I'm a big fan of the classic "cry in your beer" song.
I was listening to some Ricky Van Shelton...he did a bunch of great ones:

Statue Of A Fool
I'll Leave This World Loving You
Somebody Lied (perhaps my all-time favorite - or a tie with Vince Gill's "When I Call Your Name")

No one does these anymore. It's a shame.
So...figured that I would.

My usual duet partner joins me to take this to another level...
(if you don't like hard-core Country... pick up your marbles and go home, 'cause you'll HATE this!)


LEARNING

well i never thought that i'd be learning
things this late in life
what i'm finding out
was never taught in school
you promised me a lesson
that i wouldn't soon forget
you proved that you can even
teach a fool

   i'm learning how it feels to be alone
   gaining first hand knowledge of the empty
   that few have ever known
   it's an independent study
   i've done the work all on my own
   i'm learning how it feels to be alone

had a lesson on sunday mornings
without you by my side
another on just what tears are for
it's a test to see if i can sleep
in this king-sized bed alone
i don't want to have to learn any more

   i'm learning how it feels to be alone
   gaining first hand knowledge of the empty
   since your heart turned to stone
   it's an independent study
   i've done the work all on my own
   i'm learning how it feels to be alone




I LOVE that BIAB includes RTs to bring these type songs alive!

Style is _BMCS128.STY (Country12-8 Pno w GuitSolo[65RS])

RealTracks in style: 533:Bass, Electric, 12-8 Crystal Sw 065
RealTracks in style: 2167:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm Country12-8John Sw 065
RealTracks in song: 1883:Piano, Acoustic, Soloist Country12-8John Sw 065
RealTracks in song: ~529:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Hank Sw 065
RealTracks in song: 627:Pedal Steel, Background 12-8 Crystal Sw 065
RealDrums in style: Nashville128^01-a:SideStick, b:Ride

Harmonies: Janice Merritt

You are the best, girl! And thank you, Bud...

Comments encouraged. Tears are optional...
Have at it.

floyd

You've captured this classic sound perfectly. Reminds of riding in the back seat with my Dad driving with his Miller in hand listening to George Jones on the radio. Beautiful harmonies. Love it!

Kenny

Holy George Jones Batman! As a born and raised hardcore Rock and Roller (I'm 68 and from Brooklyn!) I weirdly have had a special place in my soul for this kind of tune and your right, it's almost a lost genre. THANK YOU for this one, it took me back to a great place musically and for that I am grateful. Outstanding production values, meaningful lyrics and a great job all around.
Rick

WOW well done!! Its gorgeous! Perfect classic country! I can just imagine this in a movie

floyd,

Damn!!
A stunning country song sung with such conviction as usual.

I can imagine you two singing this on stage, with the audience gently swaying to the wonderful tune, both of you deep in the words.

LOVE the stops/ emphasis, under the lyrics in chorus " all on my own".

This is an excellent lesson in classic country, beautiful.

Amazing that it is 3.55 'cos it goes so quickly and deserves many plays.
It's a lovely day in Wales and so the door was open and the amp wound up so the neighbours can appreciate it also.

I whole heartedly agree, Janice's voice is astounding and compliments yours so well.

All in all that deserves a standing ovation to all involved!

time for another play.

floyd, and Janice, you keep getting better with each song. How do you do it????

Alyn

Great classic country feel with this one. Nailed it.

The icing on the cake would be a promo photo of you and Janice dressed circa 1970 in polyester and complete with the hair-do's standing in front of a wall with a huge NASCAR poster of David Pearson and Richard Petty dueling for first place coming out of turn 4.


Charlie

I have to say, your lyric writing is great, but your delivery makes it even better.

I always love your inflection!

Great song. Well performed!

Thanks for the share!

Great song. I guess Learning is the one thing we never grow too old to do. I like it.
Carolyne

Hi Floyd,

though I'm not the biggest fan of hard-core Country
I didn't run away. The delivery is too good.
Vocals and harmonies are great. And the drums
sound is fantastic.
I drink my beer out of the bottle so it's hard
to cry into it.
But I enjoyed it a lot anyway.

Guenter

For my taste, old school country music has to be really(!) well done for me to appreciate it. Well, your track is really well done!

You and your great singing partner sing the song with great heart and conviction, and you accompany the vocals with an instrumental backing that is both tasty and tasteful.

I find this kind of genuineness much more appealing than the more commercial so-called 'contemporary' country music. It's real, and it could be part of the the soundtrack to a Larry McMurtry novel.

Beautifully put together. Great vocals.

Thanks, Kenny... driving with a Miller in hand... those were different times, weren't they (oooh.. that all sounds like the start of a song!!!)



Hi, Rick... nice to see you drop by... and always nice to see a rocker appreciating cry-in-your-beer Country! Thanks...

Its so easy to appreciate your delivery... your voice is such a good match for the genre, but unlike anyone else's... you have a totally unique signature sound.

And your collaborations with Janice are exactly right every single time... the two of you have a musical chemistry that just works. I'm glad that this forum has brought this musical team together, and I suspect you have a lot more great songs to come yet!

But even a sound as good as yours could potentially get tiring if you didn't keep it fresh... and your secret freshness ingredient is lyric writing.

Some people get lucky and come up with a really clever concept... some get luckier and craft the lyrics to the concept just perfectly.

But you have that special knack for doing it every single time! You are one of the rare song writers who has achieved the state of "conscious competence" in which you don't have to rely on luck or epiphany... you KNOW what works, so you can reproduce your victories.

In this case, I really liked the various ways you developed the theme of "learning" and tied it into the topic of lost love. Just MASTERFUL!

Being a beer lover, I love the "tears in your beer" feel!! Floyd, this song feels like it was born an old classic. Arrangement is great (love those piano accents) and the harmonies are out of this world (knew who that was before checking the credits)! Everything works great. Enjoyed much (as I expected I would)! Take care. Greg

Fabulous Floyd. I love this stuff.
Always thought that simple music well played (and presented) was the most fun.
Nice keyboard. Makes me feel like drinking. Cheers.

As Charlie so eloquently said: Nailed it.

Floyd, this is definitely another keeper, as is everything you do! Your voice is subtlety unique and pleasant. Your diction is clear and concise, very easy to understand.

+1 for "nailed it!"

I guar-en-damn-tee-ya... now that right there is country music the way it's supposed to be.

All good from the first note to the last.

I really liked the subtle BGV ... reminded me a lot of the songs Janie Fricky used to sing backup on. Of course Janie was a great country singer and a star on her own.... but her backup work is simply stellar. This reminded me immediately of her work in years past.

At close to 4 minutes, you didn't have a lot of spare time to do other stuff, but I could not help but think, this would have really been superb with a short half-verse solo featuring a fiddle lead. But it is what it is and time is of the essence in songs.

My only hope is that this style of country music makes a come back at some time. They seem to be heading in the opposite direction following along behind pop trends..... but we can still keep it alive by writing great "new" old country songs.

Good melody, good structure, good vocal performances, Great job on this.

this music will be alive for a long time to come... in live performances. The world of live music is a completely different animal than the world of radio music. Music festivals exist primarily to keep the old stuff alive. And there's a reason why so many bands play the same songs: they just don't want to play the new stuff

There is much inside talk that says it is in the process of swinging back... it may be 6 months to a year before it begins to find it's way to the public (radio) - the "country rap" thing needs to finish it's run first - radio is typically a year lag to what is currently being written and recorded... But we may see the "story song" return down the road...

(it will likely be "different" than what it has been in the past - some type of "evolved" story/furniture song - an mix of what it used to be and the "new stuff" all jumbled up... time will tell...)