NEW SONG: INSPIRED BY A MARK TWAIN QUOTE

I popped onto Facebook one day and saw a misquote of the Mark Twain quote below. Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin are two of my favorite figures in American History. They were witty, snarky, and often attacked moralistic societal norms and misguided authority. What's not to love?

Almost immediately the following line popped into my head.

The reports of my demise
Well mostly they were true
There are fates far worse than death
There is no fate worse than you

That was enough to stop me from working and pick up my guitar.

The rest of the song came pretty quickly. Deb, my girlfriend, was out running some errands and shopping. She called to let me know she was on the way home. At that point, I had two lines left to finish the song and I challenged myself to have it all done by the time she got home. I finished the last line as I saw her car pulling into her spot.

I knew I liked the song. It was driving and had some fun and interesting word play. Add to that, it was under three minutes - which is often a struggle for me.

A day later I started the process of recording some parts for the song.

Per my typical process, I setup a basic midi drum beat as my click track and recorded a scratch version of the song as a map.

Then it was acoustic guitar, vocals, bass guitar, a simple lead guitar, backing vocals, and finally some distorted electric.

In the video below you can get an idea of the song and the recording process. Below that are the lyrics in full.

VIDEO ABOUT WRITING AND RECORDING TROUBLED MIND

TROUBLED MIND: LYRICS

The reports of my demise
Well mostly they were true
There are fates far worse than death
There is no fate worse than you

If that seems too harsh a judgement
Let’s review some simple facts
I gave my heart in whole
You returned it with a crack

I could play the angry man
And I could shake my fist
Casting insults and aspersions
Shout, “I didn’t deserve this.”

But all I’m left to do
Is contemplate our time
Was it sweet? Was there passion? Was it true?
Baby, ease my troubled mind

I know that they’re not fair
The answers that I seek
That’s the lonely, that’s the jealous
I admit it, yeah, I’m weak

And I won’t hold you to it
We both know it’s a lie
Still I’d love to hear you say it
It might just help me get by

I could play the angry man
And I could shake my fist
Casting insults and aspersions
Shout, “I didn’t deserve this.”

But all I’m left to do
Is contemplate our time
Was it sweet? Was there passion? Was it true?
Baby, ease my troubled mind