They don't particularly sound like Cars songs, though. Which has taught me an important lesson -- even when I'm trying to rip someone off, I only wind up sounding like myself. And that is a good thing.
The first written probably sounds least like a potential Cars tune -- "It's all because of you." They lyrics intentionally use dream images as metaphors, but it's not particularly explicit about it. To make short work of it, it's about how toxic family relationships can scar you for life, if you let them.
I got no shoes on my feet
I got no rhythm, I can't dance to the beat
Feels like I'm falling into the fire
Can't get a handle on this strange desire
I can feel the heat in my veins
Can't stand here burning while I go insane
I don't know what.. I'm gonna do
And it's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all.. because of you
It's all because of you
There's got to be another way
Can't put my feelings out on display
I'm not like you, I ought to be
I'm not so good at getting what I needed
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all.. because of you
It's all because of you
You know me, I'm like the tide
I got a lot of junk locked up inside me
I don't know what I'm gonna do
It's all come to this because of you
Some kind of monster in me tonight
I got no weapon I can bring to the fight
I got no shoes on my feet
I got no rhythm, I can't dance to the beat, no
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all.. because of you
It's all because of you
Rhetorically, the song just blames someone and no solution is offered except in the negative -- "Can't put my feelings out on display" -- an attitude of which the song itself exists as a counter example. The secret to these things is that of course we have to put our feelings out on display, if for no other purpose than to see them in the light of day, because everything looks different out in the real world. The song has an evocative power of its own, but it is whiny and riddled with weakness. It's what you have to not do. Blaming others robs you of your power.
Now the dream images, in case you aren't familiar with them, include shoes, weapon, not being able to dance. The weapon is easy enough -- it represents your feeling of power in a given situation, and is related to teeth in this sense. Dancing is also easy -- it's a public expression of togetherness and not being able to dance exhibits a sense of alienation. The shoes, though, are interesting -- it's hard to tread your path without good shoes. As an article of clothing, shoes represent aspects we "take on" temporarily during our incarnation, in the same sense that we wear different clothes on different days. You will probably have had dreams that had to do with not having the right clothes or shoes for an activity, and these dreams speak of your preparation for the task at hand, whatever that might be. But shoes have a distinct function in helping to propel us in our chosen direction. Not having any shoes would represent not being able to tread the path, let alone being prepared for it.
Now back to the song and its sounds. I was pretty pleased with my production of this song -- it's clean and well articulated for the most part, though the mix may be unbalanced, pretty much an inevitability now that my left ear is suspect. The bass here is the Korean made Tobias. You can really hear the wood through the Bartolini Soapbars here. I think this song shows the bass off at its best.
The guitar fills were very interesting for me, because I just started playing them. During the section before the final "lead" I just started tapping the strings instead of strumming and it sounds very nice there.
I put lead in quotes because none of those lines are proper leads, they are just melodies stated and restated.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the tune.
The second song in the trio is All I want is to be with you. This one comes a bit closer to the idea of a Cars tune, except for the irritating repeating guitar in the left ear. I'd definitely tone that down in a remix. But even this one sounds more like a song from before the Cars existed than a proper Cars tune, with the vaguely Led Zeppelin bridge and instrumentation. The lyrics are pretty straightforward pop, though I will say that I conceived it as about the imagined audience and not about a girl. So the song is about what I would like to get out of my creative endeavors.
It doesn't take paparazzi at the window
I don't like a throng
It doesn't take an airtight alibi
I'll never be that wrong
It doesn't take a million bucks
I never want to be your ego centered self destructor
It doesn't take a fast car
don't want to pay the gas and I don't need to go that far
All I want is to be with you
I don't need a whole lot of prized possessions
I don't need fine clothes
And I don't need a 100 different pairs of shoes
All I need is just one thing I know
All I want is to be with you
Oh yeah
Feel like you're calling me home, yeah
I like to feel you next to me
And all I want is to be with you
I don't need artificial stimulation
I don't get that tight
All I know is the secret of anticipation is
If it feels right it feels right
All I want is to be with you
Pretty simple and plaintive, I'd say. There's a missed opportunity in the "All I know is the secret of anticipation" lyric. Those last two lines are throw away quality, but I've not been able to replace them with something better.
The last song of the trio, "If you don't have love" sounds least like a Cars tune, and continues with the critique of fame and fortune launched in the previous song.
What good is having fortune and fame
what good is being good at the game
what good that everyone knows your name
if you don't have love?
What good is having heap loads of power
what good is being man of the hour
what good is all the food you devour
if you don' t have love
Who would think that I might be mistaken
it's evident and plain for all to see
but the simple truths are easier forsaken
I would think you would have to agree
look at all the unhappy people
Listen you can take it from me
It's as simple as simple can be
there is no way to be happy
if you don't have love
Who would think that I might be mistaken
it's evident and plain for all to see
the simple truths are easier forsaken
I would think you would have to agree
look at all the unhappy people
What good to wear a crown on your head
what good is knowing everything said
what good is having breakfast in bed
if you don't have love
If I had it all to do over again, I'd sing it less with that strange inflection. I don't know if I'll ever get to recording a new vocal for it, at least with me singing, because it's such a chore to get my vocals right.
Surely you have realized that this might be the case by now..
It's a frustration for me, because I can hear the songs, but I can't really sing them. And I've not been very successful finding anyone to sing them for me. This is partly because I don't try very hard, and partly because of the nature of musical collaborations. Songwriters are plentiful these days, and most are only interested in doing their own stuff. Also, musicians generally hear the mistakes in a demo and stop listening pretty quickly if they hear too many, so it's in your interest to do the best job you can if you want to attract someone into a project. So my natural shyness and habitual sloppiness are a double whammy for me in this regard.
I do recall dreaming once that someone advised me to stop singing on my songs. Heh. I probably should have taken that advice! But I hear the songs with the lyrics and singing already intact. I feel like it's my job to get them out into the air.
Probably my favorite bit about this last song is the way it ends. I love that emphatic BAM at the end.
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