[IronKnee]

Hi all......I hope everyone approves. Any and all comments are welcome, while first impressions are appreciated.
Thanks, in advance,
                                                                    -Tom

“The Hardest Part Of Lonely"
By Tom Tognaci

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12540564

I dropped out from the rat race
Locked my house, and parked my cars
A sojourn to find my own pace
And to ponder the falling stars
Writing poems and stories
Songs of missing you
Defining words of sorry…
…for the wife I never knew


We were both young and free
With a lust for the poet’s bane
But, there’s no romance in hungry
And freedom has its own chain
The definition of “my thing”
Took me 30 years to learn
And while I’m not exactly starving
Falling stars still crash and burn…..
……And, still, the hardest part of lonely is when you’re all alone
……Yea, the hardest part of lonely is when you’re all alone



I set out to find the old me
And what I found ‘bout living free
The older I get, the better I was
……and, the hardest part of lonely is when you’re all alone


Carrying the lorry loads
Of an older man’s chagrin
Walking down the familiar roads
I used to run, back then
Remembering the past glories
In these memoirs I’ve honed
but, I guess they’re all just stories
That I only half own…
……Yea, the hardest part of lonely is when you’re all alone
……Yea, the hardest part of lonely is when you’re all alone

[hardtwistmusic]

Haven't listened yet, but the lyric is incredible. 

[mickyplankton]

Hi Tom.

i agree with Verlon. The lyrics are incredible. So many poignant yet wise obervations that are very relatable. i love "freedom has its own chains" so true. and "theres no romance in hungry" very very good. The song itself is simple but effective. You are obviously a fairly assured guotar player which helps. Interested to know what effects you have on the guitar? it feels like a slight reverb? but it could just be the recording set up? either way i really like it. makes the guitar very pleasant to listen to and goes well with your voice. The only thing i would point out is that the lyrics in the chorus repeat the line "the hardest part of lonely is when you are all alone." by the end of the song i  this lyric starts to lose its initial power. i would consider some alternative lyrics such as "the hardest part of lonely is when you return home". i appreciate opions are limited as it has to rhyme but in my opinion is worth considring. beautiful song

[Martinswede]

Hi Tom!

Great song from start to finish. If I could play guitar
like that I wouldn't have to peel potatoes for a living.
Good recording. Simple without lacking anything.

My only suggestion is that you go a little higher on
'when' the last time. It would give the song a less
abrupt/smoother ending.

Thanks for posting another great song,

- Martin

[kevysc]

Another really great song, love the guitar playing and the vocals carry the lyrics perfectly. The lyrics are excellent, my only nit would be the bridge, which is not as strong as the verses: I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to say in it, so I can't offer any specific suggestions.

(Pedantic nit: it should be either "the older I gOt the better I was" or "the older I get the better I AM")

Enjoyed the listen, thanks

Kevin

[LAquila]

Another great song, Tom. Like Martin said, I wish I could pick like you do...but I'm too lazy to learn and strumming suits my style. Yours, on the other hand, very much suits that folky sound that you do so well.

Once again, shades of The Boss in this one. Not as evident but I think it's there, especially in the poignant, rueful words about the ephemeral nature of romance and freedom.

Gotta disagree with Kevin - I know what you mean by 'the older I get the better I was'. You remember your youth with ever greater degrees of embellishment the older you get, making it even sadder to be growing older and not as good as you used to be.

cheers,
L

[Skub]

Yo Tom.

Lovely song,an easy listen with heartfelt lyrics. A halfway house between Paul Simon and John Mellencamp. I wasn't that keen on the voice effect,but hey I'll throw no stones from my glass house. 

 

[kevysc]

Gotta disagree with Kevin - I know what you mean by 'the older I get the better I was'. You remember your youth with ever greater degrees of embellishment the older you get, making it even sadder to be growing older and not as good as you used to be.

cheers,
L

Ah, now I get it! Sorry, I misunderstood and now it makes sense: age tints the glasses with a rosy hue

[mikek]

i like this, your voice is very nice, and the guitar playing is really good.  the song has a nice melody that you can whistle.  i think that is important.

my only criticism is that it is a bit wordy and i think you could improve the feel of it a lot by cutting a few words here and there, allowing you to  relax the vocal delivery just a hair.

examples  
instead of "I dropped out from the rat race" you could say "I escaped the rat race"  

or

"And while I’m not exactly starving"  vs   "i'm not exactly starving"

""Falling stars still crash and burn"   vs   "stars still crash and burn"  or "falling stars still burn"


i find that eliminating unnecessary wordiness takes some pressure off of enunciation delivery and allows me to put more inflection and feeling into vocal tone.

[pompeyjazz]

Finger picking delicious Tom. The older I get, the better I was was is just such a fantastic line. You seem to have the mix and the vibe spot on with this one. Quality

[Bill Saunders]

Hi Tom

Absolutely excellent. Your finger picking is so solid - wish I could do that. The production, though simple sounds spot on to my ears. Could have fitted in nicely on Dylan's Blood on the Tracks album. Like others, I read the lyrics earlier before listening to the song tonight and thought they were excellent, although I guess I was slightly disappointed by the hook line of "the hardest part of lonely is when you’re all alone". There are so many great lines in the song, I felt this one let it down a bit, like it was kinda stating the obvious.

Great song though - all the best.

Bill

[mikek]

the hardest part of lonely, is knowing you're not home

[Cazrolina]

Not much to add, except that its another beauty of a song. I wish, wish, WISH i could play guitar like this. So good. 

[shadowfax]

Lovely song and just love your fingerpickin..takes me ages to do a simple arp..damn!!!

[digger72]

Hi Tom,

Very nice melodies.
The picking is as good as ever.
Liked the bit of edge in the vocal - sounded a bit more gruff.
A bit of harmonica would have been cool.

Digger