The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => Feedback on Finished songs => Topic started by: PaulAds on December 10, 2017, 09:09:59 AM
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I recently read Ben Macintyre's brilliant "A Spy Among Friends" and it mentioned an article that appeared in "Country Life" magazine in December 1962 written by a chap who kept a fox as a pet in his Beirut apartment. The fox was a massive hit with (almost) one and all, entertaining guests, eating freshly sliced liver and lapping whiskey from a saucer. One day, he was devastated to arrive back and find the fox gone. Fowl play was - of course - suspected :P
The Author was H.A.R Philby...but his friends all knew him as "Kim"
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/the-fox-that-came-to-stay
The Fox That Came To Stay
Surfaced in the Lebanon
Captivating everyone
The socialites were all switched on
With effortless panache
Looking, somehow, strangely cute
Dressed only in your birthday suit
Became the toast of old Beirut
Making quite a splash
The sound of laughter fills the air
But trails away when you’re not there
Nonchalant and debonair
At everyone’s request
Eloquent and so discreet
That hearts and minds both skip a beat
Enough to sweep us off our feet
Just like all the rest
Everyone fell
Under your spell
And loved every day
Since you came our way
You played it so well
That no one could tell
And couldn’t say
What price we’d pay
For taking in the fox that came to stay
Nothing happens happenstance
Someone given half a chance
Starts makes the shadows dance
On a mission of their own
So our best friend and nemesis
Is vacating the premises
To leave behind an awful mess
The like we’ve never known
Everyone fell
Under your spell
And been crushed since the day
That you sailed away
You played it so well
That no one could tell
And wouldn’t say
What price we paid
For taking in the fox that came to stay
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Love this! My new favourite PaulAds song.
What a great quirky story. Love the upbeat delivery and especially those chord sequences after the chorusses. Classic leftfield happy tune in the British eccentric tradition. 11 out of 10 for this one! It's going on my repeat list for December for sure.
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What a great idea for the subject of a song, and then very well written lyrics do justice to your source material. I somehow got a vibe of maybe Tom Robinson or The Motors, those bands that teetered on the edge of power pop new wave back in the late 70's. The rhythm is relentless and the hooks pretty good too. Yeah, enjoyed it!
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Hi Paul. Great song and imaginative choice of subject matter. Musically Its classic 70s/80s inspired indie rock. The only crit I have is editing. I would have been tempted to finish the song dead on 2.50 as it naturally concludes at that point. The last 20 seconds is filler and not necessary.
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Great idea, Micky...I've done that and updated the track...thanks! :)
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What an absolutely intriguing story Paul. This is you on tip top form (again). Fantastic post punk / New wave feel with bags of attitude, great guitar and vocals and a spanking bass. Loved it :)
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Hi Paul
Great track as usual - it's high-octane from the starting bell.
Stellar guitar and drums and bass and etc etc ;D
Love the vocals and the lyrics are great - you could rhyme anything with, well, anything ;D ;D
My only minor nit is I can't make out the lyrics when sung. It's prob down to my hearing as a Canuck and I'm sure many in the UK can't understand mine either with my twang. Just wondering if maybe EQing the lead vocal to be more high end would help, or compressing them a bit more. Or maybe I just need to get a hearing aid.. ;D
Oh yeah - I like the irony here too - the title says he came to stay but he buggered off in the end!
Paul
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Great idea, Micky...I've done that and updated the track...thanks! :)
Flattered you took it on so quick. Totally works!!!
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Yeah, it's that real tough power trio sound again; tight propelling rhythms, like being hit about the legs with a cattle prod. If you saw me dance you'd know what I mean, man.
I like how the song germinates from the fox article in the magazine into the Cold War spy story. The fox being a byword for cunning and sly.
I wasn't quite as knocked out by the melody here as your last one, and I couldn't make out the lyrics very well, your voice was mixed quite indistinct.
Dude, you do have your own sound, it's tight rhymic and melodic, and graced with the cleverest lyrics in punk pop. Your rhymes are sensational, man.
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Hot damn. I wish i could play guitar like this. Wicked intro. Loads of energy. Loving the bass too, and Jam-esque vibe in places. Wouldnt change a thing, exept where the vocal was hiding just a teeny bit. Very cool with very clever lyrics. And what a brilliant piece of inspiration.
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Those verses are classic PaulAds....the chord progression, the great rhythmic phrasing and the neat lyrical work (socialites were all switched on!) done in fact with effortless panache...well, panache anyway...don't know how challenging it is for you to come up with lines like these or if you've just got the knack.
Chorus part is intriguing for me for being something that I could never dream up..not immediately catchy (not as catchy as the verse at first for me) but has a growing appeal with each listen and is notable for me for the way it builds in urgency in the last part to somehow fall on that title line. How do you do that?
Lot of energy...made me feel quite tired now! As Pauly says love the guitar chords there in that short interlude and the ending passage is as neat a thing as I've heard for a while.
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Great idea for a song, well written and nice production. Well done!
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I liked the singing and the story. I always like to read your lyrics as I listen because your words are so thought provoking. Very cool.
Lynn
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Thanks a lot, everybody, for so many lovely comments...you’re all too kind :-*
I have mixed the vocals a tiny bit louder...thanks :)
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Interesting topic to write about, and knowing the backstory, the lyrics do a good job of portraying the little fella.
Lots of laid back energy and rhythm and I liked the the guitar riff that ended the chorus, reminded me a bit of Greenday in their early days at this point.
One minor thing I noticed was the occasional ducking of the vocal volume. Noticed it particularly on the word premises, so I'm guessing you were trying to eradicate the plosive boom of the P. Ain't it a bitch, and a tough thing to get rid of without rerecording.
I've had the same issue on a track I'm working on at the moment. After trying lots of things, something that helped a bit was automating a higher high pass filter to come in on the plosive, ducking some of the offending frequencies without losing too much volume.
Hope this is useful.
Yodasdad
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I listened to this last night but got distracted from commenting...
Anyway...I posted my own track (and naturally had a listen to it myself haha!) and soundcloud skips into this track and bam! I just had to keep on listening. Really enjoyable!
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Top stuff Paul ;D ;D
A work of art....everything's been said, but details really. It's mighty fine ;D ;D
Ever thought of starting a tribute band....it's the best song the Jam never wrote ;D
Loved it mate...
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I recently read Ben Macintyre's brilliant "A Spy Among Friends" and it mentioned an article that appeared in "Country Life" magazine in December 1962 written by a chap who kept a fox as a pet in his Beirut apartment. The fox was a massive hit with (almost) one and all, entertaining guests, eating freshly sliced liver and lapping whiskey from a saucer. One day, he was devastated to arrive back and find the fox gone. Fowl play was - of course - suspected :P
The Author was H.A.R Philby...but his friends all knew him as "Kim"
https://soundcloud.com/thefuneralcrasher/the-fox-that-came-to-stay
The Fox That Came To Stay
Surfaced in the Lebanon
Captivating everyone
The socialites were all switched on
With effortless panache
Looking, somehow, strangely cute
Dressed only in your birthday suit
Became the toast of old Beirut
Making quite a splash
The sound of laughter fills the air
But trails away when you’re not there
Nonchalant and debonair
At everyone’s request
Eloquent and so discreet
That hearts and minds both skip a beat
Enough to sweep us off our feet
Just like all the rest
Everyone fell
Under your spell
And loved every day
Since you came our way
You played it so well
That no one could tell
And couldn’t say
What price we’d pay
For taking in the fox that came to stay
Nothing happens happenstance
Someone given half a chance
Starts makes the shadows dance
On a mission of their own
So our best friend and nemesis
Is vacating the premises
To leave behind an awful mess
The like we’ve never known
Everyone fell
Under your spell
And been crushed since the day
That you sailed away
You played it so well
That no one could tell
And wouldn’t say
What price we paid
For taking in the fox that came to stay
Wow, love the energy of this track.
Your voice is perfect for this type of song.
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Paul! This is the most interested I’ve been in a Fox since Basil Brush was on tele!! ;D
Very well written mate, only line I wasn’t sure about was the “since you sailed away” it’s really not a big nit mate. Just not something I see foxes doing in my mind. ;D Everything else is great! I love the music & u sound fab too. Nice one mate....boom boom! ;D
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Ha...Thanks!
I’m pretty sure that British Intelligence allowed Philby to escape, rather than suffer the embarrassment of a show trial...he was smuggled onto a ship and fled to Russia.
The interesting thing was, of course, blurring the lines between the two stories.
It was great fun to write.
Edit: to further explain the “sailed away” line...the fox was (I think) found dead in the street...it appeared to have fallen - or been thrown - off the balcony...so i sort of meant it sailed away through the air...trying to cover both eventualities...
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well done Paul!
fascinating story of how the song came about.
I really like the style, the delivery.
Very nice Lyrics, with a lot of rich imagery.
;D
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Hola Paul, you know I like your songs a lot and this one has not disappointed me at all! You have the strength in your voice and in your way of composing your music.The theme of the lyrics is very different, and makes me compare its history to some others hidden in some photos.
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Hi,
Good indie rock song. Tight drum beat and good bass lines.
Nothing to criticize.
Well done!
refusedrevival
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Yo Paul.
Peerless in every imaginable way.
I'll listen to it many times beyond this feeble review.
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Yeah i like it dude, happy bouncy and cool backstory! Great job :D
-Sean