These are some of my oldest songs, all but one of them written back when I first started writing songs with lyrics. They have been slightly polished and cleaned up and remastered, but are otherwise as they were originally released.
Some of these are outtakes from aborted album projects. I still had a ways to go before I was ready to release these songs properly. Sometimes things take a while to ferment.
This is basically a companion album to Transitions, in which most of these songs were finally redone for modern ears, in a way I’m finally happy with. The artwork, on the other hand, is a reference to my very first album.
This version triggers my tinnitus something fierce.
Just like in a picture show I know where I want to go This is not the place for me And I’m moving on
There are people that I know In the place I want to go I can be what I wanna be I hope I’m not wrong
I think it’s time for me to get my five minutes of fame When I get there everybody will be so glad that I came And it won’t be so long before everyone knows my name Without a doubt we’ll talk about the Things I never ever thought I’d Find someone to talk to about
Just like in a picture show I know where I’m gonna go It just seems so right for me Like I’m already gone
All the people that I know Tell me where I need to go In a day or two or three Nothing will be wrong
It’s about time to start again with a brand new life Leave behind some of a past that has been filled with strife Start a new family, two kids, a husband, and a wife I sold my car I’m going far to Start again beginning friendship With five minutes left to the end
Just like in a picture show I know where I’m gonna go This is not the place for me Goodbye, and so long
The sun comes right up There’s nothing I can do But state my mind Recite my point of view
It warms up my hair Passes behind a cloud I’m sitting here Thinking here of you
It shines in my eyes Like a beautiful swirl It blows my mind Trembles in my view
I cannot think Of anyone in the world I’d rather spend my Whole life with than you
I cannot believe Our love could go askew I would rather think What it’s like to be with you
I take a deep breath Let it out real slow The air is warm, and Smells of sweetened dew
It warms up my head I can see it now I’m sitting here Madly loving you
The world closes in Everything’s a blur I’m feeling dizzy Look around for you
I can’t help but think This must have been a dream Because you are nowhere Within my view
I could not believe Our love would go askew I would rather think What it’s like to be with you
This is one of my first Song Fight! songs that I decided to try rerecording for an album, after I’d bought a cheap used four-track audio interface to try to improve my recording process.
It did not go well.
Okay, um… hello?
This program is a… h’LOooOOoo This program is a piece of shit But it came free with my, uh, USB audio… interface… thing… So I’m not complaining too much
Okay, okay
Let’s uh, try this again
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
Things aren’t always gonna go my way But tomorrow is another day You’re not helping me to feel very steady, though Alright, alright
I get your point already No need to fight I’m just not feeling so steady Alright, alright
Please don’t try to cheer me up Yes I know I have enough coffee in my cup I get your point already Alright, alright
Your voice is getting me twisted up If you don’t stop… if you don’t stop talking I…
the fuck? Okay
Your voice is getting me twisted up
Damn it I can play this just fine when I’m not recording Yes I’m being “chatty”
Okay
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
Things aren’t always going to go my way But tomorrow is another day You’re not helping me to feel very steady, though Alright, alright
I get your point already No need to fight I’m just not feeling so steady Alright, alright
Please don’t try to cheer me up Yes I know I have enough coffee in my cup I get your point already Alright, alright
Your voice is getting me twisted up If you don’t stop talking I am hanging up Your cheerfulness isn’t making me anymore Alright, alright
Don’t you even try To think that I Just need to have it pointed out that It… it’ll be alright
Metaphorically I I just wanna die Or at least have the world go away until I am alright
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
THANK YOU Hopefully it’ll save the whole fucking file this time Just, okay Just wanna make sure It’s gonna save the whole thing Okay
For this one I was feeling super lazy and just recorded the keyboard and vocals separately in one take, and then I ran the result through a rather overdriven compressor, because I’d heard that compressors were good for audio production and so I should do that.
Frankie Big Face did an amazing cover of this which is what eventually led to the Love and Monsters version, which I consider to be the definitive version of this song.
One hundred twenty miles per hour It sure is cold outside alone One hundred twenty miles away After an hour far from home
One hundred twenty miles between us Why did you have to hurt me so One hundred twenty miles and counting I’m sorry that I had to go
Why did you hurt me bad, I did not want to lose you Why did you have to leave, I try and try and try and try Why did you want to hurt me, was it something that I said Why do I have to love you, ‘til the day I die?
One hundred twenty miles per hour The distance is now getting large One hundred twenty miles away From you and your stupid garage
One hundred twenty miles between us It is all crystal clear to me One hundred twenty miles and counting We simply were not meant to be
Why did I even put up with your stupidity Why did I bother with you, now I cannot see How could I let you lead me on so very, very, very long I hope that I never miss you, now that you are gone
One hundred twenty miles per hour I’m sure to get away from you One hundred twenty miles away It has vastly improved my view
One hundred twenty miles between us I do not need you anymore One hundred twenty miles and counting Good riddance, don’t wait at the door
Just as with I LOVE YOU, the Transitions version of this song is basically the Plus 5 version, done somewhat more competently.
Yes, that’s a musical reference to Katamari Damacy.
(One, two, three four)
Life is like a riddle Stuck in the middle I have been such a fool A fool in the middle
Not so bad but not so good I don’t do the things that I should I have been such a fool A fool in the middle
Everything I do makes it worse Just a speck in the universe Have I been such a fool A fool in the middle
Everybody puts me down But they say they like having me around And that makes me a bitter fool A fool in the middle
One side pink and one side blue Purple’s gonna have to do People can be very cruel when you’re Stuck in the middle
Life is like a riddle Stuck in the middle I have been such a fool A fool in the middle
Life is like a riddle Stuck in the middle I have been such a fool A fool in the middle
I got your letter Addressed to me Don’t know why you sent it It’s such a mystery
You said you’re broken Trying to hide Asked me how I’m doing, said you’re Burning up inside
You tell a story A lover in the past You say you think this time will be different That we will last
I don’t need this kind of attention Please don’t show me your affection I don’t want you to always tell me How you think this is meant to be
Another letter You talk of dreams Seeing us together And everything’s serene
You tell a story How everything was wrong Until the day you met me, how I’m Wonderful and strong
I think you should know It’s hard on me The love you think you have is just a Cause of misery
I don’t need this kind of attention Please don’t show me your affection I don’t want you to always tell me How you think this is meant to be
Another letter The paper splattered red By the time I read this you think That you might be dead
You said you love me Why did I lead you on I’m pretty sure I didn’t want your Melancholy song
I call your lover She says you’re doing fine She told me that you said to tell me, “Please stay on the line”
I don’t need this kind of attention Please don’t show me your affection I don’t want you to always tell me How you think this is meant to be
You say you’re sorry For acting such a fool But can we still be friends if it would Not be cold and cruel
I say I’m sorry I never wanted you The image that you had of me was Anything but true
You say you’re sorry You hang your head in shame I’m sorry if you wanted me I just don’t feel the same
This is a version that I’d done for Plus 5. If it weren’t for the fact I’d already re-redone this song for Love and Monsters it’d have gone onto Transitions, so I figured I’d might as well put this version onto Deadnames for completeness’ sake.
This song, incidentally, was about the same breakup that Birds Of Our Own was sort of about.
One hundred twenty miles per hour It sure is cold outside alone One hundred twenty miles away After an hour far from home
One hundred twenty miles between us Why did you have to hurt me so One hundred twenty miles and counting I’m sorry that I had to go
Why did you hurt me was it (turn around and glare) Something that I said (aware) I try and try (unfair)
Why did you hurt me why (turn around and stare) Did I have to leave Why do I have to love you (nowhere) ‘Till the day I die (prepare)
One hundred twenty miles per hour It is now time to move along One hundred twenty miles away From everything that was so wrong
One hundred twenty miles between us It is now crystal clear to me One hundred twenty miles and counting We simply were not meant to be
Why did I even put up with (turn around and glare) your stupidity Why did I bother with you (aware) Now I cannot see (unfair)
How could I let you lead me (catch me unaware) On so very long I hope to never miss you (we share) Now that you are gone (repair)
One hundred twenty miles per hour I’m sure to get away from you One hundred twenty miles away It has vastly improved my view
One hundred twenty miles between us I just don’t need you anymore One hundred twenty miles and counting Good riddance, don’t wait at the door
In 2006 (after having settled on “Sockpuppet” as a band name), I decided to celebrate how far I’d come as a musician since I started doing Song Fight!, and started a project called Plus 5 where I’d remake my first year of Song Fight! songs and release them on the fifth anniversary of the original fight.
I didn’t get through the whole year before losing interest in the project, but due to the nature of this album, I decided that the Plus 5 versions should get remastered and re-released.
It’s funny how in 2006 I thought I’d completed a journey, when clearly I still had a long way to go. I still do, really, but this is at least a step in the right direction.
In any case, the ideas from this directly informed the version I did for Transitions.
The sun comes right up And there’s nothing I can do But state my mind Recite my point of view
It warms up my hair Passes behind a cloud I’m sitting here Thinking here of you
It shines in my eyes Like a beautiful swirl It blows my mind And trembles in my view
I cannot think Of anyone in this world I’d rather spend my Whole life with than you
I cannot believe Our love could go askew I would rather think What it’s like to be with you
I take a deep breath Let it out real slow The air is warm, and Smells of sweetened dew
It warms up my head I can see it now I’m sitting here Madly loving you
The world closes in Everything’s a blur I’m feeling dizzy Look around for you
I can’t help but think This must have been a dream Because you are nowhere Within my view
I could not believe Our love would go askew I would rather think What it’s like (I’d like) to be with you
I’d like to be with you
Lazy jazz turns into screamy punk. While going through my archives I found out that I’d actually tried resuscitating this project for a few other albums and it never quite worked out then either. I have scrapped versions in foodsexsleep and in Songs of Substance. I’d forgotten all about that.
I always wanted a bird of my own My mother had one but it had flown Away when she opened the window To let it be free as she loved it so
She always said that it would be, “If you love someone you set them free” And I know that I would love it so And I would open the window
It’s always sad when one’s not good Being in a cage made of Norwegian wood I’d hope that someone would love me so Much as to open my window
I once had a man, or should I say He once had me for a single day I thought that he had loved me so But he would not open my window
I flew away in a single day He chased me but I ran away Back to a place that I could be Myself and by myself be free
I always wanted a bird of my own My mother had one but it had flown Away when she opened the window To let it be free as she loved it so
It was a three-hour tour Looks like it’s gonna be more Now I’m stranded far from you And it looks like there’s nothing to do
I need someone to come Doesn’t matter where they are from I see a ship on the edge of my view And I’m hoping that it is you
Come on and rescue me I’m drowning, can’t you see that I Really need you all of the time so come Come on and rescue me
I am alone with nobody around It feels like I’ll never be found I have to hold on one more day To see if someone is coming my way
It was a three-hour tour Looks like it’s gonna be more Now I’m stranded far from you And I’m hoping that it is you
Come on and rescue me I’m drowning, can’t you see that I Really need you all of the time, so come Come on and rescue me
Come on and rescue me I’m begging for you to find me, and I Really need you all of the time, so come Come on and rescue me
I always wanted a bird of my own My mother had one but it had flown Away when she opened the window To let it be free as she loved it so
She always said that it would be, “If you love someone you set them free” And I know that I would love it so And I would open the window
It’s always sad when one’s not good Being in a cage made of Norwegian wood I’d hope that someone would love me so Much as to open my window
Dooo doo doo dooo doo
I once had a man, or should I say He once had me for a single day I thought that he had loved me so But he would not open my window
I flew away in a single day He chased me but I ran away Back to a place that I could be Myself and by myself be free
I always wanted a bird of my own My mother had one but it had flown Away when she opened the window To let it be free as she loved it so
Oh, it’s just another sunny day Why did someone have to chase the clouds away I just don’t want to come outside and play I just want the rain to wash my tears away
Don’t want you coming here, try to change my mind You don’t know just how I feel, I feel I’m feeling fine You don’t know what it’s like, living in my brain It’s not the things you think that keep me in this pain
Today is just another sunny day Why don’t you go and chase some fucking clouds away I don’t want to come outside and play today I just want the rain to wash my tears away
I’m being eaten at from every fucking side They smack me down, want me to drown, and take me for a ride You want to make me think it isn’t them it’s me It will not work you fucking jerk, I know how it should be
Oh it’s just another sunny day I wish the clouds could come and stay, for that I pray Please just leave me alone and go away Don’t want to see you now, just leave me alone today
I know I seem I’m on the edge of something bad You scream and shout I’m “flipping out,” you’re just making me mad I’m the one who’s fine, it’s everyone else who’s insane But people suck, I’m out of luck, I just can’t play this game
Oh, it’s just another sunny day Please let me be, don’t bother me today I’m sick of you trying to chase my clouds away I just want you to go the fuck away
Oh, it’s just another sunny day Why did someone have to chase my clouds away I just don’t want to come outside and play I just want you to stay
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
Things aren’t always gonna go my way But tomorrow is just another day You’re not helping me to feel very steady though Alright, alright
I get your point already No need to fight I’m just not f…eeling so steady Alright, alright
Please don’t try to cheer me up Yes I know I have enough coffee in my cup I— I get your point already Alright, alright
Your voice is getting me twisted up If you don’t stop talking I am hanging up Your cheerfulness isn’t making me feel anymore Alright, alright
Don’t you even try To think that I Just need to have it pointed out that It’ll be alright
Metaphorically I I just wanna die Or at least have the world go away until I am alright
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
I- I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you I will always try To live to see you die You know always that I I will always try I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you Don’t know what I’m going through You can’t see from my point of view You will be on my mind You won’t be hard to find
I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you I will always try To live to see you die You know always that I I will always try I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you Don’t know what I’m going through You can’t see from my point of view You will be on my mind You won’t be hard to find
I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you
The Plus 5 version of Shipwreck attempted to be a more highly-produced version of the original. It’s how I originally wanted to try to do the Transitions version as well, but the new version had other plans.
The outro of this version is intended to overemphasize the musical connection between Shipwreck and Fool in the Middle.
It was a three-hour tour Looks like it’s gonna be more Now I’m stranded far from you And it looks like there’s nothing to do
I need someone to come Doesn’t matter where they are from I see a ship on the edge of my view And I’m hoping that it is you
Come on and rescue me (life is like a riddle) I’m drowning, can’t you see that I (stuck in the middle) Really need you all of the time so come (I have been such a fool) Come on and rescue me (A fool in the middle)
I am alone with nobody around It feels like I’ll never be found I have to hold on one more day To see if someone is coming my way
It was a three-hour tour Looks like it’s gonna be more Now I’m stranded far from you And I’m hoping that it is you
Come on and rescue me (life is like a riddle) I’m drowning, can’t you see that I (stuck in the middle) Really need you all of the time, so come (I’ve been such a fool) Come on and rescue me (a fool in the middle)
Come on and rescue me (life is like a riddle) I’m begging for you to find me, and I (stuck in the middle) Really need you all of the time, so come (I’ve been such a fool) Come on and rescue me (a fool in the middle)
The Plus 5 version of Listen Close. For this version I just did it as introverted jazz and just left the angsty lyrics behind.
I didn’t update this one for Transitions because I don’t think the song says anything that needed to be said, and what few interesting musical things happen in it are better covered by the final version of Sunny Again.
This is the remade version of Stronger Than for Plus 5. I wasn’t able to do a full remaster as many of the Logic instruments no longer exist in the basic library and I didn’t have any bounce files that I could reuse, but oh well. This seems good enough.
I am stronger than you
I am stronger than you
I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you I will always try To live to see you die You know always that I I will always try I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you Don’t know what I’m going through You can’t see from my point of view You will be on my mind You won’t be hard to find
I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you I will always try To live to see you die You know always that I I will always try I am stronger than you Not a thing to do When you cried I knew I am stronger than you Don’t know what I’m going through You can’t see from my point of view You will be on my mind You won’t be hard to find
I am stronger than you
This song is about me being super annoyed at the transphobia I was experiencing on the Song Fight! forums. I decided to turn it into a way-too-long jazz jam, which I mostly improvised in real-time (aside from the lyrics).
For the recording I used my Yamaha DD-50 drum machine for the backing track, and played my keyboard with the MIDI piped in through my SIDstation, and recorded both simultaneously while improvisationally changing the SIDstation’s patch and parameters.
I guess it’s okay. The “In a [time] or two or three” idea would eventually get reused for Five Minutes; this was basically a lyrical gimmick which I used to mean “eventually, hopefully soon, possibly never.”
It did eventually become the case that I have to sit down to pee, though.
Listen close, close to me I’m changing can’t you see In a year or two or three No one will recognize me
I know your point of view Knows not how this can be true But the demographics I skew Don’t care about what I do
Listen close, close to me This is not some malarkey I’m the door and you the key Please try to unlock me
You can see the way I move In every way I groove For you it would behoove Of this change to approve
Listen close, close to me I am changing, can’t you see In a year or two or three I’ll have to sit down to pee
I know your point of view Knows not what I’m going through But the demographics that I skew Don’t care about what I do
Listen close, close to me This is not some malarkey I’m the door and you the key Please unlock me Unlock me Unlock me Unlock meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Eeeeeeeee
[7 minutes of aimless jamming later…]
Listen close, close to me This is not some malarkey I’m the door and you the key Please try to unlock me
Listen close, close to me I’m changing, can’t you see In a year or two or three No one will recognize me
Listen
This was my second attempt at recording this song for an album.
It did not go well.
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
Things aren’t always gonna go my way But tomorrow is just another day You’re not helping me to feel very steady though Alright, alright
I get your point already No need to fight I’m just not feeling so steady Alright, alright
Please don’t try to cheer me up Yes I know I have enough coffee in my cup I get your point already Alright, alright
Your voice is getting me twisted up If you don’t stop talking I am hanging up Your cheer isn’t making me anymore Alright, alright
I get your point already No need to fight I’m just not feeling so steady Alright, alright
Don’t you even try To think that I Just need to have it pointed out that It’ll be alright
Metaphorically I I just wanna die Or at least have the world go away until I am alright
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
I know what you’re gonna say Today just must not be my day I get your point already Alright, alright
#CD #SongFight #LoFi #Origins #Instrumental #Lyrical ]]>For quite a while I had been working on an album called Transitions, in which I was rerecording some of my oldest Song Fight! songs now that I sorta know what I’m doing. While doing this I decided to also do a second companion album, Deadnames, in which I would provide remastered versions of the original recordings.
I came to realize that a bunch of the songs that I was planning wouldn’t really fit Transitions, and that their original recordings didn’t really fit with Deadnames either — but those songs were still overdue to be released, and gosh darnit, I’d already gone through the effort to remaster them! One song in particular really wanted to be released in its original version as a single, and I came to realize that all six of those misfit songs could instead go on their own little EP. So I gave them a bit more love than a simple remaster.
The result: Here’s Notions, an EP in which one particularly silly song is joined by five other particularly silly songs. I hope you enjoy it.
Originally for Song Fight!, 2006
Back before the iPhone came out there were a bunch of early smartphones which were all pretty bad. This song was inspired by one of them in particular, and about how technology can be pretty awful and self-serving. I don’t think things have really improved all that much since then, putting it mildly.
For this one I decided to do a “collaboration” of sorts between Sockpuppet and <3.
(<3) I am not in love It is not what I am thinking of But my life is needing something more Somebody that I can care for
The morning is alright But by the time that it becomes night I don’t know what to do My empty nest is making me feel blue
(fluffy) Hey, sister, I got what you need It’s a robot baby that you don’t need to feed You just plug it in every night And it also doubles as a convenient light
It slices, it dices, it makes julienne fries And inside the box is another surprise It’s a diet pill that’ll make your hair long And the side effect is that you’ll break into song
(<3) I waited my four to six weeks But by the time it was getting bleak A package it came for me I plug it in, but then what I see
When I try to sleep it glows This is something that must too lay low I am getting annoyed At this silly malfunctioning android
(fluffy) That’s not covered by the warranty But we’ll sell you one for an additional fee The product went through a focus group And what everyone wanted was a big feature soup
You can’t expect everything to work right Our scientists made it overnight Just be glad you got it in only one piece Try our other product, a robotic niece
(<3) This is such crap, I am sending it back Everything you make is so totally wack And the diet pill had the opposite effect I now weigh fifty pounds, but my song is in check
I do not think you went to the FDA I will sue you all and make you all pay To get the address I call the support line In Indonesia on my very own dime
(Jane Barbe) The number you have reached Is not in service Please check the number And dial again
(<3) Oh, fuck…
Originally for Circle of Titles, 2020
One of the other Song Fight! traditions is Circle of Titles, where we provide titles for each other to write songs for in a one-on-one way. In 2020 I got this lovely title from T.C. Elliott (known better as Pigfarmer Jr. on Song Fight!) and decided to write a song that was inspired by another friend’s manic episode from their untreated bipolar disorder.
I haven’t spoken to them in a while, and I hope they’re doing okay.
(The bipolar friend, I mean. T.C.’s doing fine.)
Wait Wait right here There’s something I have to tell you Wait Wait right here It is a thing I think you know too well Wait Wait right here There’s something I have to show you Wait It’s oh so clear I can’t hear the ringing of the bell
Wait Wait right here There’s something I’ve only realized now Wait It’s so clear I think we all need our own real space, oh Wait Wait right here I’m trying to find a proper way, how Wait It’s so dear The world can be a big beautiful place
I can’t hear the image that you’re saying I can’t hear, I wish I knew you well I can’t hear the image that you’re singing to me I can’t hear, I know you wish me well
Wait Wait right here There’s something I have to show you Wait Wait right here It’s time for me to have my show and tell, oh Wait Wait right here Remember the thing that I tried to tell you Wait Wait right here Of all the people I’m wishing you well, so Wait
Originally for Song Fight!, 2024
Song Fight! has been running for a long time; it started in 2000, making it an extremely old website by today’s standards, and it’s probably one of the first and is almost certainly now the longest-running songwriting communities on the Internet.
In 2024, the 1000th title was posted, “A Grand Parade,” and for this we all decided to dig up as many past participants as possible to try to get to 100 songs. We succeeded at this!
At one point I was entering under an alter-ego, <3, a vessel through which I was trying to express some gender-related stuff, and she was pretty popular. So for A Grand Parade I opted to bring her back for another song.
I do not want you going outside right now There are so many things to see It’s going to overwhelm and how You will not be very happy
The giant duck is gonna quack And the dogs are gonna bark in back And the Marshall of the big parade Doesn’t care if you feel safe
And the TV man is gonna say It is such a lovely sunny day And I know you want to go out and play But I want you to say inside
I do not want you going outside right now There are so many things to see Why not stay inside and meow? I just want you to be happy
The clowns will juggle and the bands will play And the noise will scare you far away So let’s stay cozy all the day Inside where we are safe
I do not think you will want to be Outside out there away from me So let’s just drink a cup of tea In the morning we will play
I do not want you going outside right now There are so many things to see I am feeling overwhelmed and I just want to be happy
Originally for Song Fight!, 2022
This title went up when the Roe v. Wade reversal took place, and was a reference to the material change in constitutional law that had just taken place. Plenty of other people wrote songs about politics, so I felt okay with taking the title a bit more literally.
This song is dedicated to my friend Beltrami, who is featured alongside me in the cover art. May we someday cross paths in this reality, too.
Reupholster me into leather or pleather Make me watertight for every kind of weather Wouldn’t I be nice made of plush or of ice You have my permission, don’t have to ask twice
Take me apart and use me as a toy Make my only purpose to bring people joy Polish me up and make me shiny and clean I’m your willing servant, please be my new queen
Once was a human long ago But now this is all that I know Every change brings an afterglow What a wonderful way to go
Look me in the eyes and turn me into stone Chisel me down and sit on me as a throne Make this second skin someplace I can begin Reshape me into something with a dorsal fin
Carve me out of wood, make me a work of art Paint me with pictures of my old broken heart Please do not forget what I used to be And please don’t forget to always love me
Once was a human long ago But now this is all that I know Every change brings an afterglow What a wonderful way to go
Reupholster me it would bring me such pleasure Make me into a pooltoy for bright sunny weather Wear me like a costume so that you can be me Make all of my decisions so I can be free
You took me apart and used me as a toy I can’t remember if I was a girl or boy Please do not forget what I used to be And please don’t forget to always love me
Once was a human long ago But now this is all that I know Every change brings an afterglow What a wonderful way to go Oh woh
Originally for Song Fight! Live in Madison, Wisconsin, 2019
Song Fight! is a weekly-ish songwriting contest where a title is provided for everyone to write a song to. People write songs, they’re put up for a vote, somebody wins, and it’s all just a pretty good time overall.
Once a year we try to get together and do a little in-person concert where we get up on stage and perform our songs together. And part of Song Fight! Live involves a “live fight” where we’re given a title to write a song for and debut at the show.
In 2019 we went to Madison, Wisconsin, and the live fight title was The Supper Club. I was having Thoughts about Song Fight! at the time and decided to write a song about how Song Fight! as a community is a place where you should feel comfortable to express yourself in whatever way makes you most comfortable. I don’t know if anyone got that message from the song but it’s something I feel deeply all the same.
A place where you belong, a place to sing a song Welcome to the supper club Everyone is nice, giving you advice Every night at the supper club
We take you as you are, whether near or far Just come on down on in to the supper club No-one needs your name, we’re always glad you came All are welcome at the supper club
Be the way that you want to be Comfort is what sets you free We’re your friends and your family All night long at the supper club
We’re happy when you’re glad, saddest when you’re sad Please join us at the supper club Precious fish to fry, reminder of days gone by Every Friday at the supper club
We relish when you’re here, love when you drink our beer Please relax at the supper club Have a drink or three, connecting you and me The rest of your life at the supper club
Be the way that you want to be Comfort is what sets us free We’re your friends and your family All night long at the supper club
A place where you belong, a place to sing a song Welcome to the supper club We love you through and through, it’s something old and new Please enjoy the supper club We love you at the supper club
Originally for Song Fight!, 2010
This was a dumb idea I had right before the deadline and the original recording took me about 5 minutes to do, including composing it and writing the lyrics.
This version took me a little longer to do.
Open up your door Open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door (Open up!) Open up your door (Please open!) Open up your door (Could you open the door please?) Please open up your door (I know you’re in there!)
Open up your door (I can see the light on through the window) Please open up your door (Could you please open the door?) Open up your door (The door, you should open it!) Please open up your door (I know you’re in there!)
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door
Open up your door Please open up your door Open up your door Please open up your door I need to use your bathroom
#CD #SongFight #Vinyl #Popular #Dance #Electropop #LoungeJazz #Rock #Lyrical ]]>