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Description:
Two new friends on iComp, brothers Paul (lyrics) and Ed (music), wrote this song and asked me to sing it. I'll let them explain the background of the song.
Paul: I always thought a "woman in a bar" had such neat dynamic to it, this is the first song in a trilogy on this theme. I wanted to write about a woman who was comfortable in her environment while being very desperate and lonely at the same time. Joanna really brought this woman to life on vocals, and Ed gave it the perfect coaster to ride on with his guitar and mixing. Thanks to all!
On iComp they are UncletupeloFan and enicholsIC.
Part two of the series can be found here: Whiskey Neat, Water Back and Part three is here: Wine Into Water
Lyrics:
Lyrics by UncletupeloFan:
Another gin and tonic, please
Do you think I can bum a smoke?
Tell me that you’ve no disease
Or at least that nothing’s broke
You know, I’ve never seen you in this place
Do you think I have a pretty face?
And if you want to be alone, well that’s alright with me
And if you want to take me home, well that’s alright with me
Momma worked the double shift
At the factory, mining salt
Was thirteen when I saw them drift
Daddy said, it’s not your fault
She doesn’t mean all of those horrible things
Someday soon, you’ll fly away on golden wings
Hey, if you want to be alone, well that’s alright with me
But if you want to take me home, well that’s alright with me
They fought about who would keep me
Then betrayed me with a kiss
The next time they would both see me
Bandages on both my wrists
Packed up my memories on a Greyhound heading west
It feels good to get it off my chest.
And if you want to be alone, well that’s alright with me
And if you want to take me home, well that’s alright with me
Like a ship without a rudder
I’m a kite without a string
Always landing in the gutter
So much for my golden wings
Lord, if you’re out there, I could sure use a little hope
I’m at the end of my rope.
But if you want to be alone, Lord, I sure understand
And if you want to take me home, please take me by the hand
Yeah, if you want to be alone, well that’s alright with me
Hey, bartender – another gin and tonic, please.
Hardware:
Whatever everyone has.
Software:
Ditto.
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nobody does this better than you!! &mdash 04/07/06 - 12:56:56 PM
by the time you got to the sigh.... i was in tears!! what a fabulous song, beautiful guitar, clever and moving lyrics and the best voice artist that i know to sing it!! thank you joanna - you and the clever and talented paul and ed - me?? i'm off for another gin and tonic!! thank you, thank you - all three of you xoxox [ Reply to This ]
Another one ..... &mdash 04/07/06 - 03:06:53 PM
... goes into my Joanna Folder .... a heartfelt and beautiful delivery of this song .... my only tiny quirk ... that constant hiss (I get this same problem in ALL of my songs ... and have NO idea how to fix it without losing the integrity of the vocals ...... ) - I'm not sure if the hiss is in the song ... or if it is something that is coming out of my headphones. But I still downloaded it and will listen to it over and over again ... hiss and all. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for the wonderful tune &mdash 04/08/06 - 12:22:01 AM
This is brilliant &mdash 04/08/06 - 12:49:19 AM
Incredible songwriting; and Joanna's voice is perfect for this. I'm really
knocked out by it. For some reason, a lot of MJ songwriting is weak on
lyrics, but these are diamonds. [ Reply to This ]
:) &mdash 04/08/06 - 01:04:47 AM
i didn't hear the first take, but i imagine i'd like this one more if it's the
pulled back one.
very subtle, but gorgeous singing. ahhh... feels good to get it off my
chest. how lovely!
the song's great, too - and the guitar's just beautiful.
i can't wait for the next 2? [ Reply to This ]
:) &mdash 04/19/06 - 02:00:55 AM
&mdash 04/08/06 - 04:09:52 AM
Wonderful! &mdash 04/08/06 - 04:24:32 AM
Oooooh ... lovely sweet vocal. You're so good at the raunchy blues stuff
it's great to hear that you can do sweet and tender with equal aplomb.
The guitar tone is lovely, the playing is lovely and the songwriting very
solid. A great job all round! [ Reply to This ]
What a voice! &mdash 04/08/06 - 05:17:55 AM
Husky, gin soaked. I can't think of any voice that would match up to this
soul wrenching ballad. Yipes, I was in a sunny spring mood, now I just
want to go down to the local watering hole and pull some tired doll out
into the sunshine, give her a hug, tell her everything is gonna be all right.
Paul, Ed, Joanna, all time. [ Reply to This ]
Touching &mdash 04/08/06 - 05:38:20 AM
This is a great song, Joanna, and you perform it well. You have the
right mix of sincerity and pathos in your voice to really carry this off.
Guitar work is beautifully understated.
The universal human experiences of loneliness and longing for
companionship and affirmation are well-portrayed here.
John [ Reply to This ]
very very kool &mdash 04/08/06 - 09:08:05 AM
i can envisage an independant film based on this story......great
storytelling and gorgeous delivery ms. S..........the small guitar solo was
very soulful.....loved it! [ Reply to This ]
wonderful &mdash 04/08/06 - 10:00:42 AM
What a voice, what a story teller...
great stuff.
This is wonderful all round. Its perfect. Great tune and totally beautiful
vocals. I can see you at the bar.
Amanda
xx [ Reply to This ]
Awesome! &mdash 04/08/06 - 02:06:12 PM
This brought a tear to my eye. Positively heart-rending. Beautifully and
empathetically sung. Crisp and understated guitars mixed to near
perfection. Thanks so much for this collab.
Be well! [ Reply to This ]
Nice Collaboration &mdash 04/08/06 - 02:12:10 PM
Really like your voice on this Joanna. Musically the guitars and melody
are also very nice. Always love to hear a new song with your voice on it! [ Reply to This ]
thoughts from the bull... &mdash 04/08/06 - 09:58:44 PM
paul and ed have writ a wonderful and microscopic cultural
commentary. it's got a hot focal point that taps into just about any era,
yet remains contemporary in what it's saying. beautiful lyrics!
instrumentally, this song has two options. one, in that a piece of this
caliber deserves much more attention that it's getting. there is a lot of
room here for complementary colors, which would not only impact the
musical depth of the piece, but heighten the power of the voice and
lyrics as well. perhaps a distant banjo, a light, tattered brush on an old
snare drum, even some ambient sounds to fill those spaces in that
background.
the second option, instrumentally, is to stay right where it is. stripped
and bare of all complementary color; it's a black and white portrait that
is only defined by select shades of gray. in keeping it this way, the
song has a haunting drama about it. my musical ear cannot help from
filling in those spaces with sound, especially during the break, but to
an ear that cannot tell, the spaces act in a positive/negative fashion
and create an subconscious tension. this, again, is part of the drama
the song plays out.
vocally, there's not much i can say what hasn't been said. it's a piece
that i'm sure you'll find the more you listen to it yourself, and the more
you sing along to it since recording it, you are going to hear 800
variations in your style of how the piece could be sung. it's that kind of
song. and with your voice, it will be like putting chocolate syrup over
chocolate ice cream.
stunning job, as always. your consistency always wins me over, and the
team-up is a wonderful match! nice job, gang. and thanks! [ Reply to This ]
i cheated. . . &mdash 04/08/06 - 11:38:25 PM
i loved the lyrics so much i read ahead. . . i couldnt stop myself. Im
terribly sorry! lol. Amazing. Thank you for sharing. [ Reply to This ]
Sigh &mdash 04/09/06 - 03:47:08 PM
Very nicely done. Not the usual Joanna style of song, but you did
wonderfully here too. Nicely written and played music, and great lyrics,
Paul & Ed. I'd have preferred a final guitar strum for the ending instead of
a fade.
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
nice. &mdash 04/09/06 - 10:43:56 PM
I really enjoyed this one, Joanna, Paul and Ed. Reminded me of
some of the more reflective tunes on Loretta Lynn's latest album.
Quality stuff indeed! [ Reply to This ]
Gritty &mdash 04/10/06 - 02:46:36 AM
Great low key delivery with imbues these fine lyrics with the right amount
of gin soaked world weariness underpinned with angst, delicately played.
KK [ Reply to This ]
Well… &mdash 04/10/06 - 05:39:58 AM
… this is not my typical kind of thing and, like Boris, I naturally
want to fill in some of those musical spaces with something. But
that's me and the song doesn't need it… the lyrics and the
performance make it. Congrats to Paul, to Ed, and of course to
Joanna. [ Reply to This ]
Great stuff! &mdash 04/11/06 - 12:49:41 PM
Great vocal performance, every drop of emotion is right there in each note - great song, but you certainly made it real and brought it to life! [ Reply to This ]
Nize! &mdash 04/11/06 - 03:35:05 PM
Great Chorus &mdash 04/11/06 - 11:45:07 PM
I think your chorus makes the song. I'd like it to be doubled to four lines because it's so damn good.
The guitar solo is reminiscent of Mark Knopfler which is about as good as it gets. Very good vocal. I like the stripped down production. This is a lonely person in a lonely place.
Great job. [ Reply to This ]
on golden wings &mdash 04/12/06 - 12:25:27 PM
I find two things pretty wonderful about this song - the ambivalent chorus and Joanne's smoky rendering. Both are believable.
As for her story, my empathy disappeared with the line about a double shift in a salt mine. I hear the Brooklyn Bridge is still for sale, too.
The final verse reduces her to a string of cliches. If that's what the intention was to make of her, then that's good song writing.
I just feel like something is missing - something that entices me to want to care about her situation. Otherwise, she's just another drunk in a bar, hard luck story in her back pocket, ready to reach for it when she needs to hustle another drink.
Actually, what I'd like to hear more about are those golden wings. I think that should be the real hook of the song - not the gin and tonic. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks, Warren... &mdash 04/12/06 - 05:12:56 PM
...for your insightful commentary and for listening. The song (for me)
was more about the transition of this woman from one place to
another. I wanted to establish her as fragile/wounded and desparate
in a solemn way in this first tune. The second tune she bottoms out
(coming in a few days), and the final song in the trilogy has an ounce
of redemption but not much more than two fingers worth.
Laughing about your salt mine comment and I am not crazy about it
either. Hard to rhyme "fault", and as a father to a daughter, I always
try to buffer sad situations that she ends up in by reassuring her that
it's not her fault. A fair assessment on your part though.
Thanks to all the others for listening and for comments critical and
constructive and everything in between!
Peace,
Paul [ Reply to This ]
format &mdash 04/13/06 - 10:32:46 AM
It's difficult to criticize lyrics in this format; I worried my feedback came off a bit harsh. All I wanted to suggest is I thought there were parts that needed work, and say why I was thinking that way.
A couple possibilities for that "fault" rhyme ... something to tie in with the alcohol, like "she loved her hops and malt... " or something that plays off her fears, like "Mamma blamed me for her problems me, although I had my doubts ..."
Building a trilogy - that's ambitious. Go for it! [ Reply to This ]
mood &mdash 04/14/06 - 06:44:27 AM
moodcaptured perfect. everything, the art, the mellow unsentimetal accompaniment, the aged singer vocals so simply performed. another winner! [ Reply to This ]
100 Proof &mdash 04/14/06 - 08:57:50 AM
As a bartender, I give this raves. Straight. You keep getting better. [ Reply to This ]
Ohhhhhhhh &mdash 04/14/06 - 12:13:23 PM
To the bones, to the deep. This is really, really, really beautiful. Jesus,
thems some mighty powerful lyrics. Digesting the sweet sadness.
Elegant, lonely, aching. Tender melody for tender thoughts. Children
of divorce suffer such sorrow.... Joanna, your voice carries a vibration
that really resonates, really penetrates, very easy to listen to. Thank
you all for sharing your collaboration--it's a very special song--
I could totally hear John Prine cover this, someone should send him a
copy. love, kelli [ Reply to This ]
whiskeyyyy voice... &mdash 06/24/06 - 09:07:01 AM
Joanna, I listened to "Your Perosnal Top 3" listing in the forum, and was I
glad you responded to that question as it re-introduced me to your
music. I remember you from the "Dancing In the Milky Way" days, and it
is refreshing to be listening to your new music, how it has evolved, and
truly I admire the freshness of your sound. Your three songs do sound
like a summary of your musical personality. I didn't "fav" this song in
particular... It was more than this song... I faved you as an artist! [ Reply to This ]
Awesome &mdash 09/01/06 - 06:35:33 PM
Very moving. I downloaded this and have listened to it over and over.
Many thanks [ Reply to This ]
Fab!!! &mdash 11/06/06 - 09:41:43 PM
Joanna--So great to see you collab with Paul and Ed! A perfect match of styles, talent and soul.
Really great stuff! Off to listen to the other two :)
Mysti/Cat [ Reply to This ]
Outstanding &mdash 11/08/06 - 03:12:26 PM
I've been a fan of Joanna's for awhile now and I'm a new fan of the songwriters after hearing this song. This is one of the most touching songs I've ever heard. A voice like Joanna's and lyrics/music like Paul's and Ed's are all very rare things. Put the three together and you all have created something very special. Its a wonderful song, and I hope the world hears it. [ Reply to This ]
Fantastic! &mdash 11/16/06 - 11:40:03 PM
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