Our Good Old Days

Were the good old days so good?

Our brother-in-law wrote what has become the definitive book on child labor (Child Labor: An American History - he later edited a large volume on world wide child labor). While recently reflecting on the book I wrote what is now the third verse of this song which then lead to four additional "verse vignettes" of the “good” days.

Thinking I might be on to something I asked floyd if he’d like to join in. He tweaked and polished my roughed out verses, rewrote the refrain and sent us a melody. After working together on the arrangement and mix this is the result. Oh, and floyd also added some fine harmony to Janice’s vocal

Comments are welcome. Thanks for your time to listen.

Lead vocal: Janice / Rodes NT1 > Scarlett 212 > Logic Pro X > Nectar 2
Harmony vocal: floyd / Nectar 2
Bass: RT 2474 Acoustic Held / Neutron 2
Guitar: RT 2879 Electric, Rhythm AmericanaSparseSlow
Pedal Steel: RT 2666 Rhythm LushChordsSlow
Guitar: RT 1037 Acoustic, Rhythm NorthernRockBallad / Waves CLA Unplugged
Drums: RD AmericanaRoots / Waves CLA Drums
Drums: Doubled snare from above RD file / Waves CLA Drums
Shaker: Logic Pro loop / EMT 140 Reverb sim

The bass, steel, electric guitar and drum tracks were comped from multiple BiaB regens

Mix: Logic Pro X
Mastering: Low end EQ shelf > Waves LinMB > Ozone 8 Adv Imager > Ozone 8 Adv Maximizer

OUR GOOD OLD DAYS
© 2018 Bud Merritt & floyd jane
 
They worked dawn to dusk in a dark underground
digging up shiny black coal, coughing up black lung
paying the price to keep a young america's lights on
then passing that life of misery on to their sons
 
we call em the good ol days
but think of what they might say
thank god you didn't live in our good old days
 
considered little more than their husband's property
they bore the next generation
they raised and fed and taught and tended who we would become
without a vote without a voice without veneration

we call em the good ol days
but think of what they might say
thank god you didn't live in our good old days
 
children at 8 and 9 toiling 16 hour days
robbed of any childhood working the mills
No school, no play, no free day trapped in a man made hell
just so the family could eat and try to pay the bills

we call em the good ol days
but think of what they might say
thank god you didn't live in our good old days
 
sharecroppers working land they’d never own
back breaking labor  broken only by the dinner bell
After each year's accounting sinking deeper into debt
they came seeking haven, just found hell

we call em the good ol days
but think of what they might say
thank god you didn't live in our good old days
 
No amount of money, no position could protect them
for the lack of a shot or want of a pill
the whole family taken by yellow fever
now a cluster of headstones on a hill

we call em the good ol days
but think of what they might say
thank god you didn't live in our good old days
 
what do you think our ghosts will say
about living in our good old days

Janice, Bud & Floyd,

This is absolutely outstanding... The write and production quality are off the charts - just a stunning sonic wonderland of texture and balance.

The performance by Janice is superb. I love the slow steady emotional build throughout and the supporting background by Floyd - pro all the way. The last note that Janice sings gives the word "days" that slight vocal flutter that is so beautiful.

A new favorite. Will go back for many listens...

Bob

Major!

an awesome song

so many good lines

and a super performance and mix


Kenny

This may sound odd, but the song was so good I couldn't finish it. Sorry. Unreal times, and your treatment of it was amazing. I've never thought of the "good old days" that way. Heartbreaking.

I hope it doesn't come across as offensive that I didn't finish it; it just brought me "there" a little too much. It's perfection, so don't get me wrong.

Written great, produced great, performed great...all expected, to be honest. HOWEVER, did you get some new gear or something? J's voice (which is always gorgeous) is SO present. Like, it couldn't be clearer if she was sitting right in front of me. Not harsh, though. Warm, inviting and clear. How? AND with all of the instrument present as well. I'm dumbfounded. That is a killer mix my friend.

I'll stop there; but what an amazing piece of work!

Yep.... another good-un. I like the introspective look back to the lives of the folks from long ago.
There's no doubt that the good old days are actually kick [*****] tough and it really helped to form the generations that had a solid work ethic and a love for the country in it's early years. There is no doubt in my mind that if you could ask them.... they'd all say they;d do it again. Even though things were tough, they were better than the old country, and they were free men here.

What I didn't like about the song: the key changes. The way they were executed left me kinda wondering WTHWT???? Probably could have been done in a manner that made them seem more natural and they might have worked better.

Still got that lazy Janice singing style that we all have come to know and love. The vox were nice. Even Floyd out there in the back.

Thanks Bob for every word you said and for mentioning the build...with no bridge or solo we had to rely on the drums, harmony and the two modulations for a build. I'm very happy it worked for you.

Janice rarely uses any vibrato so it's cool that you noticed the little bit of it on that note...I thought it faded well into the fading RT notes.

We most appreciate your time to listen and comment!

J&B

Great song and great message. Sadly in some countries this still goes on. Rob

Superb song... It makes you stop & think!
I enjoyed it immensely.

Bud, Janice, Floyd
Excellent message and a well composed and performed tune!

P.S. Every few years I take a ride to Scranton (PA) and take a coal mine tour. Couple of years back I took my son there. Like your song goes, in "good old days" they would hire young Polish boys to climb narrow shafts, where adults could not make it to excavate some of that "shinny black coal". Your song is a good reminder that sometimes we need to look back (and forward) on things critically.

Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Janice, Bud & floyd,

That was a musical treat and some hard hitting and thoughtful lyrics.

A beautiful mix, superb lead vocal and harmony, and a strong tune carry the insightful message.

I liked the key changes and all the production touches.
Excellent all round composition.

Peter

Janice, Bud & Floyd,

A good hard hitting clear eyed write.There`s some Woody Guthrie in the uncompromising lyrics.
The chorus is outstanding - posing the listener that question that gets to the heart of those stories.
I really like the gentle opening and the whole accompaniment is spot on. Very good harmonies and then, of course, Janice sounding like she lived through those times a little.
I`m on the fence with the modulations - they are a bit surprising; need another listen,
but its a fine fine song.

Robert

Glad you liked it Kenny and best to you on your 2019 musical journey. We look forward to your productions!

J&B

This is the sort of song that makes my inner six year old squirm, because as expertly done as it it, there's a lesson hidden in there!

It reminded me of an NPR broadcast I heard the other week about the return of black lung disease to coal miners. And that's only the first verse!

The writing was excellent, and the mix clear as always. But what really struck me was Janice's excellent singing - in particular, her emoting. Nice subtle harmonies.

The modulations felt abrupt, but they worked as intended to bring some change to the song, so... Can't really complain there, can I?

As always, a treat to hear.

Yep,
and today in the brick kilns of India, Pakistan & Bangladesh whole families are bonded workers employed for the dry season and loaned money b y the managers to get through the wet thus racking up more debt against their bond.
As a musical piece, the melody, harmonies and arrangement, it's ACE.
As a narrative it is superb.
As a life long rat bag unionist I say
Thank You.

A great song guys, in many different ways. Beautifully sung, and I loved the 'loping' drum pattern which fit so well. I found myself singing along with the plaintive melody.
Excellent stuff.

John

Wow! Hope you get back to it. Nothing new with Janice’s vocal fx - it’s a nectar preset that I’ve used with tweaking for years. My mastering chain has changed a bit and it may be the Waves LinMB that you hear. It’s a five band multicompressor that can really open up a mix.

Thanks for the great review and best to you this year and beyond!

J&B

Dear Janice, dear Bud. And of course dear Floyd,

this great song was long overdue.

Why do so many people get trapped by the thought that turning back time would make things easier for them.
Everywhere in the world the 'good old days' have always been only good for a few at the expense of many. Good for the strong at the expense of those not blessed with strength. For those who were born on the right side of the road... No, it's in our hands to make the future become 'the good new days' (although it looks like we have lost our way these days...).

And I'm afraid that I'm not the only one who has a tendency to block out the fact that lots of bargains we buy are still produced by children in the third world. They're still living in exactly those 'good old days'. But won't survive them for long.

Such a song is one little step into the right direction and Janice and Bud, I'm really grateful for it.

Needless to say that it's musically flawless and perfect like any of your songs. Janice, I said it before: I worship you for your voice, your soulfulness, the versatility of your paraphrasing, your endless musicality.

And as good as you may be even without Bud: It's him who lets you sparkle even more - Bud, I love and admire what you do.

And there ain't nothing good that couldn't become even better with Floyd being involved.

So good, so incredibly good !!!!

Love,

Stefan

Thanks Herb. Glad you mostly liked it Janice appreciated your description of her vocal. Best to you in 2019 and onward.

J&B

Gee,that's a wonderful song ...powerful, gripping, while most listenable at the same time.
Special meaning there, for me. Though born to the New England mill life, I spent many adult years in mining country, from W. Va. and S. Ohio to MT, CO, and NV. I remember how kind and gentle the neighborhood moms and pops always were, in spite of the hardships. As a side note, those folks prove that strong and righteous communities can be built about anywhere, if the will is there. K-12 were good times.

Excellent all the way around. Great lyrics. Great melody.

This is not only an excellent vocal performance, but excellent vocal interpretation. Great lyrics that fit in with the rhythm of the song-- there is no what I call "over stuffing" of the lyrics. What a pleasure to listen to!

Thanks y’all. Yes it is sad that it still occurs and is certainly something to consider. We appreciate the listen and comments.

J&B

The Song, least we not forget.

The singers, brilliant job.


The arrangement, pure pro from start to finish.

Man! You guys have outdone yourselves with this one. Really good writing! Told the story well I think.

And Janice, man, that tone! Just so rich. I've said this before, sometimes she reminds me of Linda Ronstadt, and this is one of those times. Harmonies from Floyd are tight and perfect.

Modulations were unexpected but cool, I liked the first one especially.

Nice way to kick off the new year, very much enjoyed!

It is always a pleasure to write with Bud.
It is always a pleasure to hear Janice (sing ANYTHING!) and to sing along.

Thanks for the kind words. And for your info on the mine boys...very sad.

J&B

We appreciate that Peter. You mentioned all the points that we worked to achieve!

J&B

Thanks Robert. It’s interesting that you mentioned Woody Gutherie. I had not thought of that.

We appreciate your kind remarks regarding the write, the arrangement, the harmony and Janice’s vocal. She does “live” the songs she sings.

Hey, maybe I can get you off the fence with the modulations

The modulations are intended to “wake up your ear.” We felt that In this case, it is especially important that the listener be “woke up” – these are issues to be reckoned with – and it is easy to be lulled into a “comfortable place” if it flows too well for too long - Janice’s voice can have that effect And with no solo or bridge we felt they were even more needed. Actually the “abruptness” that some have mentioned was the intended effect.

Best to you and yours for 2019 and on and on!

J&B
.

I watched recently a document series called American Epic. I can see how well this song fits that American music tradition. In the context of this song, I noticed how great AmericanRoots RD really is. Excellent mix and heavenly singing, Janice's voice really gives me chills here.

Janne

David, Thanks for that link! Yep, those modulations were intended as a "wake up" from the somewhat gentle flow of the tune. Janice really appreciated your remarks about her vocal. I (Bud) have often compared her to a method actor. She will do what floyd calls "living with a song" until she's ready to sing it and then it's almost always one take. She feels that additional takes would loose something each time. Dunno. But it seems to work for her

We appreciate your reviews and support over the past year and best to you this year!

J&B

Feel like I just read The Grapes of Wrath again!! It is my favorite book! Really excellent write. It is nice to live in the days of good medicine and reliable working conditions. Recently, someone was talking about life expectancy 80 to 100 years ago. We have it pretty soft now. Great one guys.....class production from the tip of the pen to the mastering plugin!! Take care. Greg

Janice, Bud & Floyd,

Really good song, I had to listen to it twice to get it all in... very good work from all of you. It was like getting a late Christmas present from somebody who really cares.

Some people here are mentioning the modulations - I loved the first one! The second was maybe one to many, but it didn't spoil my overall feeling of listening to 3 great artists!

Will

And we thank you. I passed your comments along to my brother-in-law who wrote the book I mentioned. He’s a retired labor relations professor and very much a union guy!

We appreciate the review.

Dear Ms. Janice, "Bud", & Mr. Jane...

My father's father was a sharecropper in Arkansas. One day when I was a kid I did something wasteful, such as leaving lights on in a room that I was no longer in, or ran a glass of water from the kitchen faucet, took only a few quick gulps, and then poured the rest of it down the sink, or used too much toilet paper, or didn't finish eating my dinner, whatever; it was any one of those things. My father caught me at it. "Sit down over here, son", he said sternly. I did as I was told. He looked down at me, straight into my eyes, and for such a long time that I realized that I was in serious, serious trouble. Often in the past, when I knew that I was about to a receive professional a**-whoopin', I would attempt to delay the unavoidable deed by insisting that I had to go the bathroom. Not so this time. I was so fearful that I think my bladder zipped itself up and went into "output delayed by severe stress" mode.

But amazingly enough, my father only wanted me to listen to him, to attempt to make me understand what was wrong with what I had done.

"Son", he began in a firm, measured tone, a severe look on face, "if only...if only you knew how hard we had to work for the things you throw away so easily". He held up his hands to show me the scars on his fingertips and cuticles that came from picking cotton as a youth. "You don't know...", he said in a voice that was suddenly choked-up, his eyes beginning to tear-up, "...you just don't know". He couldn't finish speaking. Probably because he was embarassed at showing such strong emotion in my presence, he simply turned and walked away.

After that moment, I am pretty sure that I never did the wasteful thing that had aroused his anger, or any other such misuse of household resources. Never forgot that scene, obviously.

My father was not a "child laborer" in the way you all described it in your song, but the song immediately un-anchored that memory from the depths of my mind and caused it to float to the surface. So, indirectly, you folks excavated some sure-enough strong emotion out of me through listening to "Our Good Old Days", and as far as I'm concerned, that's the first job that a song has to do, and you did that.

Mighty fine work, folks, migh-ty fine. Thank you,

LOREN

The good old days weren't as good as we like to romanticize about! This one is packed with truth! Excellent work by all involved! A great song! Thanks, Torrey

We appreciate that John and thanks for mentioning the drum track!

J&B

Thanks to all who mentioned my part in this. Appreciate your time and attention...

Stefan, we very much appreciate your positive and supportive review of our song. I will pass your comments along to my brother in law who inspired the song. Your time to both listen and offer such thoughtful comments is very meaningful to us.

J&B

Janice, Bud & Floyd ...

My comments for the next few days will have to be brief as my wife just returned home from the hospital (twice since Christmas) and needs lots of attention. I apologize for the brevity but it's necessary. Thanks for understanding!

The "good old days" ... as long as you weren't the one doing the "good old work"! As my good friend Stefan said ... we so easily forget so much of what we buy is made by folks still living that lifestyle. Stuff they make but aren't paid enough to even think about buying it.

As usual, everything about this is so professional and just shines like a diamond under light. Simply amazing and so damn good!

Alan

Hello Janice, Bud and floyd.



This is SUCH a well put together song! Kudos to everyone involved.

Janice sings the lyrics so effortlessly and so engagingly that all I could do was to sit here, fully focused and mesmerised, and listen to the story of yesteryear and those 'good old days' unfold. The prosody of these lyrics is outstanding. Each syllable is so comfortably placed on musical notes and their inherent beats that I felt no tug-of-war between lyric rhythm and the rhythmic stresses of melody. I find this advanced level of marrying words to melody very hard to achieve. When I listen to "Our Good Old Days", though, you make it seem as easy as falling off a log.

As I've already said, kudos to all. This is a truly wonderful listen that provoked a great deal of thought and made me reflect on just how lucky we are these days. There's so much we take for granted!

All the best,
Noel

Thanks Ed glad you like it!!

J&B



Thank you!

J&B

What a good song. I love the unsentimental tell-it-like-it-is (was) lyric.
The voice and harmonies are great, while the production is WOW!
Cheers,
Mike

Very meaningful.

What was the "good ol' days" for some, was a time of exploitation, subjugation, prejudice,etc. for others.
something to think about.

"You know the good ole days weren’t always good
And tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems" -billy joel


-rob

Yes, love those vowels.

Thanks! You mentioned pretty much everything we were attempting to accomplish and we much appreciate that!

J&B

Hi guys,

We love those story telling songs you create!
A real genuine feel to it and thoroughly professional as always.
Keep up the good work!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thank you! And we appreciate you mentioning the vocals and the arrangement.

J&B

Hey Dave, Bud here, I can’t begin to tell you how overwhelmed Janice was by being mentioned in the same sentence as Linds Ronstadt. Thank you!

J&B

I've been away for several weeks due to extremely busy schedule both at work and home. But some things haven't changed around here. You guys are still cranking out some really great stuff! This one has a great delivery of a very powerful message. Extremely well done!

I'm glad to be back, and really glad to hear this one!

Steve

Jane, thanks for listening and giving the context of the documentary. And Janice very much appreciates your mention and kind remarks about her vocal.

J&B

Beautiful vocal Janice. Lovely collaboration. Perfect mix. Very cool story. Very neat chord progression in the middle of the song.. Some very nice harmonies as well..

Really awesome!

Sounds great y'all. As I am saying to others, sorry I can't be more loquacious. I am listening to everything but these next six months are mad crazy with my work, so I will just have to listen and say I love it.

Please bear with me during this time.

Great will mean great. I am listening.

Thanks Greg for your appreciation of what we were trying to say! Like that tip of the pen to the mastering plug-in

J&B



Thanks Will...we are glad you enjoyed it and appreciate your time to listen....

J&B

Janice, Bud and Floyd

What a sensational subject for a must be told, and must be remembered situation.

Everything about this is a masterful creation.

It's a shame that they weren't actually good old days.

From a delivery point of view: What a team. Excellent.

I (Bud) grew up similarly. My mother would save slivers of used up bar soap for melting down into new bars! And lots more...

We are so glad you like the song!!!

J&B

Thank Torrey and we are glad you liked it and felt it was truthful.

J&B



Thanks Alan for taking the time to both listen and offer such a thoughtful review. We do appreciate it!

J&B

Noel, your support AND your thoughtful insight is ALWAYS greatly appreciated. This is no exception. Thank you so much!!!

J&B

Mike, thank very much for your comments!

J&B




Rob, you are so right and we are appreciative of your insight and supportive remarks. Thanks!

J&B



Thanks Marty!

J&B

Thanks y’all! We appreciate the support very much.

J&B





Thank you Steve! Glad you’re back and we’re loving your new song.

J&B

Thanks Scott. Glad you like the harmonies!

J&B



Thanks David. Don’t work too hard.

J&B




Thank and we are glad you appreciated the subject!

J&B

I checked out your sound cloud page, and man you guys are very talented. I love a lot of your songs. Are all these songs composed with "Band in a Box?" You guy are top notch. I have seen you on this form several times, and listened to the stuff you performed on this forum, but this is the first time I heard your sound-cloud page and you guys got some great stuff.

Janice & Bud, did you use just BIAB to compose these song, especially "Our Good Old Days"?

Thanks for the kind words! All of our songs on SC and YouTube use BiaB RT’s/RD’s along with tracks played by our collaborators and occasionally by us.

We and/or our collaborators write the lyric and melody and develop the the chord progressions and song structure. We then use BiaB to create a “band” with RealTracks and RealDrums to back what we have written. After we generate our backing tracks we move them to a DAW for mixing and further arrangement. So our use of BiaB is to create those backing tracks based on our developed chords.

BiaB is such an amazingly complex and diverse program and are so many ways folks can use it beyond what we do.

Cheers

J&B