A few years ago, I ran across an internet article about the oldest “song”ever discovered by archaeologists, dating to 1400 BC and found in the early 1960s in what now is Syria. It was written to the Hurrian goddess Nikkal, whose realms were agriculture and human fertility. Some of the lyric was found but, of course, no recorded melody. The song is believed to have been written for the “lyre,” a small harp-like instrument. I decided to take the lyric remnants and write a song praising Nikkal as though I had some sense of what a song would have been like in 1400 BC, both lyrically and melodically. The result: “Nikkal.” It was an interesting project, especially the background vocals done in the studio.