[boolio]

Hi Everybody

I’ve called this Mammas Spaceship after one of the phrases contained in verse 2

https://soundcloud.com/user-938884922/mammas-spaceship

Verse 1

Sometimes I know the sun does fall
But I've struggled to find one reason so small
Why such pain still falls from the skies
Material for a Pulitzer prize?

Verse 2
Must wisdom forever wither and fail
in the face of policy or holy grail
Whilst Mamma's Spaceship suffers and fries
If only wells of stupid ran dry

Chorus
Oh its so easy just to look away
and it's too easy to turn the volume down

Verse 3
Should reason always be marooned
Shipwrecked by absurd or un-hinged buffoons
Then beached by greedy fools
Ever hungry for additional joules, jewels or duels

Chorus
Oh it's so easy just to look away
and it's too easy to turn the volume down

Verse 4
Take the rules of ignorance or tired inventions
mix freely with corrupt and bloody conventions
Then sit there fused in uneasy silence
speechless at evil triumphs

Chorus (end)
Is it so easy just to look away
and still too easy to turn the volume down

lets educate
eject hate
clear the slate
it's not too late

Coprwrite words and music P. Bool 2017


I think I was wearing a tie-dyed t shirt when I wrote this, which, I’ve taken to doing more and more…post Brexit and Trump!...just wish I could afford the (lead-lined)  VW camper too!

I was trying to address the old problem of the vast majority of ‘good guys’ who remain silent in the face of lunacy and hatred…You know, that old chestnut.

It’s probably a bit self-righteous and too wordy but then my songs are normally so long people give up before the end so I just shoehorned more words into a shorter time frame!
Oh and all I added was compression, EQ and a little ‘verb to my Yam LL6 and voice… I’m hopeless at production!

Peace man!   

Phil

PS
The Lyrics are deliberately ‘Misty’ but ‘Joules, Jewels or Duels’ in the 3rd verse are meant to represent Power, Wealth and Conflict

[mickyplankton]

Hi Boolio.

Always like a good song that can be delivered by guitar and vocals only. With only 2 inputs, its all about the songwriting. Which in this case is pretty good in my opinion. Really rate the lyrics. Subtle but make a very poignant and powerful message. Ends on an optimistic note which i also like.
I especially like the line "Ever hungry for additional joules, jewels or duels" Very clever!


Mike

[PTCruiser1801]

Boolio,

Fantastic lyrics...some of the best I have ever seen on this forum if you don't mind me saying. I can see that you have taken a lot of care in writing them. I LOVE the joules, jewels and duels line...I think that is so clever and a stroke of genius! If I ever wrote a line like that I think I would frame it and hang it on the wall to encourage me when I get writer's block...but unfortunately for me, this line is yours and not mine.

Really well done!

Paul

[Skub]

Hi boolio.

If you were aiming for a good old folk protest song,then you hit the mark pretty good.

There is much to like about the song,some fine lyric lines,for a start.

[pompeyjazz]

I really like this Phil. Firstly there are some inspired lyrics
 "When well of stupid run dry" and the joules, jewels, duels lines are excellent. The song has a late sixties feel to it and your voice sounded very Lennonesque at times plus you also managed to inject some anger and feeling into a very good vocal. I thought the vocal / guitar worked extremely well and loved the chord changes at the end of the chorus. Top quality stuff man. Love and peace 

[ScottLevi]

Yes Phil!!

Been waiting for you to post again and knew it would be worth the wait!

First off as others have said; fantastic lyrics. I love that you don't dumb them down and demand some attention - then pulling it back with a sharp and 'in your face' hook really hit for me.

"Should reason always be marooned
Shipwrecked by absurd or un-hinged buffoons"
I c&p'd these straight into notepad when reading through because they're so cool, but really I could've picked out most to the same affect.

Opening line vocally knocked me back, I had to go listen to one of your others to see if they were always so vocally striking. Recording quality maybe - have you been putting some of your new equipment into play? Sounds good to me.

Nice progression, subtle changes to the chorus always get me going and pukka outro.

Looks like you've taken some feedback into consideration with the length too, the others were worth the time but this one's an easier listen at 3:26.

Sterling progress mate, keep it up.

Scott.

[CaliaMoko]

Totally awesome lyrics. I like the direction you've gone with melody, as well, but I would have worked on some spots a little differently. That's probably just a difference of preferences, though, so no worries.

I notice you used the word "fall" twice in the first verse. I always try to avoid that, although maybe you were doing it to emphasize the idea. If not, you could consider using "rains" instead of "falls" the second time. There are likely other options as well.

Sometimes I know the sun does fall
But I've struggled to find one reason so small
Why such pain still falls rains from the skies
Material for a Pulitzer prize?

That gives you an extra, inline rhyme with "pain" and "rains" which maybe you'd rather not have, since it isn't something found throughout the song.

Another niggle for me is in the first line. I know many songs have a phrase similar to your "does fall", but I have never cared for it. Again, probably a personal preference thing, but I would probably have chosen something more like "will fall".

Whether you like my ideas or not, this is a wonderful song, a cut above, truly inspired lyrics. I hope it was a lot of work, because I don't like to think some people can pull that kind of stuff off without even trying! 

[tina m]

Phil this  sounds much better recorded than your last songs & youve obviously worked at making your songs leaner & meatier & cutting out the filler!
so I was impressed ..the guitar sounds realy good ,youve done a lovely clear vocal with a nice tune & I love the title!
its very folky protest song but the lyrics had a sort of beatnik poet humour which I mightve got wrong but which saved it from being preachy & ranty ...is that a word?
its definitely something we can sing as we march on Boydies castle demanding reforms to our crumbling forum

[Bill Saunders]

Hi there Phil

First thing of yours I think I have heard. As well as being an old rocker I'm also an old closet folkie and I love a good singer songwriter protest song. And that's exactly what you've served up here. Clever and at times amusing lyrics, I'd love to come up with something like this. Beautifully delivered, just you and your guitar, great stuff.

[Jamie]

Hi, well crafted protest type song with clever lyrics. My only slight nit was the arpeggio and quirky chord changes at the end of the chorus, which didn't fit with the otherwise straightforward structure, IMHO, but what do I know? 
Good work and nicely sung too!
Cheers
Jamie

[Steng]

Very unusual lyric and nice guitar. Sounded like you were right here in the room with me.
I fancied a little guitar twiddle here and there, just for a bit of variation. Good job.

[boolio]

Hi Everybody,

Thanks all for your kind comments I really appreciate all the time taken

Hey Micky, PT & Skub,
Thanks for your comments reference the lyrics. Glad you liked them - the Joules, Jewels and Duels line just sort of occurred to me during one of the many rewrites! (So Paul it was more a stroke of luck  

Hi John,
Really appreciate your comments …especially  being described as vocally “Lennonesque” Hey man, I’m walking on air after that one!  

Hey Scott,
Thanks dude, yeah I’ve decided to have a bit of a verbal clear out less is more (hopefully) glad you approve It just takes longer to write something shorter…Hmm…
As for post-production…not really progressed there, the extra equipment is gathering dust… I think I’m just recording cleaner and maybe positioning my mic better.
Thanks again for taking the time

Hi Vicki   
Yes, Hi you’re right I wouldn’t have used “fall” twice intentionally, good catch!… as for “does fall” vs “will fall” I think whilst the does fall is grammatically ‘interesting’ (Wrong!) I chose to use it for whimsical reasons…but thanks for highlighting it.  With that in mind… do you charge for proof reading?  
Very glad you liked the song overall though and you’ll be relieved to know is was as lot of work!
Thanks for your valued input though and comprehensive response  

Hey Tina,
Glad you got the humour and equally glad you like the title I had two choices really Mamma’s Spaceship or the Well of Stupid but as you rightly point out I was playing fast and loose with potentially “preaching” and thought Mamma’s Spaceship was less pretentious  

Many thanks, as ever, for taking the time Tina

Hi Bill
I have to say this has been a little bit of a departure for me but I think I may stay for a while in "folksville" it seems a nice place. Thanks for the kind comments I appreciate it

Hi Jamie
Glad you liked the lyrics. Yes the arpeggio’d chord change at the end of the chorus is a little awkward I did it to underline the resigned/demoralised emotion that ‘ignoring the news’ may engender but it’s entirely possible I just got it wrong!
Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment much appreciated

Hey Steng

Glad you liked the recording ‘quality’ all my stuff is essentially live recorded as I have no ability in production. With that in mind, if I could overdub successfully I could take on your ‘Guitar twiddle’ idea I think it has merit. Thanks for the comments

[Mono Stone]

Nice song. I like it.

I couldn't work out for sure whether you'd panned your voice to the right, or whether the acoustic leaning left just made it sound that way...but to me it feels a bit odd in that way. I like the song and your performance, just the balance didn't feel quite right to my ears. IF you did pan things like that, it may be worth making sure the vocal is centred and the acoustic is near centre, just using a tiny bit of stereo reverb to fill things out maybe. Not sure...I might be wrong.

[boolio]

Hey Mono
Thanks for taking the time...you obviously listened carefully as your take on the panning was, I believe, spot on...it was as a result of using an XY stereo microphone to record vocal and guitar simultaneously (no real post production - I don't know how!) Anyway thanks for listening and your input. I will take it on board 

[shadowfax]

If only wells of stupid ran dry..what a great line!!, nice overall sound and well sang..
sorry, but the chorus didn't do it for me, sounded more like a pre chorus I think the song still needs a chorus...
as always, us audiophiles are nitpicking on what is very good work, but that's what makes us all improve dunnit!!
best, Kevin