This song...
This one is a bit out there, and probably as convoluted as I can get. There are lines in this one which are amongst some of the best I believe I have written, and some....well you'll see.
This is somewhat explained by the song's background mind...
In the summer of 2013, I was out with an American girl, living in London. Still shackled to the reigns of finance along the Southampton harbour, and just starting study work for the summer (aka the "fun" bit).
Whilst my life was very much career focused at this point, I was still a guitarist, and still, sort of, a songwriter, albeit I hadn't yet mustered the guts and gumption to perform in front of people.
I had it in my head that I was going to record a positive lovey sorta song. Only one problem, complete lack of any lovey muse.
Every single attempt was some vapid meaningless shit, packed with weather based metaphors, overblown, bloated etc.
"Her love is like the wind and the rain, I close my eyes, and the sun creeps through again"
Lame
Anyway, I'd spend my Friday nights drowning in sheets that weren't my own, somewhere in the bottom floor in Mitcham
On a Saturday morning sometime, I was met with the words that will never lead to a positive scenario.
"Hey try one of these pills"
Here's an accurate depiction of what I think I look like when I take drugs
But Will McKenzie didn't have an American girl who was way out his league twisting his arm. So needs must.
"You know what that was right?" Classic
She had a very mild form of ADHD, and was in the process of studying for exams. Her American doc (who got her name wrong on every visit) had shipped her over what was effectively, a pure form of speed.
I should maintain that I have had far more intense drug related incidents, but never on a hazy summer Saturday morning! Anyways, that being said, she had a load of shit to do, so, buzzing, I navigated my way through the labyrinth of South London.
Nothing really hit me until I sat down at Clapham Junction station. I actually felt like I could do anything. Limitless you might say...
That god damn song!
I had a swagged pen from Barclays (Ikea for pencils, Barclays/Argos for pens). But no paper.
All I could grab on the platform was a pocketful of napkins from AMT. I had deep pockets. I can't even remember half the thought process, but I scribbled lots of stanzas down. Miraculously legible.
I think maybe the next day I dug these scrawls out of my coat. I swear down that nearly everything was kept as is. This is my excuse for how far out some of the references were. Examples;
"The little brother's plumber went and vacuumed up my ghosts" This guy;
"Oh Count Orsino, on the 13th morning after, he's got a metronimic headache, after 12 long nights of laughter"
This (I don't think metronomic is even a word)
And my personal favourite
"I like old movies, like the godfather 3, though it aint considered the best on, she'll be smiling on that platform next to me"
That old Match.com advert "girl on the platform smiled" that one.
The point being, at no point would a clear and cleansed mind of mine contemplate putting all this kinda stuff into a song. It makes very little sense, but that's kinda the point.
I could make some terrible artsy claim about how this is an allegory about love not making any sense, but that would be bullshit. I was high on something, and wrote down a load of nonsense that I glued together.
I must confess that I rarely play it live. The gravitas of the story, the stupidity of some of the words, and just the fact that the chord structure sounds like a radio jingle, means that it's been let loose maybe...three times?
Make your own judgement though. Here's a link to the live performance.
https://soundcloud.com/tim-brooks-290882159/amt