This is a cowrite between me and David Snyder.

We have been kicking the idea around about writing something together for some time. He sent me the outline for this song and some lyrics for verse 1. We kicked some things around and this was the result.

There's parts of 17 tracks in this.

Drums Rock sw 16
Bass 784
B3 675
Banjo 1579
Guitar 625
Guitar 878


Live tracks include several acoustic and electric guitars including all leads. There are 5 vox tracks layered in the mix.

The song is about war and the casualties that result both physically and mentally. PTSD is serious business. Every day, according to statistics, 22 veterans take their own lives as a result of not being able to cope with it.

Whiskey for Breakfast

Here's the lyrics:

Whiskey For Breakfast

It’s been the same way in this world since the dawn of time
When the first man said this land here is mine
He picked up a rock and there was blood on his hands
A curse on the ground his brother dying on the sand

They called him Johnny Reb and he wore that name with pride
It was brother against brother some fighting side by side
Antietam down to Vicksburg marching to the devil’s den
After all that time still wondering where the hell he’s been

Whiskey for breakfast they say it’s a sin
But they’ve never seen the places that I’ve been.
I’ve been dreaming about mountains and faces of the dead
I’m drinking whiskey for breakfast, until these nightmares end.

Nightmares that haunt me in the middle of the day
Closing my eyes I can’t chase them away
Some came home and some remain just names on a wall
Walking down a busy street I feel the darkness call

Whiskey for breakfast they say it’s a sin
But they’ve never seen the places that I’ve been.
I’ve been dreaming of jungles and faces of the dead
I’m drinking whiskey for breakfast, until these nightmares end.

In the devil’s sand box you can’t tell friends from foe
Death is waiting for you, everywhere you go.

Whiskey for breakfast they say it’s a sin
But they’ve never seen those places that I’ve been.
I’ve been dreaming of deserts and faces of the dead
I’m drinking whiskey for breakfast, until these nightmares end.



Hope you enjoyed this song.

Herb & David

Great production - superb sounding mix and performance.
Strong lyrically and musically. Excellent guitar parts.
Really well done.

Peter

Hey Guitarhacker, This is brilliant! I really enjoyed the progression. The Vocals have a nice tonality to them too! Well done!

Excellent collaborative work team H & D

A great set of lyrics, and a powerful delivery.

Everything was just really great. The guitar work shone through also.

Herb and David,

The overarching sound that you've created via the arrangement and the mix is first class... spacious, powerful, and a great fit for the lyric content.

I thought that the VVCVCBC format was an excellent choice for the unfolding narrative (V=verse, C=chorus, B=bridge). I particularly liked the way you used the short interlude at the end of the bridge to set up the final chorus.

What really got me thinking was how you arranged the verse using essentially two chords and in what sounded like E natural minor to me. Then, when the chorus arrived, you launched into the relative major of G. The feeling and the lift that this key change carried with it was noteworthy. How you used instrumentation to capitalise on this is a credit to your arranging skills.

An excellent listen! I was mesmerised for the entire 4+ minute's journey.

Regards,
Noel

Man, what a great song!

Lyrics are very well written, love the vocal, and the guitar work is emotive and tasteful. Production is just stunning, totally pro all the way.

Sounds radio ready to me, well done!

Top notch on every level. A nice collaboration. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Charlie

Peter and Joe..... Thank you both for listening and commenting. David has been a friend of mine for several years now. We're both members of the Nashville Songwriters Association Raleigh NC chapter. We've been half-heartedly discussing the idea of writing together for much of that time. Recently, we renewed that interest and I asked Dave to send me something. He sent an idea a few days later in outline form with a partial verse. I let it set for a few days before starting on it. The rest of this was a quick write. We bounced it around, edited, changed things, and this was the result.

Glad you like it.

Hi Herb and David. This song is a great collab.

Great lyrics and performance and the chorus is full and powerful. Some sweet guitars in there too.

Nice listen thanks.

Cheers.
Mike.

David and Herb,

Good collab, guys.

Good lyric - the opening 4 lines and the chorus are especially strong. Good arrangement and mix. Well done.

The chorus comes across as especially powerful. - Marty, US Army Vet.

Video track.... Thanks I'm glad you enojyed the song and the guitar parts.... Yup... I loved playing that solo. So simple.... yet.... it fit perfectly.



Noel, thank you for the kind words. The structure of this changed several times. We had 3 verses but that put this closer to 5 minutes. Way to long. I scrapped the structure and rewrote V3 to be a short bridge that covered more recent events. That keeps it just over 4 minutes. Acceptable length for what this is. Em is correct. I actually asked Dave about the "happy sounding" Gmaj in the chorus. Since we didn't have any brilliant ideas, we left the G in there. Thanks for coming along on the journey. Dave was the one who suggested starting it sparsely and I wanted to end it that way too... just didn't end up that way, but that "interlude" was what it needed to break it up a bit.




Thanks Charlie. Glad you enjoyed it too.

Great job! Love your voice and the delivery/interpretation of the lyrics.

Radio ready. Could be a hit!

Great write guys, I really like the arrangement
and overall feel of the song, very nice vocals.

Kenny

Herb and David,


This is excellent. Loved the guitar work.


Regards,


Bob

Did we enjoy that?
Man, this is super! Such a power sound and superb vocals Herb.
It would fit right into a Tarantino movie.

Excellent collaboration David and Herb

Loved the lyrics in this song. Vocal and guitar were excellent.

Soundclick Website Charts position
» highest in charts: # 1 (67,911 songs currently listed in Country)
» highest in sub-genre: # 1 (3,835 songs currently listed in Country > Country-Rock)
» today's position: # 1 in Country
» today's position in sub-genre: # 1 in Country-Rock


Cool.... too bad it's not the official Bill Board charts.

Dave, thanks. I really enjoy the production part of creating something new in the musical sense. I always look at the song and ask myself what can I do to make this unique?






Mike. Thank you for listening. Glad you enjoyed it.





Floyd. It means more than you know to hear you say that. Thanks




We wrote this for the guys like you who have been there and see that and came back.




Jerry. Thanks.... it would be too cool to have a radio hit.

Well as I like to say: "The people don't lie." And "the clicks don't lie." #1 out of 67,911 is kinda hard to argue with Herb.



But I knew this was gonna happen the first 12 seconds in when Herb sent me the final mix. My jaw dropped open. I am simply astonished at what he has done with this song after we kicked around the original idea. My prediction is that this song is gonna go viral.

To my ears, the sound that Herb has concocted here is incredibly fresh and "new."

I often get confused when I read certain posters who say "it's impossible to get a truly modern country or indie sound" [or whatever] using Band-in-a-Box.

Well, I guess that depends on who's behind the board.

Sounds to me like Herb just did. Awesome job man.

Kenny, as I pointed out above, yeah, the arrangement kind of evolved with time. It started out much different from what it is now, Thanks for listening and commenting.






Bob, always a pleasure to hear from you on the songs. Thank you for the compliment on the guitar work.




RnAM, A Tarantino movie..... how cool would THAT be? Thank you both for listening.





Scott, lyrics are very important to me. If they can't tell a story and evoke emotions, then that is a song that never sees the light of day. I'm glad you liked what you heard. This was a really fun write. David sent me a really cool idea and the outline so it was almost easy to write this rather quickly.

David,

This song wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for your initial idea, first rough draft verse and outline for the song. Thank you for sending this to me.

This was a fun project, and you were easy to work with on this, with the advice and ideas you provided from start to finish, we crafted this into a pretty cool song.

Thanks

This is a good write.
Imagery is there and the tempo and instrumentation fits the subject and lyrics.
To me....the delivery of this one is reminiscent of Charlie Daniels/Marshall Tucker back in the 70's.

It can be challenging to write convincingly on a subject as personal as this one is.

Well done all around.....good collaboration.

Carry on.

Superb song, and about somthing really worthwhile writing about ... compiments guyz. F

It's hard to add to what's been said. The production has the open sound that the two of us really like. No mud, everything on the sound stage has it's place and works together. The write, the vocals, playing, RT choice are all standout.

Kudos to both of you!

J&B

First all the compliments and charting is well deserved. They are happening for the simple fact that this is a really cool song all the way around.

I totally agreed with RnAM's comment that this could be in QT movie! It would definitely set a scene!

I have to ask, who came up with the title? Such a great title! I drew me in! I will admit, I figured it would be slightly dark, but it was darker than I thought the song would be. Not a bad thing, but you nailed me with it!

To me, from subject to delivery it has that Neil Young thing going for it. That's saying a lot!

So glad I listened. It was WELL worth it!

I wanted to comment separately on this.

I agree 100%! It's almost like saying "this guitar can't get a truly modern county sound." lol...ok...

Thanks for pointing this out David!

Herb / David,

This is a great sound! The song, production and vocals all work so well...

Congrats on an excellent collaboration.

Bob

Chulaivet1966 Thank you. MTB & CDB were among my biggest early influences in country rock.




Fiddler2007, we thought the subject was a good one too. Getting the story right was the hard part.






Janice & Bud, Thank you both for listening.

HTL: That would be David. When I saw the title and the first verse draft, I knew this would be a dark song. Due to the nature of the subject matter, and knowing some friends who have had loved ones commit suicide after serving in the service, I opted to treat this as delicately as possible while still dealing with a gritty message. At one point, swerving towards the darker side, I had the sound of a revolver closing and hammer cocking in the dead silence at the end.... but took it out for obvious sensitivity reasons.




redean: Glad you liked this. Thanks for listening.

"guitarhacker", and Mr. Snyder...

"Whiskey For Breakfast" is a call for confronting squarely a societal problem that hasn't been solved , and a raw and messy one, at that, concerning those who have "fallen" by their own hand. It could be subtitled, "Don't Look The Other Way".

About a year ago, I read an autobiography titled, "Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of A Marine". It was written by Tyler E. Boudreau, a veteran of the Marine Corps Infantry who after twelve years of service in Iraq and elsewhere, left the force and wrote his story. Ten pages from the end of its two-hundred and twenty-three page length, he revealed to me the thing, the heart, the center, the core out of which the phrase "war is hell" is exposed and explained:

"Combat stress is close to my heart. I'm emotionally invested, so I tend to get rankled in discussions about recovery. I get rankled by all the apparent confusion. 'What do you think all this rage is about?' I ask. 'Where do you think the stress comes from?' It doesn't come from the blistering hot days on the parade deck, or the long deployments away from home, or the tough training, or eating too many MRE's. It comes from trauma. It comes from witnessing, and participating in, extreme violence..."

"Violence will always be bad for the soul", he wrote a few pages later. 'Nuff said.

You have got to get this "out there", pronto, gentlemen. There'll be a lot of awkward silence and nervous throat-clearing, a lot of eyes not meeting the gaze of another's eyes, wherever and in whatever space the listeners of your song may occupy, but I believe that's what you would want, what you wrote it for.

Pete, Woody, Dylan, Joan, and others who walked down this path in their songs would encourage you to do the same thing, I'm sure.

LOREN

Hi Herb and David !:))


What a superb tune so
delicately performed and
produced ! I liked everything
about it, melody, performance,
message, singing, playing
and mixing !

Excellent co-operation !

Cheers
Dani

Dani thank you for listening.

Loren, you nailed it on this tune. I don't think this originally started to be a song about this topic, but it kinda turned out that way.

It's a crying shame how badly we treat the patriots who were willing to serve their country while at the same time we give all sort of benefits to those who are here illegally and from countries that hate this country... it's just wrong. Our sons and daughters should ALWAYS come first and get the best care whether it's physical or mental.

As I mentioned previously, I know some vets and their families who have been personally touched by the suicide of a returning war veteran. And trust me when I say it's not just the men who are committing suicide. The one I knew the best, and personally as a little girl who used to go camping with us. Something Shannon saw or was involved in was just too much to deal with and she took her own life with a pistol.

Yes, this issue is long overdue to be addressed.

"guitarhacker"...

I am deeply sorry that you, personally, have had the experience of losing someone affected by war, directly, or indirectly.

That's all the more reason why "Whiskey For Breakfast" should have a larger audience. I don't know if songs have in the past, or could in the future, change things for the better. But, at the very least, a song could inspire the individuals who listen to it, to think about things he/she/they may have consciously avoided thinking about.

I tend to listen to "User's Showcase" songs without reading the composers' notes about how she/she put the song together. I'd rather read the technical stuff after I listen to a song.

So, I assumed that "Whiskey For Breakfast" would be a humourous song about drinking alcohol. But I knew that assumption was dead-wrong as soon as I heard the music, which was stirring, and had tension in it right from the git-go that signaled something of import was coming down the tracks. The "hook" to the song is its music. The music could be the "coating" on the "pill" (the "message") that calls the listeners' attention to it.

Also, the fact of you saying that you didn't forsee the song developing with the topic that ultimately formed its substance means -- to me, at least -- that your own conscience felt it was time for the issue to be treated in a musical fashion. And if it came out of you, then it could be in the rest of us, just waiting to be "called out" by a song.

LOREN (a.k.a. "bluage")

This is really excellent! Very strong write. Gotta agree with the Soundclick charts. #1 in my book.

Very important message. I live just outside of San Antonio, and see a lot of disabled vets. They've given so much, and been through so much. PTSD really is a terrible problem. Thanks for writing this and sharing it.

Steve

Steve, thank you for listening. As a veteran myself, and knowing quite a few from various eras, it's something that is important to not only those involved closely but all Americans. These men and women should be the first ones we help and they shouldn't have to be begging for help.

Again thanks for your time.

I wonder how the meaning of whould change if you had change the name of guy from Johnny Reb to someone like Jim Beam or Jonny Walker.

Herb and David, great collaboration! Powerful lyrics and performance all the way around. Take care, Torrey

Wow this is a really professional write and production. A big 70s style lush song with a great narrative. Difficult to pull off with all the elements in the mix but you did, with elan. Well done!

Jumping in a little late here... collaborations are some of my favorite songs, so thank you very much for working together and posting this tune!

I'd posted this song as the Hot Forum Topic on Feb 20th, but forgot to post my praises here in the thread - sorry about that!



Callie

Torrey,

Thank you for having a listen. Glad you dropped in.

Nice compliments, thank you.

Callie, thank you for commenting... I missed that you posted this as the "hot topic"... dang, I hate that I missed that one.

Really Really excellent song!! Some great lyrics from a couple of great song craftsmen. Really great job on the vocal Herb. This is some great stuff!! Take care. Greg

Herb and David,

Terrific collaboration! You guys really nailed it. I (Alan) can relate with a lot of this from 15 months in Vietnam. Fortunately, not many nightmares.

Everything is perfect on this cut. You two should be proud of this ... great song and equally great performance. Take a bow!

Alan & Di

Thanks Greg. Appreciate the compliments on the vocal and the craftsmanship in the song.

Alan,

Thanks. I think anyone who has been in the service to our country feels this song on a deeper level. If not us, we know someone who walks that path.

Very powerful.
Very professional.
Nice collaboration.
Great lead guitars.
Much enjoyed.
Cheers.

RichMac.... concise and to the point. Thank you.

Hi Herb n David,
I can only reiterate what the others of said.,
Every song I have heard of yours is top quality but its the chord progressions lyrics and vocals that puts you in a class of your own.

A great colloberative song.

All the Best
Paul

Paul, thank you for noticing the chord progressions and lyrics. And thank you for listening and commenting.