The first fifty seconds of this track I am free balling it totally. Just guitar and live vocals set up in the drum room to see what might shake out. At that point, I had to stop and create a song around that first batch of lyrics and spitfire guitar. It's the coolest when a good idea shows up unannounced. Songwriting is a weird sort of faith. You waltz into the room and plug in as though you know exactly what you are going to do and start hammering out chords until the cosmos starts talking back. It feels like some force out there appreciates thoughtfulness and bravado in proportionate ways that reward you kindly with songs and secret meanings to keep you going. Like putting sticks on the campfire for heat and light. Something to be decoded later after the grunt work is done. This is one of those songs where I get to poke some entities in the eye that have it coming and it's a perfect excuse to dust off the wah wah pedal. I really went into deep purple territory on this one by accident. I didn't know where I was until the lead was recorded and I hit play. It was a frantic session and my patch cord over to the wah was too short so I had to stand at a solid forty-five degrees the whole song. Very spinal tap. I'm using a G & L f100 on this song. If you know guitars, you can hear its trademark tweaks and attempts to feedback throughout. The sound is equal parts perfect and awful at the same time. Once you get used to it the other guitars on the wall sound boring. I think it would be the guitar of choice for a pissy adolescent Darth Vader to take out his aggression.
lyrics
You were always the believer
You were always on the shine
Your whole world is a battle
There's war paint in your eyes
Carry me back
If the south wind brings you hacksaws
And it plays upon your mind
There a world of conversation
To the blind leading the blind
Carry me back
And your wound is full of silver
"And your mongrel dreams turn black"
And your wars go on forever
And the rain bring out the rats
Send a message in a bottle
For the rescue of your kind
You were always the believer
You will always have the shine
Carry me back
credits
from On The Shine,
released October 2, 2012
Brandon Earl Bristow
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