Tom saved the sacred sounding moment for the end where it lands with real impact. The result feels more authentic. A bar song with spiritual undercurrents that builds to a moment of genuine reverence.

Speaking of production choices, one of the most distinctive elements of "Ave Maria," that spoken word delivery that opens each verse, wasn't really a choice at all. It was what Tom calls a "happy accident."

When Tom was working on the verses, he found himself struggling with the rapid fire lyrics he'd written. The words came at you fast and dense. Packed with imagery and internal rhymes. He was trying to sing them in his typical style, but something wasn't working.

"The words were so rapid fire in the verse. I was trying to sing, but it came out like it did... A little differently than other songs," Tom explains.

What emerged with something closer to spoken word... a rhythmic, almost conversational delivery that lets every word land clearly before transitioning into his more traditional singing voice, to wrap up the verse and lead into the pre-chorus.

This spoken word approach gives the verses an urgency and intimacy that draws you in close , like someone leaning across a bar to tell you a story on the way to the Soaring Devotional chorus.

So who exactly is Maria? Tom's lyrics paint a vivid picture of someone who commands attention in this bar setting. She wears a " neon halo" and has "incandescent skin," her "legions are stationed at her flank..." admirers who "embrace her honor and hold her rank."

When I asked Tom directly whether Maria is a bartender or a patron, he was clear. She's a fictitious patron . But the way he describes her role in this bar ecosystem tells us everything we need to know about the power she wields.

Tom calls her the absolute queen of the situation. Every guy in the bar was in love with her and she knew it, but she was aloof and unapproachable. "The top of the food chain," as he puts it. Someone who would walk into a room and immediately become the center of gravity.

Tom found himself caught in that pull repeatedly during his Castro district nights, and Maria represents the distillation of those experiences into one compelling, yet complex figure. Despite her place of power, Tom references a sadness in Maria, which is perhaps a product of a lifetime of experiences that led her to be unwilling royalty in this smoky, seedy kingdom.

Let's talk about one of the most intriguing lines in the entire song. " And I gladly pay the darkest prince, to weaken her strong defense." Here's where Tom's Catholic School consciousness really shows itself.

The narrator is literally willing to make a deal with the devil, the darkest prince, just for a chance to break through Maria's emotional barriers. It is a Faustian bargain wrapped in barroom longing. He's so desperate for connection that he'd trade something precious, maybe even his eternal soul, to reach this woman who seems completely untouchable.

This is where the sacred and profane collision Tom always wanted to create, really pays off. He's praying to "Ave Maria," while simultaneously considering a deal with Satan. It's the spiritual crisis of a man caught between devotion and temptation. Between worship and want.

And in Tom's version of this story, that desperation goes unrewarded. The song ends with those repeated "Ave Maria" pleas, indicating our narrator will go on wishing and waiting, unrequited and unfulfilled.

Tom believes a songwriter has to write 20 songs in order to get one good one, and although he and I might disagree on that math, we both agree that Ave Maria is one of his good ones. And like the leading character in the song, it's definitely worthy of praise and admiration.

 "Songs Never Heard" is written and produced by me, Robert Howell. It's a tribute to all the seldom heard talent I've experienced over the years. If you're interested in having one of your songs featured, drop me a note at rrobhowell@gmail.com. 

Until next time, keep writing.