Surely You Jest

This soul-crushing lyric seemed to me to need musical intimacy, SOooo...

One style, four instruments, one solo vocal. Pretty naked and raw, but that's what we do for our art. smile Used rests and holds to vary the instruments heard in each section and hopefully provide a gentle dynamic flow. Kept thinking of Neil Young performing "Needle and the Damage Done" live with just him and a guitar, just because any other treatment of the song would impinge on the moment.

RT 4818 offers some nifty pushed changes, which aren't exactly how or when I would play them, but they sound nice just the same. The first push is in the intro.

Edit: Changed the final chord based on Andrew's input (THANKS!). BiaB wouldn't produce a long tail on the hold I wanted, so I left it at one bar. But that lingering chord needed to trail off, SOooo...I played the final chord, matching the sound of each BiaB guitar as close as I could with the amp sim and additional EQ.

THANKS in advance for any listens and comments!

R.W. Davis: Lyrics
Me: Music, arrangement, vocals, guitars, mix, master, kleenex
AI: Still no

Style is _JUNIOR.STY (Junior Steady Indie Folk-Rock)
RealTracks in style: 1522:Bass, Electric, PopPower8s Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 4818:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SteadyPushMuted ev 110
RealTracks in style: 4519:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking IndieFolkAlt158 Ev 100
RealDrums in style:Americana16GroovinBrushFred^1-a,b:Brushes,Toms

On final held chord:
Guitars: PRS SE Zach Myers, Fernandes MIJ Strat clone
Amp: Line6 Spider V 30

You meet me at the door
We go to your room
And it’s just like before
You wear your costume

You say it’s good to be
Together at last
But it just feels to me
We’re stuck in the past

Oh, but surely you jest
I gave you my best
But I guess that wasn’t good enough for you
Get it off of your chest
If you have to confess
It wasn’t a contest
Please just give it a rest
You can say you were stressed
Oh, but surely you jest

You call me on the phone
And say such sweet things
But you can’t be alone
Cuz loneliness stings

And you do stupid things
That make me upset
But when my phone rings
I try to forget

Oh, but surely you jest
I gave you my best
But I guess that wasn’t good enough for you
Get it off of your chest
If you have to confess
It wasn’t a contest
Please just give it a rest
You can say you were stressed
Oh, but surely you jest

Sometimes you want me so bad
Then sometimes you’re so so sad
I can’t keep up with your mood swings
And all the times you’re pulling my strings
Like I’m your puppet
I’m not a puppet!

Oh, but surely you jest
I gave you my best
But I guess that wasn’t good enough for you
Get it off of your chest
If you have to confess
It wasn’t a contest
Please just give it a rest
You can say you were stressed
Oh, but surely you jest
Oh, but surely...

Last edited by DC Ron; 05/04/25 04:53 AM.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
StudioCat DAW dual screen
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)