[adamfarr]

Hi All - my turn on this one.

This one has a few elements from my recent "study" of country music. So (1) my indie-pop-rock instinct would be for the protagonist to live in perpetual misery and despair - here, we get a defiant and dude-relatable uplifting twist; and (2) country music sometimes likes to give us "stories that the person serving you in the shop would tell" so these are perhaps a bit less oh-so-clever than I normally tend towards. After finishing, I panicked when I found that the ambrosial Kacey Musgroves has a song of the same title, thankfully very different.

In verses 1 and 2 we may think he's "just a loser" but from somewhere near the middle I wanted to introduce some elements that give the impression that maybe he's not so dumb after all, with a view to setting up the ending.

What I heard as the chorus section is very long - so we end up with a type of post-chorus which I like as it really puts the punch line in the spotlight.

Production wise a few notes:

- sped everything up to 115 BPM from 95, which also meant that I could add a final chorus and still be under 4 minutes
- in the first verses I muted all guitars except for the acoustic  to allow for some build
- backed off the slide for all except the solo
- chopped the slide up a little for the solo (apologies to Bin!)
- added high strings and cello pad to fill out the chorus
- LVOX chain: gate - tune (just a few notes) - subtractive EQ - air EQ - compression - de-ess; with subtle sends to room, ambience (only in choruses), and (new for me and again something I've noticed a lot in country) 1/4 note delay which I really like on my vocal for this type of slow moving progression
- BVox: 4 tracks doubled - compressed and tuned to bejeezus, each pair hard-ish panned, with a send to a plate reverb and de-ess on the bus
- Drums: EQ to bring up hats - sends to room, parallel compression and specific early reflection verb (makes drums sound huge!)
- Bass chain: doubled (one track pitched up one octave); compressed, add saturation; enhance harmonics around 80hz (Bark of Dog); add some Petite Excite on low end to cut through
- Guitars - hard panned; slide high shelf at 2.5k
- Music bus: scooped EQ between 600-2.5K to accomodate vocals
- Master: touch of EQ - saturation - compressor/limiter


V1
My mother said that I was always late
Just like my dad for every date
So I was born a fortnight overdue
When they both were 42

V2
Late for every meal and late for school
My rent's not punctual as a rule
My coat has holes cos I don't stitch in time
Everyone knows that I'll arrive

CH
Late to the party
Missed all the best fun
Why do I do this to myself?
Got to the party
The night was all done
And you were kissing someone else
Guess there's a hint
That I should take
Time to change for my own sake

V3
My boss warns me that they're going to fire me
But they've got no work to inspire me
Ads everywhere for making cash online
But I'm still making up my mind

V4
All my friends bought houses in the boom
But I couldn't decide so soon
I'm the type for moving slow but sure
But they think I should find a cure (for being)

CH

V5 Solo

V6
My mama told me I was always late
But also I should live my way
My daddy said don't let a girl be torture
There'll be another round the corner

FINAL CH
Late to the party
but I’m not going home
Now I’m gonna help myself
Give me a bottle
and I’ll be moving on
You stay kissing someone else
Cos I’m not late
To your party, no
No, I’m the first one at my own
Cos I’m not late
To your party, no
No, I’m the first one at my own

REPEAT CH

[PaulAds]

Great story and an excellent, fun twist, all laid out in lovely descriptive lyrics. Typically thoughtful and intelligent.

The uptake in tempo that you've gone with goves it a life of its own and helps a lot to separate it from the other entries...so far... I wonder if anyone else has done anything like this.. Hmm.

Anyway... I thought your vocals are really good here too...perhaps the best I've heard from you thus far. Great to hear your progress on this front...as you'll know from painful experience... We've both had our detractors in that respect 😀 and it's something we'll likely both keep working at.

Great job, Adam.

[pompeyjazz]

Yikes ! @adamfarr The time signature shift really threw me. I love the lyrics and the twist in the last verse. This is an excellent twist on the original backing track. Vocals sound super - Just so "Adam" - I love your vocal style. BV's fit in very well also. Another excellent addition to the Bin challenge 

[Kafla]

Hi @adamfarr

I really enjoyed that  You achieved everything you set out to do and lyrically it worked really well... the twist at the end make me laugh even though I knew it was coming 

Your rearrangement of the tracks and tempo also works really well and I think you made the right call to increase the BPM because the song would probably labour along rather than keeping a nice momentum...great solo break as well!

Maybe you should relocate to Nashville and change your name to Adam The-Farr-out-cowboy - yee-haa!

Great entry and well done 

[5 guys named Lars]

Yes @adamfarr as the others said the change in tempo gives the song a new gusto. Really like this challenge..it shows the versatility of songwriters to change up the same piece of music. The lyrics are great..the first verse catches you straight away & brings you into the story & you`ve gone to the trouble for a twist too. Top stuff. Admire the fact that too that you`ve played round with the original so it fits your own style. Good stuff.

[MichaelA]

Intelligent narrative tune with engaging plot development, maybe a bit on the subtle side compared to many country songs I’ve heard, but all the better for it. So your character got me rooting for him and happy that he was breaking out to something better there at the end. Neat idea around the common catch phrase.

Chorus tune is pretty damn catchy and yep smart idea to speed up the original track.

Sounds like you had fun with this, but I’d say Country, with its storytelling potential, is kind of home from home for you, odd though that may seem! Great listen!

[Jamie]

@adamfarr
Hi Adam, love the acerbic lyric which worked well, nice tempo which suited the 'feel' of the song. The chorus picks up nicely and as I've said before your production and singing has come a long way.
Very good Adam!

Cheers

Jamie

[moraamarolaloba]

Hola @adamfarr
hahaha What a funny moment you have given me!! I liiiiike this line so much
"All my friends bought houses in the boom
But I couldn't decide so soon" hahaha fantastic!
it fits perfectly with the character your song has created!

Thanks for sharing, I am still smiling and I 'll listen to it again.

Mora

[Wicked Deeds]

Hi Adam,

It's not until you hit that  super chorus that this song takes off.  Initially I thought there was a timing issue with the vocal and the guitar but after repeated listens, it appears to be in time.  It doesn't however, initially sit comfortably to my ears.  Back to that chorus..... it really is excellent.  The marriage of melody and lyrics and the lovely swelling strings are so good.  By the time the 2nd verse comes 'round,  "My boss warns me that they're going to fire me'  everything sits much better.   I begin to enjoy the verse section and see that it  exudes a warm charm, before that wonderful chorus is reintroduced.  Great to see that you've created dynamics by dropping out instruments before the party chorus begins at the end.  This is a really great song!

Paul

[cowparsleyman]

Hi @adamfarr - the first thing that struck me was the mix, very different to the original from Bin, as you say, the LVox sit perfectly in there, nice work man.

I agree with @Wicked Deeds - to me the Chorus is the star, I found the Verses, a little busy, lyrically, but  I guess you know me by now, the lyrics normally just pass me by in any tune I hear.   I just seemed like it was a bit cramped, thats all.

Love the mix

[digger72]

Hi Adam,

I agree with the others - the chorus is very strong.
You do fit in very well with Bin's track. Very tasteful lead work - by the way.
You mention having increased the tempo - sounds good - drives the song along nicely.
Felt the BT could be slightly higher - vocal seemed a little high for me.

Digger

[adamfarr]

Thanks to everyone who listened and commented. I definitely had fun with this challenge, though it's always a bit different from doing everything from scratch.

Always tough to fit all the story in without packing too many lyrics in; and I definitely have a tendency to mix the vocals loud, so I'll definitely take those points away.

But glad that the story came over well and the chorus especially seemed to work. And looking forward to more contrasting entries fo' sho'.

Possibly not the last country song you'll hear from me ... who'd have thought it?

Thanks all!

[MonnoDB]

Great chorus @adamfarr... great rhythm to it .. Love the way that sing "party" and "going. home" "moving on".. etc.. Hmmm I'd be inclined not to go down rather than up at the "at my own" line.. but actually maybe that kind of theatrical mood was what you were looking for..

Love those rather superb lyrics.. original take on the theme... Too many lyrics?? Surely that's not a thing (lol ... I am partial to a wordy song so I'm not complaining!

Really enjoyed it - a super original take on both the theme and the track..

K

[Paulski]

I was getting all melancholy with the other tracks but this take shook me out of that mood in a hurry 
Like the others have said - great chorus - it drives ahead of the riffs so differently than the other versions have but it suits the song perfectly at this tempo.

Nice work - very inventive!
Paul

[Beebeesmith]

Hi Adam
I am so surprised by the diversity of contributions made to this event as they are all so good in their own right. Not familiar with what you have done in the past but your lyrics drew me in made me smile and I was hooked. Nice catchy chorus and enjoyed the solo.
Just made the party even better.
Great.
BB