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Description
Some songs come from odd beginnings. On April 7th Ryan (my son) and I went to Tropicana Field to see the Rays take on the Yankees. We arrived a couple hours before first pitch to ensure we’d get a good parking space. The main entrance at the Trop is behind center field. We entered the ballpark and made our way around to our seats in section 129. Since it was very early, we decided to head over to the food court on the 3rd base side and watch the Red Sox play the Tigers on one of the many TVs in that area. When we got there none of the TVs had the game on, only the feed from the pregame stuff being shown on the jumbotron. We headed back to the escalator to see if the game was on down in the left field pub.
At the top of the escalator Ryan asked an usher if there were any TVs on our level showing the game. She suggested we try the food court. Ryan told her we were coming from there. She apologized, to which Ryan replied, “No problem. We’ll go watch it in the pub.” Once again she apologized as the escalator took us down to the outfield level. As I rode the escalator it struck me how people, particularly those who work in customer service, routinely apologize for things they are in no way responsible for. I joked to Ryan that she was right to apologize since it was her fault the game wasn’t on (I need Bob’s sarcasm font).
Ryan responded with, “Yeah! Own the problem, Penny!”
“What?” I asked.
“Her name is Penny,” said Ryan. My son is in the habit of always noticing a person’s nametag and calling them by their name. It’s an act of politeness that always impresses me.
Maybe it was the small bit of alliteration, but I immediately said, “That’s a song title! And I’m going to write it.” Okay, I had a title, but what is the song about? Around the 2nd inning it occurred to me. Penny is one of those people who will tolerate the intolerable from people who claim to love them, often out of fear of being alone. I worry some will view the lyrics as too harsh, almost to the point of blaming the victim. The song is meant as a tough love intervention. I hope it comes across that I believe Penny deserves and is capable of better than she’s getting. Penny is intelligent and has the means to take control of her life but refuses to do so. I never understand why people choose drama and heartache over solitude and peace. I guess loneliness can be that powerful.
Over the next few days I pecked away at the lyrics using the notepad in my iPhone. That little app is life changing. Once I had lyrics I set my sights on changes and melodies. On earlier posts some listeners have commented on my tendency to set dark lyrics to some fairly light and happy chord changes. So I decided to go with a minor key. I had recently restrung my Taylor nylon string guitar. So I used that during the writing process. It turned out to be the only instrument on the recording.
I toyed with different arrangement ideas. Both Karen (magnatone) and Philip (Philip18) offered excellent ideas. But in the end I decided to post this acoustic version. Maybe I’m just feeling lazy. But in my mind this one is strictly a songwriting challenge. It must stand or fall all on its own, just like Penny herself. Recently I’ve challenged myself to write, record, and post songs in one day. On this one I challenged myself to write something based on a title that just sounded interesting. Perhaps it would have been better if the Sox/Tiger game had been on in the food court.
At the top of the escalator Ryan asked an usher if there were any TVs on our level showing the game. She suggested we try the food court. Ryan told her we were coming from there. She apologized, to which Ryan replied, “No problem. We’ll go watch it in the pub.” Once again she apologized as the escalator took us down to the outfield level. As I rode the escalator it struck me how people, particularly those who work in customer service, routinely apologize for things they are in no way responsible for. I joked to Ryan that she was right to apologize since it was her fault the game wasn’t on (I need Bob’s sarcasm font).
Ryan responded with, “Yeah! Own the problem, Penny!”
“What?” I asked.
“Her name is Penny,” said Ryan. My son is in the habit of always noticing a person’s nametag and calling them by their name. It’s an act of politeness that always impresses me.
Maybe it was the small bit of alliteration, but I immediately said, “That’s a song title! And I’m going to write it.” Okay, I had a title, but what is the song about? Around the 2nd inning it occurred to me. Penny is one of those people who will tolerate the intolerable from people who claim to love them, often out of fear of being alone. I worry some will view the lyrics as too harsh, almost to the point of blaming the victim. The song is meant as a tough love intervention. I hope it comes across that I believe Penny deserves and is capable of better than she’s getting. Penny is intelligent and has the means to take control of her life but refuses to do so. I never understand why people choose drama and heartache over solitude and peace. I guess loneliness can be that powerful.
Over the next few days I pecked away at the lyrics using the notepad in my iPhone. That little app is life changing. Once I had lyrics I set my sights on changes and melodies. On earlier posts some listeners have commented on my tendency to set dark lyrics to some fairly light and happy chord changes. So I decided to go with a minor key. I had recently restrung my Taylor nylon string guitar. So I used that during the writing process. It turned out to be the only instrument on the recording.
I toyed with different arrangement ideas. Both Karen (magnatone) and Philip (Philip18) offered excellent ideas. But in the end I decided to post this acoustic version. Maybe I’m just feeling lazy. But in my mind this one is strictly a songwriting challenge. It must stand or fall all on its own, just like Penny herself. Recently I’ve challenged myself to write, record, and post songs in one day. On this one I challenged myself to write something based on a title that just sounded interesting. Perhaps it would have been better if the Sox/Tiger game had been on in the food court.
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Lyrics
Own The Problem Penny
words & music by alackbass
Verse 1
You were warned by friends and family,
The man was just no good,
You swore that you could change him,
They were sure he never would,
He left you here with nothing,
Your heartache is his sin,
But weren't you the one,
Who let the bastard in,
Verse 2
You've been doing this your whole life,
Relying on a man,
Take the good and bad they give you,
Never one to take a stand,
Blame their drink and cheating,
Or the hurtful things they said,
But when you're too quick to forgive them,
Should you blame yourself instead?
Chorus
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
The answer lies in you,
That man just ain't worth any,
Of the pain he put you through,
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
You know what you must do,
When your bad days way too many,
And your good days far too few,
Verse 3
Is a bad man better than no man?
You're afraid to be alone,
You don't need one to take care of you,
You can make it on your own,
You want love, yes I know that,
What you really need's respect,
It's a struggle to have either,
Settling for what you get,
Chorus
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
The answer lies in you,
That man just ain't worth any,
Of the pain he put you through,
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
You know what you must do,
When your bad days way too many,
And your good days far too few,
words & music by alackbass
Verse 1
You were warned by friends and family,
The man was just no good,
You swore that you could change him,
They were sure he never would,
He left you here with nothing,
Your heartache is his sin,
But weren't you the one,
Who let the bastard in,
Verse 2
You've been doing this your whole life,
Relying on a man,
Take the good and bad they give you,
Never one to take a stand,
Blame their drink and cheating,
Or the hurtful things they said,
But when you're too quick to forgive them,
Should you blame yourself instead?
Chorus
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
The answer lies in you,
That man just ain't worth any,
Of the pain he put you through,
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
You know what you must do,
When your bad days way too many,
And your good days far too few,
Verse 3
Is a bad man better than no man?
You're afraid to be alone,
You don't need one to take care of you,
You can make it on your own,
You want love, yes I know that,
What you really need's respect,
It's a struggle to have either,
Settling for what you get,
Chorus
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
The answer lies in you,
That man just ain't worth any,
Of the pain he put you through,
You've got to own the problem, Penny,
You know what you must do,
When your bad days way too many,
And your good days far too few,
abzwork
chord phrasing is marvelous, the warmth in the vocals is the flava that only comes to a father as he marvels at a son...a wonderful time in space, you've captured a forever moment my friend..know how precious and rare
this flava is...its truely inspiring...:):):)peace