Busy week this, innit? Another song! Actually, this comes from the file marked Written Quite A While Ago Actually. We used to play it with the band, and I’ve always been fond of the thing, so I’ve taken some time out of my busy schedule of staring blankly into space to put it down. In truth, the recording is a bit haphazard and the production values are non-existent, but still: it is now A Thing, and can’t be undone. I’ll probably re-record bits of it though. As usual have a listen (under 3 minutes, so you’ve got time to boil the kettle as you do so), then after the lyrics we can have a natter about it if you’re not busy.
Lyrics
Heaven know whats it’s like to be old on your own
That’s why we stay, holding on when it doesn’t make sense
(We’re not the same as we were twenty five years ago)
Hello it’s me – and guess what? Well I fucked up again
You know the words and the tune and here comes the refrain
Sing along like the first time you heard it from me
And as usual nothing changes
Just bounce the ball
And watch it come back again
I said “I’m sorry’ and “please don’t leave me”
“I can change – dear god believe me”
Turn the page – it’s a new beginning
(Until tomorrow)
We’ve lost our waists and our sight and our minds and our hair
We see each other naked if we pass on the stairs
And twice a year we get laid if the stars are aligned
I know there’s times when you want – quite correctly – to see
Me locked in chains, tossed overboard, and sinking into the sea
But I’m afraid we’ll always be too close to the shore
So as usual nothing changes
Just bounce the ball
And watch it come back again
I said “I’m sorry’ and “please don’t leave me”
“I can change – dear god believe me”
Turn the page – it’s a new beginning
(Until tomorrow)
Thoughts
While I’m a bit dismissive of the production here (I’ve really struggled even to balance the instrumentation, which is why I’m fairly sure I’m going to re-record bits of it) the underlying song is one I’m quietly pleased about. It’s got a natty intro hook (the “woo ooh woo ooh” bit), a punchy lead-in to the chorus, and the chord change underneath the chorus itself is one I’m particularly pleased with. There’s nothing especially weird about it, but there some mild modulation in the verse (A to C#m to G to Bm if you want to play along) and the chorus has a sort of supercharged effect due to the constant pressure of the rising chord progression and the dissonant guitars that sit, clanging away over the top. As is my wont, I’ve been carefully to keep the whole thing under 3 minutes so as to not get boring.
Lyrically, this is… I don’t know. Bitter sweet? Slightly mordant? In its earliest stages, it was a story of a couple – with a man having the first verse, and the woman the second. In that form, it took the story of him basically being a cunt, and her deciding to murder him. But I could never quite nail the metre of the lyrics with the melody and it sounded a bit forced and, frankly, silly. Softening the lines a bit took me to a place that’s maybe more relatable. I’ve been married a long time and there’s a certain dynamic of warmth and comfort, mixed with a little tension because some things aren’t what they were, and other things never change.
So it’s possible there’s a bit of self-revelation going on here. Nothing too serious and primal, and there’s an element of tongue-in-cheek about it but, you know – it comes from A Place.
I like the song, if not the production, and maybe you do too. If so, please intimate this to me via postcard to the usual address.