For those of us who plot and plan and do our thinking about writing to music, I’ll post here every Monday (that I remember to) music that I find exceptional for firing up the writing engines. Feel free to contribute to this thread with any favourites of your own.
Our first Monday Music pick comes from the venerable lords of Canadian indie rock, The Weakerthans. Here’s
Sun In An Empty Room.
[i]Now that the furniture’s returning to its goodwill home
With dishes and last week’s paper
Rumors and elections,
Crosswords, our unending wars
The black on our fingers smeared the ink on every door pulled shut
Now that the last month’s rent is scheming with the damage deposit
Take this moment to decide (sun in an empty room)
If were meant it, if we tried (sun in an empty room)
Felt around for far too much (sun in an empty room)
Things that accidentally touch (sun in an empty room)
Hands that we nearly hold with pennies for the G.S.T.
The shoulders we lean our shoulders into on the subway, mutter an apology
The shins that we kick beneath the table, that reflexive cry
The faces we meet one awkward beat too long and terrified
Know the things we need to say (sun in an empty room)
We tell already anyways (sun in an empty room)
Parallelograms of light (sun in an empty room)
Rooms that we repainted white (sun in an empty room)
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Sun in an empty room
Take eight minutes and divide (sun in an empty room)
By ninety million lonely miles (sun in an empty room)
Watch the shadow cross the floor (sun in an empty room)
We don’t live here anymore (sun in an empty room) [/i]
Nice one - I love the Weakerthans.
Bad start, already missed a monday. But let’s carry on. One more next monday, hopefully!
The next Monday Music offering for writers is from the venerable champions of american music, Carbon Leaf.
[i]
Raise the roof, that I might see the stars
To gain wisdom, to see things for what they are
Please, I need proof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Trapped in the snare with too much dreaming to bear
Fearful and frantic, hopeless and a romantic
Inspired but tired, I run this wide-open course
Like the sagging spirit of an older horse
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Peel back this backdrop, like the lids from my eyes
Put you in plain view, let me visualize
Touch me again in my dreams till I feel
Touch me again till I wake and it’s real
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
The wisest advice to me that I didn’t reach
Was to lock up the heart, but keep the key within reach
Touch me again in my dreams till I feel
Touch me again till I wake and it’s real
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Raise the roof
Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Raise the roof
[/i]
It’s monday somewhere in the world!
This monday’s pick is from the Canadian lords of rock and roll. The ones who aren’t Rush. The Tragically Hip and especially Gord Downie offer ambiguous enough lyrics to hang your own story on their hooks and lines. Here’s “New Orleans is Sinking” by The Tragically Hip.
[i] All right
Bourbon blues on the street, loose and complete
Under skies all smoky blue green
I can’t forsake a dixie dead shake
So we danced the sidewalk clean
My memory is muddy, what’s this river that I’m in?
New Orleans is sinking, man, and I don’t want to swim
Colonel Tom, what’s wrong? What’s going on?
You can’t tie yourself up for a deal
He said, Hey, north, you’re south, shut your big mouth
You gotta do what you feel is real
Ain’t got no picture postcards, ain’t got no souvenirs
My baby she don’t know me when I’m thinking bout those years
Pale as a light bulb hanging on a wire
Sucking up to someone just to stoke the fire
Picking out the highlights of the scenery
Saw a little cloud that looked a little like me
I had my hands in the river, my feet back up on the banks
Looked up to the lord above and said, Hey, man, thanks
Sometimes I feel so good I got to scream
She said, Gordie, baby, I know exactly what you mean
She said, she said, I swear to god she said
My memory is muddy, what’s this river that I’m in?
New Orleans is sinking, man, and I don’t want to swim
Swim [/i]
This Monday Music pick is “Dig Gravedigger Dig” by Corb Lund. This, ladies and gentlemen is how you do a character study through song. Corb Lund’s ability to meld rockabilly music with powerful songwriting keeps me coming back to him over and over again, when it’s time to think about writing.
[i]
Dig, dig, Gravedigger
Dig, Gravedigger, dig
Work that shovel with vigor, Gravedigger
Before rigor mortis sets in, dig
Dig, dig, Gravedigger
Dig, Gravedigger, dig
That big old hole just keeps gettin’ bigger
So dig, Gravedigger, dig
He don’t mind the cadavers, he don’t mind human remains
He got no problem sleepin’ at night, ain’t nothin’ a little whiskey won’t tame
I asked about ghosts and spirits, I asked him if he ever got spooked
I asked him if he ever gets haunted by souls, but he reckons that he buries them, too
Nah, he ain’t bothered by corpses, hell, he’ll plant stiffs all day
See, he’s on a some kinda piecework deal, he gets paid by the grave
He could be makin’ more money, he could be out workin’ the rigs
But he says he don’t really like no company, he says he’d rather just dig
Gravedigger, he got secrets, he told me as he lit up a cig
He says you gotta watch you don’t badger the hole when you’re cutting through the roots and the twigs
He’ll work right through in the darkness, then he’ll stop and he’ll take him a swig
Drive by the right time of the night you might find him in the moonlight doin’ a jig
[/i]
This Monday Music pick is “Are You There” by Klint. No lyrics today; just brooding, tense music that takes trip hop and gradually winds it up tighter and tighter, until something snaps. I’ve written a lot of scenes of violence and tension to this piece of music over the years, often on loop while typing away.
This week’s Monday Music is by the band “First Aid Kit” two wonderful girls out of Sweden who spend half their time channelling Dolly Parton, lending a pleasantly european psychedelia folk sound to voices that blend well with midwestern country, accompanied by solid, narrative-driven songwriting.
This is “I Found A Way”, by First Aid Kit.
[i]“I Found A Way”
It’s me, it’s me, you’ve come to take
My duality awakes
By midnight time I could not see,
If I were you or you were me
We play the game with skillful hands
And so I asked for your demands
Give me your love, give me your gun
And he traced us back to where we begun
So the morning came
And swept the night away
As I was looking for
A way to disappear
Amongst the quiet things
And all these empty streets
I found a way, I found a way
To reappear…
I’ll follow you
Where you go
Yes, I’ll be there
Just so you know
I need your condolence
And your trust
But I won’t ask
Won’t ask for much
There’s a heavy load upon our backs
Of things we carry from the past
My guilt-filled mind, it tried to run
But he chased us back to where we begun
So the morning came
And swept the night away
As I was looking for
A way to disappear
Amongst the quiet things
And all these empty streets
I found a way, I found a way
To reappear…
I’ll follow you
Where you go
Yes, I’ll be there
Just so you know
I need your condolence
And your trust
But I won’t ask
Won’t ask for much
I’ll only ask for so much
No, I won’t ask, won’t ask for much
So the morning came
Swept the night away
I found a way
I found a way
To reappear…[/i]
I listen to music constantly, but especially while writing. Helps my mind reach an altered state. Here’s a track that helped me a lot. I can’t embed this, so follow the link to a band camp track by Solar Fields!
This week’s Monday Music is Morcheeba - Over and Over.
[i]Waking to these sounds again
I wonder how I’ll sleep
Passing out is taking off
Into the stubborn deep
I’d like to meet a human
Who makes it all seem clear
To work out all these cycles
And why I’m standing here
I’m falling
Over and over and over and over again now
Calling
Over and over and over and over again now
Running through my life right now
I don’t regret a thing
The things I do just make me laugh
And make me wanna drink
I’d like to meet a mad man
Who makes it all seem sane
To work out all these troubles
And what there is to gain
I’m falling
Over and over and over and over again now
Calling and over and over and over and over again now
Projecting what I want is always hard to know
But when it comes between my sights I’ll let the damage show
I’d like to meet a space man, who’s got it going on
Sailing through the stars at night 'til our world is gone
I’m falling
Over and over and over and over again now
Calling and over and over and over and over again now
Over and over and over and over again now
Calling and over and over and over and over again now
[/i]
A two-fer! Today’s first song is a delightful battle chant for a dying werewolf. This is Least of My Kind, by Echo’s Children.
[i]
Covered in dirt and mud, aching and spitting blood,
Cursing, you stir to rise and groan.
Muffled in yet-to-come mutters a battle drum
Werewolves don’t usually walk alone.
Think on the battle-cost; this time the wolf has lost
Beaten and broken and blind.
Better beware, my lord; better prepare, my lord;
I was the least of my kind.
Prying my switchblade cold out of my fingers’ hold,
Pause to take stock, reflect, and rue.
Look on the damage done here by a single one;
What do you think a full pack will do?
Think on the battle-cost; this time the wolf has lost
Beaten and broken and blind.
Better beware, my lord; better prepare, my lord;
I was the least of my kind.
Careless I came by chance, joining in battle’s dance
Slain in a fight I could not win.
Far-off a wolf pack hears; heads turn, with pricking ears.
Thought you, my lord, that I had no kin?
Think on the battle-cost; this time the wolf has lost
Beaten and broken and blind.
Better beware, my lord; better prepare, my lord;
I was the least of my kind.
[/i]
And the second one for our Monday sees us returning to the Weakerthans, for the heart-crushing Virtute The Cat Explains Her Depature.
[i]
It had something to do with the rain
Leaching, loamy dirt
And the way the back lane came alive
Half moon whispered, “Go”
For a while I heard you missing steps in the street
And your anger pleading in an uncertain key
Singing the sound that you found for me
When the winter took the tips of my ears
Found this noisy home
Full of pigeons and places to hide
And when the voices die
I emerged to watch abandoned machines
Waiting for their men to return
I remember the way I would wait for you
To arrive with kibble and a box full of beer
How I’d scratch the empties desperate to hear
You make the sound that you found for me
After scrapping with the ferals and the tabby
I’d let you brush my matted fur
How I’d knead into your chest while you were sleeping
Shallow breathing made me purr
But I can’t remember the sound that you found for me
I can’t remember the sound that you found for me
I can’t remember the sound
[/i]
Oh, that one destroys me. Every time.
I will check out the werewolves when not at work!
It’s Monday somewhere in the world!
This week’s song is by the deeply excellent DJ Schmolli, who remixes and mashes up songs with a masterful hand.
Never underestimate the power of rock and roll!
Yes, I’m terrible. Let’s make up for three lost weeks with some high-energy punk covers to get us through the last of winter! This time it’s the masters of punk covers, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, charging us up with high-energy punk gumption, and showing us how a trope can be made fresh anew by throwing it into a wholly different genre.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Today’s Monday Music is a reminder from 100 Mile House that we can all afford to try a little harder for those we love, and what we love.
[i]time waits for no man, and he seems real impatient with me
like dad’s sitting in the car, while I’m checking the appliance
this year I’ll make a change, maybe buy some savings bonds
i’d go all organic but I simply haven’t got the funds
so I’ll be a better husband, a better friend
I’ll eat less dairy, I’ll count to ten
I’ll call back home when I say I will
we can all be better still
I’m trying
I remember leaving school, and thinking I could take my time
and for ten short years, sitting in that frame of mind
“What’s your plans for the summer?” “Where did you sleep last night?”
turned to “How’d you get your mortgage?” “Our flatscreen’s bigger, right?”
so I’ll be a better husband, a better friend
I’ll write more letter, read more books to the end
and I’ll try more whiskeys and I’ll drink less beer
and I’ll always try my dear,
but there must be something here
to hold onto
if this could bore one lesson, I could learn to be more honest still
so next time I see my parents, I’ll tell them how I really feel
I always waited far too long, thought it out for days and hours
they all seem brighter when they’re gone,
so let’s pick them up and make them ours
so I’ll be a better husband, a better friend
I’ll write more letters, I’ll count to ten
and I’ll visit those places where we stand and stop
make those calls I’ve been putting off
I’ll make sure she knows that she’s more beautiful
than that night we met under that teal moon
and I’ll make more effort with those folks back home
because these days are all we own
keep your loved ones close at home
we’ll meet here soon[/i]
May is coming, may is coming!
[i]You hear that sound, the rain is coming down
It says there’s a ripeness setting in
The children spin around 'til they crash into the ground
Singing “Welcome Home Forever Once Again”
And when you hear the spirit’s call
There ain’t no use to fight
And if you want to reap tomorrow, you better sow your seed tonight
You better sow your seed tonight
You feel that fire lift your body higher
An old, old dance is growing here
Better kiss me soon while the blossoms are in bloom
Or you might just have to wait another year
And when you hear the spirit’s call
There ain’t no use to fight
And if you want to reap tomorrow, you better sow your seed tonight
You better sow your seed tonight
You feel that beet, come on, move your feet
Old man winter’s dead and gone
There’ll be wiggling of the toes, there’ll be taking off of clothes
There’ll be silly naked dancing on the lawn
And when you hear the spirit’s call
There ain’t no use to fight
And if you want to reap tomorrow, you better sow your seed tonight
You better sow your seed tonight
And when you hear the spirit’s call
There ain’t no wrong or right
So if you want to reap tomorrow, you better sow your seed tonight
You better sow your seed tonight
And when you hear the spirit’s call
There ain’t no use to fight
And if you want to reap tomorrow, you better sow your seed tonight
You better sow your seed tonight[/i]
Today’s Monday Music is “Goodnight, Demonslayer, Goodnight” by Voltaire, who writes the finest lullabies for warrior princesses.
Goodnight, Demonslayer, Goodnight
[i]There’s a monster that lives ‘neath your bed
Oh for crying out loud it’s a futon on the floor
He must be flat as a board
There’s a creature that lurks behind the door
Though I’ve checked there 15 times
When I leave then he arrives
Every night
Tell the monster that lives ‘neath your bed
To go somewhere else instead
Or you’ll kick him in the head
Tell the creature that lurks behind the door
If he knows what’s good he won’t come here anymore
Cause you’ll kick in his butt at the count of four
Goodnight demon slayer, goodnight
Now it’s time to close your tired eyes
There are devils to slay and dragons to ride
If they see you coming, hell they better hide
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Goodnight my little slayer goodnight
Tell the monster that eats children, that you taste bad
And you’re sure you’d be the worst that he’s ever had
If he eats you, don’t you fret, just cut him open with an axe
Don’t regret it, he deserved it, he’s a cad
Tell the harpies that land on your bed post
That at the count of five you’ll roast them alive
Tell the devil its time you gave him his due
He should go back to hell, he should shake in his shoes
Cause the mightiest, scariest, creature is you
Goodnight demon slayer, goodnight
Now it’s time to close your tired eyes
There are devils to slay and dragons to ride
If they see you coming, hell they better hide
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Goodnight my little slayer goodnight
I won’t tell you, there’s nothing ‘neath your bed
I won’t tell you, that it’s all in your head
This world of ours is not as it seems
The monsters are real but not in your dreams
Learn what you can from the beasts you defeat,
you’ll need it for some of the people you meet
Goodnight demon slayer, goodnight
Now it’s time to close your tired eyes
There are devils to slay and dragons to ride
If they see you coming, hell they better hide
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Goodnight my little slayer goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Goodnight[/i]
I keep forgetting to post it, but I love this song: “All God’s Critters.” It makes me happy. I hope it makes you happy, too:
This version is by The Browns. The video has horses and ducks and pigs and dogs in it.
(If you prefer looking at a boy band, there’s also a very popular version by Celtic Thunder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqm-S9J1s_k)
Song credits: words & music by Bill Staines
https://www.folkmusic.com/lyrics/all-gods-critters
All God’s critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on the telephone wires,
And some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they
got now
REPEAT
Listen to the bass, it’s the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big t’do
And the old cow just goes moo.
The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
While the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles,
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
And the old coyote howls.
CHORUS
Listen to the top where the little birds sing
On the melodies with the high notes ringing,
The hoot owl hollers over everything
And the jaybird disagrees.
Singin’ in the night time, singing in the day,
The little duck quacks, then he’s on his way.
The 'possum ain’t got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself.
CHORUS
It’s a simple song of living sung everywhere
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly gear,
The grumpy alligator the the hawk above,
The sly raccoon and the turtle dove.
CHORUS
REPEAT
© Bill Staines
Tembroke played soooo many Youtube videos of that song to pick the right one to link here.