DEVELOPMENT This song came about from the merging of two separate ideas: I had recently decided I wanted to write and record a song in the style of the late Elliott Smith; and I had a song idea about a father and daughter surviving in an apocalyptic future. Given both are dark, and I won't go into the passing of Elliott Smith, I thought it appropriate to make them one project. I was late to the Elliott Smith party having first become aware of him after reading that Elliott Smith and Ron Sexsmith were two favourite artists of Neil Finn. There are several Elliott Smith hallmarks that I have used for this song: he often wrote in 3/4 time; he recorded his vocals very closely mic'd; his vocals were often doubled and mixed L and R; he used fingerpicking styles; often used major II and minor iv chords ; and basic drum patterns such as on Waltz #2 and Alameda.
If you are unfamiliar with Elliott Smith's work, my suggestions would be to check out 'Waltz #1', 'Waltz #2 (XO)', 'Alameda', "Behind the bars', 'Just somebody that I used to know'.
RECORDING SUMMARY Style is _FATIGUE.STY (Fatigue Sweet Songwriter Waltz)
RealTracks in style: 776:Bass, Acoustic, PopWaltz Ev 085 RealTracks in song: 4902:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm SongwriterPopWaltzJohn Ev 120 RealTracks in song: 3268:Cello, Background CelticWaltzNatalie Ev 100 RealTracks in song: 3652:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking IndieWaltz Ev 150 RealTracks in song: 2936:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking FolkWaltzFintan Ev 100 RealDrums in Song:PopRockWaltzModernEv,Hat2,Ride2: a: Snare, HiHat b: Snare, Ride
Vocals – doubled and panned 20% left and right B section piano – step input via Reaper piano roll using LABS Acoustic Piano plugin Simple drum pattern step input via Reaper piano roll using Cakewalk VSTi SI Drum kit Mixed in Reaper 7.6.2
LYRICS (Chord sheet attached) VERSE 1A It’s been a year since we’ve been on the road Scavenging for food, hiding from sight It’s cold and we labour with our load I repair my left shoe, not as good as my right
VERSE 1B We’re heading north, seeking sun, survivors on the run My daughter I keep from all eyes Bridges give us shelter at night, can’t trust no-one We’ve almost come to grief once or twice
VERSE 2A It’s not clear who started the war Some say it went nuclear, but I’m never sure How quickly the looters arrived Violence and bloodshed – the fittest survive
VERSE 2B I hope she doesn’t ask again, what happened to her mum I don’t think I could lie once more Thinking she’s alive somewhere, it’s all that keeps her going She doesn’t know she means the same to me
BRIDGE I know I’m not alone, but I’m tired and I’m scared With no place for home She needs a chance to shine, but it’s all on me I can’t look in her eyes
VERSE 3A There’s word there’s a group up near Watervale Who grow their own food, and know how to survive I hope they won’t turn us away Or at least take my daughter and keep her alive
VERSE 3B If we make it all the way, Jenny’s taken under their wing Even if they won’t let me stay Who’d have thought, not long ago, we were living in a dream Before our lives got blown all away
Last edited by Andrew Dee; Yesterday at09:38 PM. Reason: Drum kit added
Lovely song, Andrew. Quite nice vocals that cradle the lyrics beautifully. Like the backing band a lot. REALLY love the piano counter melody near the end--it's delightful.
Lovely tribute to Mr Smith, too. Gone too soon for sure. Your song also reminds me of the lads from Liverpool, who of course had a way with waltzes, too.
Great song!
Last edited by DC Ron; 11 hours ago.
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
My new favorite from you I think, Andrew. I like the concept of the song with the father and daughter surviving together, good idea, and executed well.
Good vocal, good band, and the simple drum part fits the song perfectly.
Lovely song, Andrew. Quite nice vocals that cradle the lyrics beautifully. Like the backing band a lot. REALLY love the piano counter melody near the end--it's delightful.
Lovely tribute to Mr Smith, too. Gone too soon for sure. Your song also reminds me of the lads from Liverpool, who of course had a way with waltzes, too.
Great song!
Thanks Ron. I was hoping my vocal sounded more like ES but alas, just sounded like me trying to sound like ES! Despite recording only 5cm from the mic capsule, and trying to suppress any plosives and keep my voice at a consistent level, I couldn’t manually compress my singing in a way that accentuated any inherent anxieties like ES does. Maybe I just have too good a life to be able to reproduce that? However, I think my vocal still has enough in it to illustrate a father’s pain yet trying to remain calm for the benefit of his daughter.
Thanks for your appreciation of the band and the piano part as well!
Originally Posted by BlueAttitude
My new favorite from you I think, Andrew. I like the concept of the song with the father and daughter surviving together, good idea, and executed well.
Good vocal, good band, and the simple drum part fits the song perfectly.
Also enjoyed your video, well done.
Hi Dave! Glad you like it. The drum sound ended up being better than I thought. I originally used the RealDrum track but found it didn’t reflect the sound that Elliott Smith used, so a simple ‘boom - hit - hit’ worked. It had a mechanical quality to it that sounded like a long arduous trek, and when I heard the kick drum played by itself, it reminded me of a heartbeat, so I decided to use that for intro and outro.
Regarding the video, I use Clipchamp and select a heap of suitable video shots from the library and compile and cut them. I had selected a clip of a footprint in sand, and when it came time that the father had to walk away and leave his daughter, that single footprint said so much - for me the most emotive part of the video.
Thanks for listening and watching!
Originally Posted by laurent4114
The video and the song manage to create a special atmosphere of darkness and resignation. It's very well done. Laurent
Thanks Laurent! In the video, I went monochrome to get the ‘gloom and dread’ of an apocalypse, but in hindsight, the section ‘we were living in a dream’ should have been colour. I tried to use a ‘less is more’ approach in the video and let the viewer imagine what is in between - I hope I succeeded. Let’s hope none of us have to experience this. This year, my wife and I became grandparents for the first time, and I hope our world heads back to sense for a long time so that my granddaughter gets to experience the same quality of life that I have. Thanks for listening and watching!
Not familiar with any of the names you referenced.(EDIT: i looked him up and oh, my, what a tragic and grisly story. Shame to see talent go out like that.) Your song reminded me of "The Road." (film or book). I like post-apocalyptic tales a lot and so I enjoyed your song a great deal. As always, I appreciate your creativity and always give bonus points for that. Fine outing here, Andrew, keep up the great work!
Last edited by TuneMonger; 21 minutes ago.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
I'm somewhat ignorant of Elliott Smith’s work, although I feel we’ve tried some of his material in the past, but nothing comes readily to mind. What strikes me most is the storytelling and the musical simplicity, although I'm sure it’s not as simple as it sounds. You’ve done an excellent job lyrically telling the story, I think this is one of your finest in that area. The lyrics kept me listening and interested until the end, I wanted to know how they were going to survive. All done without any repetition or a hook, but still keeping the listener captivated. The music was at a level that didn’t interfere with the lyrics but at the same time carried the story on. Beautiful in its simplicity. Vocally too, you were on form, a nice gentle melodic performance. Video was really good as well. This is/was worthy of several listens. Couldn’t fault it Andrew, so very good on so many levels. I dub thee Andrew the Songsmith!
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Despite recording only 5cm from the mic capsule, and trying to suppress any plosives and keep my voice at a consistent level, I couldn’t manually compress my singing in a way that accentuated any inherent anxieties like ES does. Maybe I just have too good a life to be able to reproduce that? However, I think my vocal still has enough in it to illustrate a father’s pain yet trying to remain calm for the benefit of his daughter.
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