The Way It Rolls

A rough and ready 60's sounding song inspired by Dylan about the way it rolls.

Leon Lyric & Vocal
I played guitar and sang a little.

The Band:
RealTracks in style: 2576:Bass, Electric, SurfRockSyncVintage Ev 165
RealTracks in song: ~690:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 165
RealTracks in style: 2574:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SurfRockBrent Ev 165
RealTracks in style: 2575:Guitar, Electric, BackgroundSoloist SurfRock16thsBrent Ev 165
RealTracks in song: 1752:Accordion, Rhythm Pop8ths Ev 110
RealDrums in style: SurfRockDoubleTwo^01-a:Snare, Ride, b:Snare, Splash

The Way It Rolls

Mama’s in the kitchen
Cooking up a scandal
Papa’s in the music room
Listening to Handel
Bobby joined the military
Gonna be deployed soon
Told him to be wary
But he listens to his own tune

Always was a loner
Got his own religion
She offered me a taste
And I said maybe just a smidgen
The next thing I remember
I was waking up in Byron
Would’ve put a shirt on
But I couldn’t find the iron

Some days
Oh, yea, some days
That’s the way it rolls
The way it rolls

Blackbird in the garden
Looking for a worm
Mama said for what he did
She’s buying out the firm
Handed him a whistle
Said blow it if you like
But I’ve organized the workers
And they’ve all gone out on strike

Drove up to the big house
They stopped me at the gate
There’s no telling what the likes
Of you might perpetrate
Told them I was harmless
Unlike the guys inside
They said we have our reasons
But they never specified

Some days
Oh, yea, some days
That’s the way it rolls
The way it rolls

Donny he’s a sly one
Got his eye upon the ladies
Says come on over here my dear
And look at my Mercedes
See that big old hotel?
Got another twenty like it
Reveal my little secret
If you promise not to bite it

He swore it was consensual
Even though she pleaded
That she didn’t want to
Wasn’t something that he heeded
Power is seductive
Everybody knows it
The way that I have prospered
Surely that must show it?

Some days
Oh, yea, some days
That’s the way it rolls
The way it rolls

Down the street this morning
A marching band came proudly
The Council told them sorry
But you mustn’t play so loudly
You know there is a reason
Why we have these regulations
And why we must enforce them
Though nobody is complaining

Love is not the issue here
It’s all about our freedom
To call a spade a spade, you know
The masses we must lead ‘em
We all support democracy
When it suits our purpose
But if we don’t agree with you
The whole things is a circus

Some days
Oh, yea, some days
That’s the way it rolls
The way it rolls

Came here for a respite
Now the place has been invaded
Just as well I met her
Or we never would have made it
Slipped across the border
When the shooting had abated
Some folks like excitement
But I think it’s overrated

Mama told me with a sneer
That I was adopted
Thought I had some allies
But they all have been co-opted
The money was so good, they said
They couldn’t really say no
The planes are flying overhead
Carrying their payloads

Some days
Oh, yeah, some days
That’s the way it rolls
The way it rolls

Yeah!

You had my attention right from that great intro.

Love the Dylan vibe! Man, Leon can write! Great lyrics.

Tasty guitar work throughout and enjoyed the outro solo.

Nice work Peter and Leon!

Peter/Leon,

Cool. Excellent. Good write. Pictures in words. MAN! that's a lot of words!!!

You really captured that 60's sound! Terrific backing. The guitar worked perfectly...

(I thought the vocal was a little too loud compared to the instruments)

Y'all need to make a flash-cards-in-the-alley video!!!

fj

Nice work on this The Bob Dylan vibes are definitely prominent here, which is never a bad thing in my books! Love the groove, and your vocals and lyrics are both spot on. Thanks for sharing!

Peter & Leon,

I like the way the loosely raucous backing fits the mood of the lyrics ( can`t get all the images to stop blurring, but that adds to the fun!).
And it does sound like you both had fun.
Yeah, you can just see/hear Sir Bob doing this in one take in some country hangout with a cast of great musicians.

Robert

Great, great lyric. Oozing irony and will still be relevant 40 years from now. Don't know if that's good or bad.

I think I could "hear" the smile on your face. Not sure if it was just trying to keep up, or relishing what you were singing. Your play and tone were equally irreverent.

Much enjoyed.

I absolutely love the vibe this song has! Such a lovely groove. Thanks for sharing!

Hey there PeterF, I admired the overall vibe on this. Excellent mixdown on all of this and a solid key signature choice too. That guitar really does shred! Very captivating lyrics. Thanks for sharing!

Wow Peter, this really captures that vibe from the era you described! I remember those days! Great job on every part of this production! Thanks, Torrey

Thanks a lot Dave. Was interesting fitting in all those words.

Peter

Peter and Leon,

From the first note, you had my undivided attention! This song is so full of energy that I could see lightning flashes shooting out from it.

Leon, I take my hat off to you... I don't know how you managed to write s-o-o-o-o-o many words and maintain listener interest! I was totally engrossed in the lyric content and just kept on wondering what was going to happen next!

Wow! You've both done an incredible job creating this one.

All the best,
Noel

This sounds great - a really good song and lyric but the vocal seems to be too hot or clipped on recording or it could be clashing with the crashes.
I love the guitar licks too.

Channeling the Dylan thing for sure.

There are more cool rhymes and lines in this one song than I could write in a year. And no doubt, as with us, many of those lines resonated with lots of folks.

The, as Robert said, "loosely raucous" backing really nails that period when Dylan moved to the electric side of his catalog. And your guitar nailed that feel also.

Superbly cool you two!

J&B

Really cool song. Boy those were excellent lyrics and just an incredible delivery. Well done Leon. Guitar work was just perfect for the song. Some excellent harmonies there as well. Well done

Thanks floyd - need to find the right alley way...

Peter

Thanks Deryk.

Peter

Appreciate the comments Robert.

Peter

Hello, Peter

Nice 60's feel rock sound!
I feel the earliest Beatles on the guitar and drum.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Cool poppin' tune! And love your guitar here


much enjoyed!

Thanks for the review much appreciated.

Peter