[MichaelA]

So I lost my keys in the overgrown part of garden and it occurred to me that having a Metal Detector would be useful. Not having a metal detector, I wondered if there was a Metal Detector app for your phone. So I searched for that. Well - guess what -  there is one. But meanwhile my clever clogs wife found my keys as they were on the breakfast bar obscured by an unhelpful Cheerios box. Subsequently my phone suggested I might also like a Lie Detector app. A Lie Detector app? Who would have thought such a thing would exist. My wife suggested I get it immediately. But then the gist of this song came into my head. I foresaw dreadful consequences. So I instinctively told her my phone was full. Maybe next time.

Anyway here is the song. A warning to us all I feel. It is hopefully entertaining, but not really in the amusing vein of many of my songs. So all feedback welcome. I wrote it and put it all together since last Thursday, so extremely fast for me! Not sure if that is a good thing! 

https://soundcloud.com/michael-a-duffy/squiggle

Lyrics:
Squiggle

With a codeword I was busy
Settled down on the settee
Dearest said
Come over here Hun
And look at this app with me
It was best to be compliant
Despite the mischief in her eyes
Dearest said
This is the app of truth
So let's play Truth or Lies

Truth or Lies
No compromise
On Truth or Lies
It always ends in tears
And that is no surprise
Truth or Lies
Grief multiplies
On Truth or Lies
Leave it in the App Store
Be damned otherwise

The polygraph
Won't make you laugh

Then she asked me about Sandra
Like so many times before
I said love, give it a rest now
Cos that was 1994
But the polygraph made a squiggle
And she cried out I knew it
I gave you a chance to come clean
But guess what, you blew it

RPT CHORUS

Sandra said she loved me
But I watched her squirm and wriggle
As she watched the polygraph line
Squiggle
Squiggle

RPT CHORUS

The polygraph
On my epitaph

[CaliaMoko]

Very catchy! And uncomfortable feeling! Good job with that. I love the theremin. Of course, it wouldn't matter who used it where; I always love the theremin.

[pompeyjazz]

Always entertaining and fascinating. A slightly early 80's feel to it. Great to hear this creation after you talking about your idea for it last Friday. Yep - That Theremin is great. It gives the song a slightly spooky, uncomfortable feel. I loved the lyrics and great vocals and harmonies as well.

Made me smile for sure 

Fab work as usual @MichaelA

[montydog]

Hi,
I laughed out loud at your description of how this came about "Unhelpful box of cheerios" - priceless!
Onto the song - this is soooooo clever and funny. I wish I had your brain. Musically it's all good and kind of reminded me of  XTC. Great vocal and use of synths. A brilliant song from start to finish. First ever rhyme of polygraph with epitaph?
M

[shadowfax]

Spooky and funny all at once. clever lyrics and the way you fit them in the song is very inventive, super harmonies.. a good piece mate..very good!

[adamfarr]

Very cool - love that 80s backing and the squiggly theremin thingy (beam me up!).

Great theme and story, and definitely not a fun game for all the family.

Just one thing - at 2'36" the lyrics say "Sandra said she loved me" - shouldn't that be the current Dearest who says that? Actually in the audio it sounds a bit chopped off so maybe the intention was something else. Maybe I am totally off beam but it seemed not to make more sense in the context of the story and bugged me!

[MonnoDB]

Very clever... and dark and clever, which (in my book) is even better... Theramin - I will admit to never having heard of one but it's very cool! This is definitely my favourite of your quirky side (I still am partial to your more serious side too!).. It's got a great mood and atmosphere to it and and almost-DM sound to it, which again has got to a great thing..

On the Sandra point of Adam's - funny that... When I read it first I thought "Ah.. Michael told his Mrs, years ago that Sandra declared her love for him..." but now I'm wondering....

Absolutely fantastic song... Nice one @MichaelA (There's a MichaelAlimb???)...

K

[MichaelA]

Thanks for the great comments so far to all those who've listened. This one seems to be going down better than I imagined. But just shows what I know.

First of all I'd like to address the question in the narrative raised by Karen and Adam, @MonnoDB and @adamfarr. The mid interlude is very brief, so only room for two lines of plot development. I was hoping to say something like 'sometime later the protagonist plays the lie detector game with Sandra. She then fails it and the narrator therefore gets his come-uppance.' I guess it also works on Karen's interpretation of this could have happened in the past. But not on Adam's point of wondering if this is the current missus speaking. I know you both take lyrics seriously and my storytelling is not therefore as clear as it could be. So I will have to think about what to do. But thanks for this and for all the other lovely words of support.

Hi @CaliaMoko , glad you like this. My Theremin is just a synth simulation with lots of tremolo applied. I last used it in a song a couple of years back and again people assumed it was the real thing. So it shows that midi can sometimes work. I wish I could get a strings sound that was as authentic. Thanks!

Hi @montydog , glad you enjoyed the Cheerios box saga almost as much as the song!  but it's great to hear the thumbs up from you, cheers!

Thanks for the encouragement @shadowfax, glad you enjoyed it too 

And @pompeyjazz , yeah it's cool that we were chatting about this the other night and now here it is. I think I got the encouragement and motivation to get on with it based on the Zoom reaction and yep I did turn it around in a very quick time for me. So another vote of confidence for the Friday Night happy hour 

[Jamie]

@MichaelA
Hi M,I too loved the unhelpful Cheerio box line in your introduction . Brilliant lyrics a bit like Squeeze, but cleverer . Loved the mood, the vibe, basically everything, brilliant.

Nice one!

Cjeers
Jamie

[Skub]

@MichaelA

Quirky,funny,witty and catchy.

You have the market cornered Michael!

[Morefrog Jones]

Definite 80's feel....a touch of Blancmange. or perhaps depeche mode .....interesting lyrics that keep you hooked - Good story telling.....would definitely have a second listen

[digger72]

Hi Michael,

Great tune, very well put together.
Loving the early 80s feel.
Some great synth sounds.
Good slightly deadpan vocals; made me think of Marc Almond, though I don't know why?

Digger

[PaulyX]

Hi, another winner.  Shades of the Human League to my ears - that analogue synth bass line works a treat and the little ascending synth riff is very hooky.  As ever a great interesting kitchen-sink story in the lyrics.

[PaulAds]

Hi Michael

When I first listened I thought it reminded me of Joy Division and Johnny Remember Me with a hint of the Buzzcocks thrown in for good measure.

I remembered who it was who had supposedly been coached in taking a polygraph test as we were talking about in the group chat last week...it was Christine Blasey Ford, who the US Democrats tried to get to stop Brett Kavanaugh taking a seat on the Supreme Court.

I'd be no good at lying...but I reckon liars would - generally - be excellent at it, having had loads of practice...so I've always been sceptical about the usefulness of polygraphs. I think it's like a guitar tuner...it might say you're guitar's in tune...but ultimately if your ears tell you differently...you wouldn't give the machine the last word.

Anyway...I thought this was a really great song. I think I've liked everything you've ever posted...and the more "straight" songs of yours are real quality despite not having the instant humorous appeal of your more funny songs. It's quite a thing to be able to do both with such aplomb.

Tip top.

[MichaelA]

Thanks for this last bunch of comments guys. I'm very happy to get a good reaction to a song that isn't one of my more funny ones. I do the funny stuff partly because I don't take myself too seriously as a musician/writer. So if I get a good reaction to a slightly more serious number, then I feel like I might be getting somewhere!

Hi @Jamie, yeah maybe I should write a song about the Cheerios box. I get the feeling it's a star in the making. And yes I always liked quite a number of Squeeze's lyrics.  Thanks for the listen. 

Thanks @Skub, I reckon you have given me a good checklist there for any new song - 'quirky, funny, witty and catchy', yes I will remember that, cheers 

Hi @Morefrog Jones - I'd forgotten about Blancmange, but yep I do like a couple of theirs. I think I am stuck in any era that is before the mid 80s. Oh well, at least I am harmlessly amusing myself.

Hi @digger72 , I believe Marc Almond was raised in Southport, where I lived for 20 years until a couple of years back. So maybe it's the local accent! 

Cheers @PaulyX, cool to meet you on Zoom the other night. I forgot to ask you to show us your painting!  Anyway thanks for this, plus also for commenting on my April song 'Lovers Leap'. 'Kitchen sink', yeah I like that.

Hi @PaulAds, I'm really chuffed at your comment on my consistency of output. I probably only put out about a third to a half of stuff I start working on. I am quite happy to totally bin things off that I feel aren't getting anywhere, even if I've spent quite a bit of time on them. So whatever standard I can reach is partly achieved by me being my own tough critic. That would also be my top tip suggestion for young songwriters. Just put out your better stuff, not everything.

Trust you to have the back story on lie detectors. I get the idea you spend a lot of time reading lesser known slices of culture. Although that's probably why you come up with many ingenious lyrics ideas yourself.

I just played 'Johnny Remember Me', what a great song. I will have to do more with these reverb guitars. All the best