I knew Ginny when I was 23 (-ish).
(I had a bit of a crush on her)
She was about 10 years older (which is a lot when you are 23).
There was always a bit of "sadness" to her...


DINNER FOR ONE

thirty-five is a cruel age
for an unmarried woman
when the years just refuse to slow down
she's grown tired of the quiet
but she's used to the freedom
and there's no suitable partners around
   
   so night after night
   she falls asleep
   on the couch with the tv on
   it gets too hard to make
    a king-sized bed alone
   and why bother with dinner for one

the friday night drinkers
are overweight and balding
and leave their wives at the p.t.a.
the boys on saturday
are barely out of high school
and seldom have anything to say
   
   so night after night
   she falls asleep
   on the couch with the tv on
   it gets too hard to make
    a king-sized bed alone
   and why bother with dinner for one

a fifteen year old dog
a seven year old cat
in opposite corners asleep
she's got work in the morning
she should turn the tv off
but it keeps her from thinking too deeply
   
   so night after night
   she falls asleep
   on the couch with the tv on
   it gets too hard to make
    a king-sized bed alone
   and why bother with dinner for one




The BAND:
RealTracks in style: 366:Bass, Electric, Country Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~2200:Guitar, Nylon, Background CountryBrent Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1595:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Pop8thsSteady Ev 065
RealTracks in style: ~368:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~1676:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 1728:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm PopBalladJohn Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 2335:String Quartet, Rhythm PopHall Ev 085


Comments welcomed.
Hope you like it.

floyd

FJ - you the man!

If marriage is something you are striving for in your life, I think 35 would be a hard age for anyone—male or female.

The song definitely reflects that sense of loneliness and desire for a companion effortlessly. Great job.

Hi Floyd.

You really are a masterful storyteller.

I once knew someone who fits that description, with an outward show of confidence and an underlying sadness. Maybe lots of us have met her at sometime.

Before I listened to the track I was intrigued by the end of the waveform on Soundcloud and wondered what you'd been doing there. The ending was worth waiting for.

Another classic in the Floyd style, with professionalism written all the way through.

Cheers, ROG.

Floyd,

So much beauty and tenderness... Outstanding lyric, vocal and production. Loved it.

Bob

Floyd,

Very effective storytelling wrapped up in a simple but just right backing.
Liked the strings at the end and harmony vocals.
Very nice work all round.
Peter

Another gem from the master "FJ", great lyrics and composition.

Floyd,

Di and I were contemplating the lyric to this one for a few minutes. We kind of came to an agreement - you are a contemporary Tom T Hall. Writing a simple song that resonates is one of the most difficult tasks a songwriter can attack.

A great song is a great novel in a hundred words or less. As you anxiously anticipate the next page in a thrilling novel, you savor the expectation of the next line of the song. You've written a masterpiece, Floyd. But, this is just one of many.

I can speak from both sides of that fence. As I think you know, I also write novels (3 on Amazon now and three in the works). Every time I sit down to start a new novel, I write a song about it first. Nothing formal or worth posting - just a reference for myself. It's better than an outline and challenges me to to turn 85 words into 85,000 words and say, more or less, the same thing.

The strings at the end of your song were an unexpected but pleasant surprise. And I think I you've captured the dilemma of an unmarried woman of that age. This was a real pleasure to listen to. Thank you.

Alan & Di

Beautiful heartfelt story in your lyric Floyd. Super vocal and backtrack.

pure quality in every way ,great story and production.always love the sound and the depth of the vocals .thank you FJ

Well this kind of wraps it up ;-)
We might add that you are one of the most talented and productive songwriters here on the forum and this song clearly demonstrates that again.

This must be your 120/130+ song?
Cool!

Rob & Anne-Marie

Dan! - thanks for stopping by...




Ember - Thanks. I know this is sort of a "dated" perspective - it reflects "the way things were" 40 years ago... it was a different time and things have changed greatly since then... (in good ways and bad)

I love the ending!

didn't wanna forget to mention that

Such a good write, I know that you've mentioned before that

you usually write words first and then add music, sounds like

that's maybe the case here. Your music choices and melodies

never disappoint. I think that's the weakness of most lyrics first

writers, not enough attention put into the rest. I've said this before

but you lay out the blueprint for all of us, the deep background, attention

to little details, I care about your characters.

At first I thought it was too abrupt jumping to the Friday and Saturday night

guys mentioned and thought maybe that you had trimmed some lines out.

I listened again and it works well as her assessment of "what's out there".

We're lucky to have you here, you're like our own "Deacon" and we're

just Reyna waiting for more inspiration.

I use the tv to keep from thinking bout too much a lot.

loved it,

Kenny

ROG - thanks for that... As a songwriter, I was a "story teller" before anything else (later moving to a more "commercial" angle), so it is nice to have that made note of. Glad you found the ending appealing...

Floyd,

Another great version of the subtly gut-wrenching, quietly understated reminder that so many human beings as Thoreau said "lead lives of quiet desperation."

I agree with the Tom T. Hall comparison, very apt. I was reminded of that too.

I liked your choice of RTs for this. Well done. Excellent story telling as usual as everyone has said.

Hope you have a party blast for July 4th and write a song about drinking, cussin', hollerin' and screamin' and howling at the moon for pure drunken joy and kissing every pretty girl in town next.

Throw a Telecaster in there too and turn it up to 12.

Floyd,

Your long history of home runs makes it difficult to think up new comments! I hope what follows doesn't sound like I'm trying too hard! ;-)

As always, I like the way you take everyday elements (ie. dinner and making the bed... topics with which any audience can identify...) and spin them into pathos, making them uniquely applicable to the person in your story. The net result of this approach is that the audience gets a glimpse into a daily routine they've never lived themselves. That's interesting.

And when it comes to pathos, nothing says it quite like strings. I thought your decision to add an extended passage of "strings only" was the perfect segue between the story and the listener's reaction to it. I imagine it to be the functional equivalent of the way one's thoughts wind down as they lay on the couch, drifting off to whatever is on TV, after eating a frozen entree... alone.

On a completely different note:
I thought Ember's opening comment was interesting: "IF marriage is something you are striving for..."

More and more, I think marriage is not as compelling to either gender as it once was (but for differing reasons.)

I'll go so far as to say that in some circles this song would generate kickback because it relies on certain stereotypes that are no longer universally accepted (and in some cases, strongly resisted.)

It's becoming harder to write stories and songs that resonate with a wide audience. Society is not only divided politically, but also in terms of social norms... and that really intersects with the spectrum of topics that are typically addressed by music as a form of social commentary.

I just love your voice.

Great vocal, one of your best I think, and great harmonies too.

Love that little lick that plays under the "suitable partners around" line, fits perfectly.

Love the story, great lyrics as usual, and man, that ending! Not expected but very cool indeed.

Hey Floyd,
This is very nice. Really like the instrumentation. That nylon guitar sounds great! Good write. Your a machine!

Greg

Hello, floyd

Very beautiful song with sadness.
I do not quite well understand nuances because the lyrics are English, but this is beautiful.
And your vocal is really fitted to this tune.
The band with a small organization is very preferable and strings at ending are very cool.
Very enjoyable listen.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Bob - thanks, man... as you so often do, you said a lot in an amazing few number of words...




Thanks, Peter... appreciate it...

The back story coupled with the lyric I found interesting. It's easy for the listener to assume those where her true feelings...yet they are filtered by the 23 year old writer of the song.

I also find a strange kind of ironic fate in all these years later Ginny is still be written about by a boy she may have assumed didn't have anything to say.

Am I reading WAY to much into this? Probably. But for me, the contrast of the two is what rings truest for me as a listener. Cautionary tale? nah. Two star-crossed lovers...not really. It's not that dramatic...thankfully! Itjust felt real. I like real!:)

A great write and performance. Very good imagery. I agree with others that your vocals on this one were outstanding. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Charlie

Steve - nice to see you pop up again! Thanks for the listen...




Alan & Di - Thanks for such a nice review. I do appreciate it. Alan - I went to your music site expecting I could find links to your books - why aren't there any?

Floyd, I have no idea how you can come up with one masterpiece after another with each one being different but outstanding! Man I wish I could tell stories like you can. As always everything is perfect in this one.

This is a keeper.

Thanks Scott. You are a great supporter of this forum - a special part of it...thanks for that, too...

Brad - Really appreciate that. Thanks for stopping by...

Thanks, y'all! Such a nice thing to say... y'all are pretty danged talented yourself! You made me realize... I need to go do a new count...

A true story for many, many folks out there Floyd. You captured it very well here! As J&B said, very sad! Great write/production/performance as always. Thanks, Torrey

Kenny, thanks for such a thoughtful review. Saying the you "care about the characters" is very satisfying for this type song. Actually, most of my writing is lyrics and melody at the same time. (Although I've done some "lyric first" and recently done a few "music first" - which I find the hardest to do...). Now if only I was a good looking as Deacon...

fj,


Well done. Brevity being the soul of wit.


Regards,


Lefty

Mr. Snyder... I always love a review that includes references to both Henry David Thoreau and Tom T. Hall!

Not sure I can do a full-out party song, but let's see if there is a chance of getting some of those elements in the next one... drinkin' an' hollerin' and kissin'... and that Tele, of course....

I like how you put that. "Story" songs should "take you somewhere" - a place or a feeling - and do it without "hitting you over the head". It should be an "easy telling" that doesn't get in the way. It shouldn't be cliche or contrived - just "natural"... hopefully that happens here...



The BIAB string quartet is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for this application. Generally, I use a String MIDI Supertrack for background strings, but the quartet was just what I wanted for this....



I did address Ember's IF comment in my response to her. This IS a somewhat "dated" concept/perception. At the time that I wrote this, it was a lot less so - though it was evolving at the time. The world has changed - dramatically. Of course, it seems that at least half the country would like things to return to the way things were in 1955 - regardless of how maniacally crazy that might be. So there are, likely, still plenty of people who are raising their daughters to still think this way. Some evovle, some don't. Different strokes... Personally, I consider this a "snapshot" of how things were at the time...

Almost forgot to mention... this is also about the "ticking biological clock" of wanting to have children. That angle still holds for the most part...

Thanks for such a thought-provoking commentary, Pat!

What a nice thing to say, Marty... thanks.




Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it. That lick is, of course, all BIAB "doing its thing". We are fortunate to have such amazing software to present our songs...




Glad to see you drop by, Greg... That nylon guitar track is like the cello RT - they both work in SO many situations...

Shigeki Adachi - Thank you for such a lovely review.

WOW!!!!! You can word up a song like nobody else! Such Feeling in your vocals, like ya mean ever word!!!! What young man hasn't lived a simularish story, but you paint a incredible picture (as expected) that has a lasting memory! You Da Man! Floyd!!!!!! But kin ye pairodee? Wanna have a Pairodee-off? lol I wouldn't challenge the Kang of Wordin Up!!!!!! lol

Caaron - Can't ask for a better note than that a song comes across as "real" - especially for this type song. Not intended to be commercial at all (which are often less-than-real by design) - but to document a moment in time hoping that other can relate in some way. It is intended to reflect the view point of the 23-ish writer seeing an "older woman's point of view". Thanks for seeing it for what it is and noting that...

"Another great version of the subtly gut-wrenching, quietly understated reminder that so many human beings as Thoreau said "lead lives of quiet desperation."

David sorta set the piano on fire and walked off the stage. That one sentence says it and damn eloquently at that.

Non intellectual, intellectual, pseudo intellectual, poetic, not poetic -- anybody of about any ilk can relate to the pathos in this write and the powerful vocal performance that delivers it.

Janice says the imagery is so strong she readily pictures the folks in the bar and her at home....yep.

Immerse all the above in a high bar fj production (wonderful outro) and you've got in our opinion one of the strongest songs posted in a long time.

Kudos mr jane!!

J&B

As always the production is flawless,the vocal excellent and the story telling sublime.Quality again again and again thanks FJ

Thanks, Charlie. Appreciate that. About time for another from you?




Mario - thanks for such nice thoughts....

Thanks, Torrey!!!

Now this is my kind of country! I can feel this one tugging at my heart - you brought an amazing vocal delivery from the soul. I can literally hear the sincerity in this. Thanks so much for sharing, Floyd

From the King of Soulful Brevity, I'll take that as a huge compliment.





Tommy - Thankee for that! No way I'd touch that Pair OD stuff - you are too far ahead to ever catch. But feel free to write a song called "Pair OD"....




Y'all are just too kind... thanks for such a great review.....

Brad - thanks for stopping by...




Deryk - what nice things to say.... sppreciate it, Deryk...

thirty-five is a cruel age
for an unmarried woman
when the years just refuse to slow down

Great opening for a portrait of loneliness!! This is such a well-crafted song. I love the vocal effect which has kind of an empty hall sound and the strings playing alone at the end. Such an artistic song, in creation and delivery. Wonderful Floyd!! Take care. Gre

Was thirty five for a whole year once.
Some thoughtful lyrics here.
You aint lost a thing since I was last here.
Excellent.
Rob

Well written song presented in a super soundstage! The vocal performance and production may be my favorite of yours so far. The vocal occupies a space so all-it's-own - it's remarkable.

Great listen!

floyd, Good story song! We all must have a lot of songs that are waiting to emerge from past experiences. You certainly did that memory justice. Excellent in all regards. Tom

I thought this one was done... but it keeps popping up...



Appreciate that, Greg...



Rob - good to see you around again...



From a guy who sings the way you do, I'll take that as a huge compliment. Thanks, Lawrence...



Ah. to be young again.... Thanks, Tom. Hope you've had some good vacationin' lately...

Hi, Floyd !


I recognize the woman
you are singing about !
It is truly sad but your tune
is right on the spot and
describes that woman exactly !

Super tune so superbly
put together and produced 1

Cheers
Dani