An evening spent arranging a song

We three (a singer, a guitarist, an octave-mandolinist) have a single sheet with lyrics and chords. The chord progression is unusual, and the singer knows the complicated melody well, but the original song has completely different instrumentation. We play the first verse several times – raggedly, but the changes are in place. The next part has timing issues to resolve, especially going into the chorus, and the chorus itself keeps us stumbling for a while. But with the bridge after the second chorus, we're now in a groove, and it comes together quickly. We play the whole song through twice. The remaining rough spots can be smoothed out at the next rehearsal. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 27 April 2022)