[IronKnee]

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

Thanks Hardtwist.......

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

Hey there MP......thanks for stopping by  Thanks for the generous compliments. The recording was simply played into my Boss micro BR-4. I used one of the pre-programmed EQ to "Master" the final mix. That's all 
The " hardest part of lonely" was the phrase that inspired the tune. And so I wanted to drive it home. As I use to romanticize the ideal life of being a troubadour / poet... The reality of this phrase has a lot of meaning to me.

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

Thanks for listening, Martin......I peel potatoes, and there's nothing wrong with that. Honestly, I prefer peeling potatoes over rubbing elbows with all those big time "artists". That ain't me (thank God).
And as far as going higher at the end....it's a good suggestion to better punctuate the ending. Thanks!

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

Thanks, LAquila, for listening and commenting! And thanks for the great interpretation. I have come to find, that there are many ways to read that line.....yours is very true to my meaning. And thanks for the nice comments, as well! I appreciate it.



And thanks to all who have listened.
                                                                 -Tom

[Wicked Deeds]

A beautiful song.  Fine storytelling and a nice clear vocal.  Loved your fingerpicking style on the acoustic guitar.   

Paul

[delb0y]

Just brilliant. Perfect as it is - great lyrics, super singing and a fine melody. Sublime touch on the guitar. What's not to like?

I've said this before - I'd buy the album!

Derek

[TimCurtis]

Excellent guitar work - just wish I was so dexterous!  I can totally relate to the lyrics - looking back with a rose tint.  Although having said that, I'm enjoying life now far more than I remember doing so in my 20s!

A fine, sad song.

[CaliaMoko]

The lyric is my favorite part, but the finger picking isn't far behind! I think you have one extra word, though. In this line: Remembering the past glories. Try it without "the" in it. Could be just me, but it sounded a little, umm, having trouble coming up with the right word but, somehow out of sync? Bumpy? Slightly awkward? Of course, I have a very bad cold, so my ears are suspect.

That's all I have.

Vicki

[The S]

Tom!

There's some great songwriting going on right now from your part.

I absolutely love this, sure it's not hard for me to do since the song have everything I could ever wish for but still. The lyrics are...beautiful, simple yet complex without ever loosing meaning and depth. I so wish I'll be able to write as good one day myself.

On to the guitar, well, I truly dislike you for the fingerpicking (), it's you and that damn Delboy, why do you guys have to be able to play like that??? Not fair!  Lovely fingerpicking and just right for this kind of song. Top notch!

The song itself is a great piece of art. Folk style at it's best.

I've got nothing but praise sir. Really really well done! Love it!

Peter

[GuitarArt1980]

Love the lyric on the refrain "The hardest part of lonely.."  I like the straightfowardness and rawness of the vocal. I can clearly hear the lyrics in a way that doesn't feel spoonfed. The gentle fadeout works really well too. Very nice.

[IronKnee]

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. 

 

Thanks Skub, for listening  I didn't put anything special on the vocals.....just used one of the pre-programmed EQ effects on the finished mix. And besides, my house is actually plexiglass 

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

So glad you get it....and thanks for listening!

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.

Thanks for stopping by Mikek......Yea....there is a little trimming due   Again, thanks for commenting!

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

Thanks you very much Pompy.....hearing from you is always appreciated!!

And thanks to all who have listened!
                                                        -Tom

[JonDavies]

I am so jealous of these lyrics

There are no improvements I would make to this song, it's amazing

[IronKnee]

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

Hi Bill, thanks for listening and commenting.
The title line may sound obvious. Maybe through a lack of writing skill, I wasn't able to convey the inspirational point. Let me try to explain:
When I was young I bought into the romantic notion of the lonely poet writing the verses that would one day change the world for the better. The idea of the lonely poet....the loner who lived on the out-skirts of society was somehow romanticized into something cool. Well......the starving artist really went hungry, and the lonely poet life got really old after awhile. I realized that the hardest part of lonely was being all alone.
It sucked.
Maybe it doesn't mean much to anyone else but me......maybe, because I was there . Or, maybe because I'm no poet 
Either way, I like the song's line, and realize that I need / want to become a better writer.
Thanks again!

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

Thanks Caz........just practice.
Use those times when you become bored. That's what I've done to manage!
Thanks, again!

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

Thanks, Man!!

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

Yea....I just bought some harmonicas 
Thanks for commenting!!

A beautiful song.  Fine storytelling and a nice clear vocal.  Loved your fingerpicking style on the acoustic guitar.   

Paul

Thanks, Man!!

And thanks to all who have listened!
                                                                   -Tom

[Paulski]

Hi Tom

That's the best lyric I've seen from you and the song delivers it perfectly.
Nice vocals and melody line too. For me I wanted some light bass and maybe a brush set tapping away but it stands up as a 1+1 too.

Enjoyed it muchos 
Paul

[Neil C]

Tom,
Lovely.
Loved it - "no romance in lonely"
Great picking
 
neil

[Yodasdad]

Very nice Tom, there's not much I can pick fault with here.

Lovely guitar work.

My main suggestion was going to be to drop the 'the' from remembering the past glories but I see Vicki's already beat me to it.

Well done.

Yodasdad.

[Boydie]

I loved this

The picking is great and the song/lyric and vocal all come together to support a wonderful song

I would LOVE to get you in a studio and record that lovely guitar playing and vocal properly!

[montydog]

You really are the most beautiful acoustic guitar player. You sing in a wonderful low key and natural way. It's a great song, beautifully realised. If you released a CD of your material, I would be first in line. Envy is a terrible thing.......

M