I wrote this song I Should Have Lied five years ago and it is still one my favorites. I really wanted to hear it sung by a real singer, so I hired again Christos from Supreme Tracks to do the vocals. His voice really fits the song.

Band-in-a-box does the great work yet again, that tenor sax is really beautiful. I had some troubles with #896 guitar playing Gm7b5 chord, sometimes it sounds like a discord to me, I couldn't fix it even in Melodyne, so the problem is probably between my ears :-) Maybe the bass sound could have had a little bit funkier edge, but I like how the RT #683 plays, so I left it there.

I made also a video for the song using mostly watery clips from my collection.

RealDrums: NashvillePop16
RealTracks:
12 string acoustic guitar #896
Electric Bass PopHalfNotesPush #683
Electric Guitar Dire #509
Electric Guitar Arp #695
Acoustic Guitar Strumming #793
Cellos #1856, #2509
Acoustic Piano #811
Sax Tenor #587

MIDI Tracks: Strings from style CR_BETH through GPO

Mixed in Adobe Audition.

Lyrics:
Words as the language of clues
so many of them left unsaid
buried under the hustle of life
but could have given a much tighter grip of
the life's mysterious thread.
Even a simple white lie
an intentional Freudian slip
throwing a match in a dry conversation,
burning my dreams or lighting a fire?
Something you wouldn't skip.

I should have lied to you
maybe it could have made you stay
I didn't love you I knew
but I could have learned it some day.
I should have lied to you
thrown you a breathtaking lure
that budding rookie in blue
never had guts to mature.

We used euphemisms
avoided uneasy grounds
we never looked the bull in the eye
we managed to sleep through the moment of youth
now the mistake rebounds.
I was a painter of skies
you were a migrating bird
the summer was over, prudence was poison
rivers ran wild but the lakeside was silent
not even a dishonest word.

I should have...

I should have...

-----

Janne

Janne

What a really great number. The vocals are clear and nicely mixed. The song is quite interesting, what a great theme. I especially liked the lyrics, well thought out, careful interesting rhyming, poetry in fact.

And strings sit nicely in the background.

The sax solo slotted in so well, so too the sax background, and the migrating birds and ocean sitting behind. An interesting 'natural' touch.

You must be pleased with the result.

Congratulations

Trev

Hi Janne,

I agree. The singer's voice really suits this song. You chose well. Also, the melody and the harmony are terrific. Nice!

I compliment you on the backing, too. What you've put together is fantastic. It's very easy to tell that the tracks have been assembled with a great deal of thought and consideration. The mix sounded just right on my speakers.

Regards,
Noel

• latest song: Walk With Me

Ha, while I was listening, I thought to myself "Noel will probably like this one for sure!", especially given the hard work, thought and design I know that you put into song lyrics. I wasn't wrong. It's a really good number eh?

Janne, This reminded me a little of Donald Fagen. Some really great poetic lines and a cool arrangement. I know this took some time to put together and I congratulate you on a fine production. Tom

I agree! The mix is excellent. Interesting lyric - a bit cryptic at times, but that's part of what makes it interesting. The chorus is especially nice.

floyd

Really beautiful!! Sweet chord progression with a melody that rolls along so nicely, and crafty and somewhat mysterious lyrics. Singer is awesome-reminds me of a more mellow Stevie Wonder. Mix and arrangement could not be better. Awesome stuff!! Take care. Gre

This is really a top notch write and production. I think the vocalist did a superb job for you. This is an excellent mix and arrangement and everything fits so nicely together. Very professional.

Charlie

Hello Janne,

This is a fine and professional musical arrangement!
The vocals suit the song very well.

Rob and Anne-Marie

A big PLUS ONE from the two of us.
Nice!

J&B

Janne,
This a great production. The chord changes are so interesting and I love the arrangement. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
SpaceDog

Thanks Trev, Noel, Tom, floyd, Greg, Charlie, Rob & Anne-Marie, J&B, SpaceDog for liking and your kind words. Yes I'm satisfied with the result. I made the first version in 2010, and started reworking this spring, added cellos and changed couple of lines in the lyrics. Such a great pleasure to update your song with new RealTracks, I'm sure you know the feeling I think the hardest work was when I thought one word for a week I'm still not fully satisfied with that word (metaphor for mind in the nature...), but maybe some day I'll find a better one.

Janne

Janne,

This is really nice. Well written song, good arrangement, choice of instrumentation. And the vocals really shine on this one. Good job.

Steve

"an intentional Freudian slip"... is there such a thing?


But I still like that phrase...

cool song and a good mix.

+1

Josie

+1.

And the strings were nice too!