[IronKnee]

Got a new one, everyone. It's a song which is protesting hypocritical lying and avarice. Now, I did have one leader in mind, but this song can mirror many that we foolishly put on the podium.......
Any and all comments are welcome, while first impressions are appreciated.
Thanks, in advance
                                              -Tom

THE BETTER MAN
By Tom Tognaci

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13549508

There you go again, always out for blood
Got your fist high in the air, dragging history through the mud
And in your mind, I guess, that makes you the better man

Always up for the fight with a bullhorn in your hands
Got your three-piece suit, and all, shouting your demands
Yea, we saw you on the evening news, but who’s the better man?

The fancy clubs, the limousine, paid for by the sweat of someone else,
Is more your style than any dream for something bigger than yourself

Good grief, man, can you tell me how you sleep at night?
Are your haunts the heroes that you gave up without a fight?
What do you see, man, when the mirror gets inside your head?
Isn’t your heart screaming, standing up, just reaching out instead…
…for the better man?


See, there you go again, like fuel on a blaze
Got the zombies on the march, chanting their brand new catch phrase
Burning bridges, and building walls….so, who’s the better man?

Sowing the seeds of discontent, the fault’s always with someone else
Every crises becomes an event, an advertisement to yourself

Good grief, man, can you tell me how you sleep at night?
Are your haunts the heroes that you gave up without a fight?
What do you see, man, when the mirror gets inside your head?
Isn’t your heart screaming, standing up, just reaching out instead…
…for the better man?

Another tragedy, you won’t let go to waste
Get your angry, outraged look, mold it to your face
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the better man?

[estreet]

Liked it - good tune and intelligent lyrics. Your voice sounds good on it too.

[IronKnee]

Liked it - good tune and intelligent lyrics. Your voice sounds good on it too.

Thanks estreet!!
                                    -T

[shadowfax]

Crackin lyrics on a good good song..no nits here..enjoyed it..

forgot to mention the lovely guitar picking!!

[Martinswede]

Hi Tom!

This is not an as instant master piece as
some of your other tracks but it grows into it.

I get a Warren Zevon feel from your lyrics. Fun, focused
and critical. Sometimes a bit too... obvious? maybe.  

Thank you for another great song,

- Martin

[boolio]

Hey Tom,

I like this, the vibe, the sentiment and for me your voice on this one is stronger than ever but overall I love the simplicity which for me makes it really stand out

Superb

I'll be listening again!

Phil

[CaliaMoko]

Well, I always like your stuff, and this is no exception. I do like some of your others better...but they can't all be my favorite one. 

A couple spots where the strong beats and strong syllables aren't in sync, but it might take some work to "fix" them...and maybe you want them the way they are, anyhow. I would definitely call this an unstable theme and they do add an unstable element.

That's all I have...

Vicki

[IronKnee]

Crackin lyrics on a good good song..no nits here..enjoyed it..

forgot to mention the lovely guitar picking!!

Thanks Shadow for stopping by!!

Hi Tom!

This is not an as instant master piece as
some of your other tracks but it grows into it.

I get a Warren Zevon feel from your lyrics. Fun, focused
and critical. Sometimes a bit too... obvious? maybe. 

Thank you for another great song,

- Martin

I think this concept could very well be the reflection of any and all of us...however, there is only one leader that epitomized the inspiration of this song of mine.The clues are there, but if you don't consider all of the clues carefully, you could easily be lead astray from the intended culprit.
Thanks, Martin for listening and commenting!

[The S]

Not my favourite topic in a song but I think you succeed in making it your own, if you know what I mean. FWIW though, I did read it from the first letter to the last without hesitation so it might just be me fighting my own pre historical ideas of what one should write or not write about. Ah well, please feel free to disregard what I just wrote.  It never gets preachy and as always your wording and phrasing are exceptional and right up there with the best.

I love this song. Listened three times already. The song and lyrics itself makes it stand on its own but damn buddy, your vocals on this one is spectacular!!! 

Again, great job Tom and you keep singing exactly like that.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[PopTodd]

Excellent song!
Reminds me of both John Prine and Elvis Costello at the same time, and that is a very, very good thing.
I have no nits to pick with the song, nor with the performance. Just excellent all around.
Maybe the recording could stand to use a little cleaning up, if you're into that sort of thing, but really, there is nothing wrong with it at all. An excellent effort, all around.

[IronKnee]

Hey Tom,

I like this, the vibe, the sentiment and for me your voice on this one is stronger than ever but overall I love the simplicity which for me makes it really stand out

Superb

I'll be listening again!

Phil

Thanks Phil!

Well, I always like your stuff, and this is no exception. I do like some of your others better...but they can't all be my favorite one. 

A couple spots where the strong beats and strong syllables aren't in sync, but it might take some work to "fix" them...and maybe you want them the way they are, anyhow. I would definitely call this an unstable theme and they do add an unstable element.

That's all I have...

Vicki

Hi Vicki....thanks for stopping by. What do you mean by unstable, in the context of your statement?
Anyways...always love your observations and crits....Thank you

[CaliaMoko]

I would definitely call this an unstable theme and they do add an unstable element.

Hi Vicki....thanks for stopping by. What do you mean by unstable, in the context of your statement?

Anyways...always love your observations and crits....Thank you

Stable=world peace, everybody's happy, everything is hunky-dorry
Unstable=war, everybody's breaking up, nothing is okay

This song is about someone causing one problem after another and all kinds of trouble. A song with that type of theme would be considered (this is a Pat Pattison thing--although he probably didn't invent it) unstable.

Unstable elements are uneven line lengths, uneven numbers of lines in a verse, less than perfect rhymes (in my mind, the most extreme unstable rhymes are what I think are called "consonant" rhymes--like "can't" and "don't"--because they have the same consonant sound at the end. Or even "wind" and "want", because they start with the same consonant sound and have almost the same consonant sound at the end. But in both of those cases, the vowel sounds don't rhyme, so they are very imperfect rhymes.

I don't remember if singing weak syllables on strong beats and vice versa is officially an unstable element or not, or if it should just be avoided no matter what, but I like to think of it as an acceptable unstable element because, in my ears, it definitely creates an unstable-feeling sound.

And that's probably enough from me on that...don't want to bore everybody to death. 

Vicki

[Darren1664]

Really lovely music! your guitar playing, singing and lyrics tie together so well. I like how stripped back it is - I find that helps with such thought out lyrics. I wish I could have your voice for a day or two

Nice one mate

Darren

[IronKnee]

Not my favourite topic in a song but I think you succeed in making it your own, if you know what I mean. FWIW though, I did read it from the first letter to the last without hesitation so it might just be me fighting my own pre historical ideas of what one should write or not write about. Ah well, please feel free to disregard what I just wrote.  It never gets preachy and as always your wording and phrasing are exceptional and right up there with the best.

I love this song. Listened three times already. The song and lyrics itself makes it stand on its own but damn buddy, your vocals on this one is spectacular!!! 

Again, great job Tom and you keep singing exactly like that.

 

Cheers,

Peter

Hey thanks S ..........I have never written one like this...topic wise, that is.
The world seems to be losing site of what is important, and doesn't seem to mind when that thought is pointed out. The insidious are succeeding
I'll be writing more like this, I feel.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!!

Excellent song!
Reminds me of both John Prine and Elvis Costello at the same time, and that is a very, very good thing.
I have no nits to pick with the song, nor with the performance. Just excellent all around.
Maybe the recording could stand to use a little cleaning up, if you're into that sort of thing, but really, there is nothing wrong with it at all. An excellent effort, all around.

Thanks, PopTod.....I appreciate your listening and commenting
And yea, my recordings are usually rough.......pardon the doggie pun
Thanks again



And thanks to all who have listened!
                                                                      -Tom

[Mike67]

Really liked the lyrics when I read them, and they work in perfect harmony with the melody. Loved the stripped back performamce, which allows you to focus totally on the words, which is what should be happening. But, that guitar and vocal delivery?  Stunning!

Mike