[Paul]

Hi Songwriters, I'd be delighted if you would listen to this song that I wrote for my band The Vanity Rules.  It appears on our recent 9 track CD 'Your Absence Of Grace.'

I bought a brand new house late summer about six years ago, then my Dad died the same week that I was moving in.  I hadn't seen him for twenty years plus.  No one in my family wanted to take his ashes into their home.  Despite the terrible relationship that I had with my Dad, I wanted to do this regardless.  I bought the town house to use the top room as a studio and it was here that I kept my dad's ashes 'til they could be scattered at sea.  I didn't feel at home in that room for a long time afterwards. The following winter, I was playing my guitar, whilst watching  the occasional November 5th fireworks through the velux windows, exploding in the night sky.  I  was trying to make sense over my early life with my Dad and  started to think that the fireworks we're representative of the explosive and volatile relationship that we had.  I loved him dearly but hated him equally!  This is my take on the feelings that I was experiencing that night.  

You can hear the song at http://picosong.com/5QG

Mostly I love You

Here in the room you stayed, November 5th,
the fireworks on this winter night explode.
Red lights illuminate, tear across the sky,
Somewhere in this tangled web I lie.

Mostly I love you, mostly every single day.
Fuck these sentimental feelings, may they never fade away!

Make light of anything that causes you to sigh,
imagine you're a bird about to fly.
Pull down the curtain on this chapter of your life.
An end to all the worry and  the strife.

Mostly I love you, mostly every single day.
Fuck these sentimental feelings, may they never fade away!

I often think that you and I are destined,
to wander through the ages wrapped in chains,
but there's a hope that I will cling to.

If I was the driver of a jet black racing car,
I'd open up the engine and drive far.
But red lights illuminate, they tear across the sky
and somewhere in this tangled web I lie.

[TNMC]

Hi Paul,
Another great track from you and the band as i have come to expect. I read the lyrics first and was expecting a slow acoustic number so it took me by surprise a bit when i listened to the song! That said though it didn't stop me enjoying this one immensely and maybe even added to it because of the surprise factor. I really liked the sentiment in the lyrics, it makes the song even better when u know its so honest.
I always look forward to hearing something from you, either with the vanity rules or one of your solo efforts. I must admit i envy the fact that you have the option to do both.
Great job all round paul
thanks
Liam.

[Paul]

Thanks Liam,

This wasn't a difficult song to write, however it was difficult to share with an explanation of how I came to write it.  It is my truth, the reason that I first began to write songs and am compelled to continue doing so!

Thanks again for your praise of my writing, it is appreciated more than I can express!

Best, Paul

[Schavuitje]

Hi again

Brilliant mate! Loved the chugging guitars and the delay stuff going on.
Agree about the lyrics too. It's nice to know the story behind them and I can sympethize with the love hate relationship with your dad. I sometimes think part of what drives me personaly is to gain the approval of my dad.

[PradaLlama]

Hi pablo

Well, what can I say except for good job on the song. It's beautifully put together and the vocal is delivered with assurance. It puts my own pitifyul efforts to shame. I must admit that I also expected to hear a slow ballad type song when I read the lyrics and was a bit taken by surprise, just shows how your expectations can mislead you.

Thanks for the listen.
Great piece of writing

Kev

[Paul]

Thanks Schavuitje and Prada Lama :-)

Best,

Paul

[massa]

wow not what I was expecting to hear tbh! I thought it'd be a ballad too. I LOVE your synth arpeggios, they are fab!

[Mellowh]

Hi, add me to the long list who was lulled into expecting the ballad! Lots of pluses, great energy, well put together, great musicianship. An accomplished piece of rock and adds to your rich vein of form!
For my particular taste, I'm rarely a fan of 'Fuck' as a lyric and if I was to add some criticism, this was great fun but didn't hit the lyrical or emotional heights of some of your previous work. I know this is not due to insincerity because I know that your music is inspired by passion and personal experience and your work is always of a high standard, however, the lyrics didn't really grab me in this piece. I've had a read the other reviews and this is likley to be more about me as a listener than a general feeling shared by others. Maybe I was just so taken with your previous track that I was always going to feel this way about the next one!
Always look out for your songs and can't wait to hear more.

[Paul]

Thanks for your comments Mellowh,

I can appreciate your dislike of the 'fuck' word and usually I would also disagree with it's use, especially as there are so many expressive words that can be drawn upon.  However, at the time of writing it fitted perfectly, helping me to convey my anger and frustration.  I reckon the radio friendly version would be 'Forget these sentimental feelings.'  I'm really pleased that the lyrics and subject matter fooled one or two people into expecting a slow ballad. It's great to be involved with The Vanity Rules, though I must confess, I'm expected to write in a certain style to keep everyone happy.  'Mostly I love You' is all about anger, regret and frustration, so it is appropriate that the song is quite explosive and not gentle.  I've so many songs kicking about and am not always sure which ones to post for review.  These days, I'm returning to my acoustic roots, and the emphasis is much more on melody. Increasingly I'm starting to play all instruments as it can be so difficult to get the band together because of our other commitments (It's also difficult to play bass lines etc on keyboards when I'm essentially a songwriter/acoustic guitarist)  Hopefully I'll be posting some of my recent songs soon.  Thanks for your very sincere post!

Paul

[mihkay]

Loved the track.
Can't fault the song-writing and after reading the description in your post I can feel, the emotion translating into the performance.

As this is a songwriters forum the following is just comment on production... NOT SONG-WRITING.
Just have a couple of issues with the production. DO NOT  TAKE THIS AS CRITICISM OF THE SONG. IT'S NOT. Production is an art in itself and this song stands out.
The vocal performance was strong ( I loved it ) but occasionally in the first two verses it got drowned by the other instrumentation.
Secondly I felt that the whole production was a bit lacking in bottom end.
Great songs survive iffy production but great production will not rescue a poor song. 

Well done mate. A gem. 

[massa]

I love a good Fuck in a lyric! 

[tone]

Bloody wow! I love the sound-scape you've created in this song with all the pulses and delays. Kind of like the Manics meets the Who.

Songwriting-wise I can't fault this. Nice change into the chorus, solid melody, nice arrangement. I only wonder if the gaps between the singing in the verses might be too long? Might change my mind after another couple of listens, but that's my initial thought anyway.
Nice lyrics, and unusual for a song to work with a fuck in it - normally a pet hate of mine, but if it's done well (like you have) it genuinely adds something. Sorry to hear about your dad, though - I lost mine last year. I also wrote a song about the experience...

Fine quality songwriting, Paul - well done sir

[hofnerite]

I love the passion feel of this song, those guitars hit me with serious punch! I like the structure too, very easy to follow and those guitar breaks with that kind of flange FX really break up the gaps well. Great vocals too with nice passion there.

I really liked this song, one of the best I have heard on this forum. I love that overdrive tone too. The more I hear this, the more I like it. I think that's going on my MP3 player if that's ok?

[Paul]

Thanks for the reviews guys!  

Mihkay,  Thank you so much, I really pour my heart and soul into writing songs.  

Massa,  

Tone,  Thank you so much.  I'm pleased that you enjoyed the song and am sincerely sorry to hear about your Dad also!  I'd love to hear the song that you wrote for him, if you feel that you are able to share it.

Hofnerite, thanks so much for the compliment. Please feel free to load the track on to your mp3 player.
Thanks again,

Paul

[Zelig]

To be honest, I’m not especially fond of that kind of «FM power rock» (We call it like that in Belgium but I don’t know how it is called in the UK) but you did an amazing job with it. The instrumentation is really good , the guitars sound perfect and the voice is as  powerful as it should.
You rock!!