Album Info - Like Sailors Do
Songs
- Gambler's Blues
- Like Sailors Do
- How Long Will This Go On
- Wayfaring Stranger
- 3 o'clock in the Morning
- January Comes Down Hard
- I'd Rather Hear You Lie
- Stay
- The Hardest Thing
- Lullaby
- Ode to a Leader
- Everybody Goes Crazy Some Days
Gambler's Blues
Airtran isn't the greatest airline in the world. However, one thing they have that is nifty is XM Satellite Radio on some flights for you to listen to as you wing your way across the land. On the way home from Vegas (baby), I tuned in to the folk channel and listened to Arlo Guthrie from the Judy Collins Wildflower Festival. He did a great version of "St. James Infirmary," and I thought I'd like to mangle one of my own.
Well, I got home, and I couldn't remember the stupid tune (old age sucks). I have the words in Carl Sandburg's American Songbag, but even though it's a standard that's been done by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Jimmie Rodgers to the White Stripes, my brain went blank on the music.
iTunes to the rescue!
I did a search on it and found snippets from a bazillion artists (enough to know that it has been done a bazillion different ways), and away I went.
Now, the thing about this song is that it's been called everything from "St. James Infirmary" to "St. James Infirmary Blues" to "Those Gambler's Blues" to just "Gambler's Blues". And, of course, the words are all slightly different. There are two versions of the lyrics in the Sandburg book, and I chose to mix the first three verses from the second version with the last three verses from the first version and call it "St. James Infirmary" instead of "St. Joe's Infirmary". And the main reason I did that is to confuse the hell out of you! Aren't you impressed?
top ^Like Sailors Do
Songwriting inspiration comes from the strangest places. Take this one, for example...
Back a while ago, a newspaper columnist friend of mine posted something that sounded a little mysterious and desperate on her blog that was basically: "If you and I were stuck in prison for 20 years, what kind of stories would you tell me? Would you sing me a lullaby?"
As usual, I was going to make a nonsense comment like: "Hey, I can't sing you a story, like sailors do. I can't tell you a sweet lullaby."
Somehow, those lines got stuck into the middle of this dark little song about a guy who may or may not have done something terrible to the girlfriend who just dumped him in a hotel room watching "On the Town." (Don't ask. I have no idea where this crap comes from.)
top ^How Long Will This Go On
This is me being all Tom Petty (or something).
It started out to be a song about how the world seems all screwed up, with the price of gas through the roof and the government going all Big Brother on us. But it didn't turn out that way. Songs are like kids. They are what they want to be, and you can't stop them.
There are a couple of happy accidents on this recording. The drum kick at the start is one. The other is the way the guitars come in. I pushed the wrong button at one point and erased a few seconds of one of the guitar tracks, so it comes in late. It sounds like I meant to do it that way.
Like I said, songs are what they want to be.
top ^Wayfaring Stranger
I had been fighting the loss of my voice all week long when I thought, "Hey! Cool. I oughta record something with this voice!" And so, I did. It turned out kinda scary.
Later on, I tried to add harmonies and jazz it up a bit, but it just didn't sound as cool as the sandpaper voice by itself.
top ^3 o'clock in the Morning
I love the blues, and this is my bad B.B. King impression (though this is not his song of the same name).
Yes, I love the blues. And you always hurt the one you love. Remember that, kids.
top ^January Comes Down Hard
This one started out to be a Dylanesque song, but I don't really know what it wound up being. It's a little too pop for Dylan (Tom Petty again?), but it's got a screechy harmonica bit at least.
top ^I'd Rather Hear You Lie
I love old country songs. My dad was an old country singer, and my brother in Philly sings old school country in bars up there. One of my ambitions is to sing with Iris DeMent.
That said, country songs are usually pretty pathetic (my dog died, my wife done left me, my truck's a Japanese import, etc.). They're the blues for white folks. So, I went over-the-top with my song's hero and have him living the life of a hermit, just so he doesn't have to face reality.
top ^Stay
Besides the nifty guitar effect that floats around in the background on this song, it is notable as the first one I recorded with the Epiphone classical guitar that fell from Heaven. A dear friend gave it to me last winter, and it was greatly appreciated.
You see, I only have sentimental-value instruments. My regular acoustic is a Guild that my dad rescued from the ashes of a burned building. I am sure he totally messed it up by the standards of a guitar restoration expert, but what the hell. Meanwhile, my Les Paul is the descendant of a short line of electrics that got me started on this journey, made possible by dad trading in one of his Gibson's to get me started.
top ^The Hardest Thing
On this one, I experimented with a dropped-D tuning on the guitars to get that droning ethereal sound. It moves the song forward and creates tension, making you think, "When are the drums coming in?" In fact, this is one of the simplest songs on the record. It's just two guitars.
The lyrics come from another line suggested by my writer friend where she referred to her son and his guitar as a "teenage troubadour."
top ^Lullaby
At Christmas, we visited a local shelter for children who have been taken away from their parents because of abuse. There were kids there from age 10 down to a little baby. We brought them some presents, and I took my guitar and sang songs with them.
One little girl in particular got to me. She was so cute, and she sat in my lap almost the whole time. I know people have problems, but I couldn't imagine anyone hurting her.
I'm not usually this sappy. It must be the cold meds.
top ^Ode to a Leader
There is an insularity that comes with the job of President or Prime Minister or Dictator for Life that few men and women have been able to overcome. They remain untouched by the outcome of their own decisions. Meanwhile, everyone else gets to pay the price.
top ^Everybody Goes Crazy Some Days
Since I like a lot of different styles of music, it is sometimes hard for me to settle down and write a song unless I base it on antoher one. I usually listen to the local college station for inspiration, and it gets me headed down the right path.
This song started out to be in the style of "Star Witness" from Neko Case. It didn't wind up a damned thing like it (thank the copyright gods), but I thought I'd mention it anyway, because I love Neko Case.
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