I was feeling sorry for myself (again) one evening (a couple of decades ago now). I was musing as to how my lot in life might have turned out had I been more disciplined, or more aware of what really mattered when it really mattered, or simply had had more common sense when I was younger, or had I not been one of those "know it all" teenagers and given more credence to what my parents warned me about, etc... I was sitting there imagining what life would be like if I just jumped in the car and took off for points unknown, I had to stop and I needed to do some self-reasoning to get there, this song is the result.
Anyway, the feeling persisted, so I went down to the basement, turned off all the lights, lit a candle, and wrote this song in the dark, of course, recording took a while longer ;). The guitars were done with my cheapie strat copy, single-coil pickups, a time before Seymour's pickup went into the bridge position, but not before I poured mortar mix into the cavity under the pick guard to boost natural sustain, and then spray-painted the entire mess gloss-white, body, neck, headstock, everything, inspiration: Jeff Beck Wired. That snow-white strat-copy was inspiring to play, if not necessarily much of a hum-bucker.
This is the "live" version of this song. "Live" means that I fired up the Porta-5 recorder, strapped on the strat-copy guitar, turned on the microphone, and just played and sang the song "live", one guitar, one vocal, one track, one take. It's so "live" that you can hear the kids watching TV in the background near the beginning of this song as well as hear me adjust the gooseneck a couple of times. I also miss a chord or two, but it's all good. Note also that the lyric is slightly different from the "studio" version.
I personally feel this live recording is my best and most pure vocal performance ever, from 20 years ago until now. I'm not sure exactly why it was better to my ear than the rest, but I think it had to do with whatever attic/crawlspace I'd been in before I returned home to record it. So you see what you think, especially at the end where I begin to improvise. I used no techno-tricks at all on this, it's just me, the guitar, the mic, a "tick-track" and some reverb.
If you'd like to hear the "full" version of this song, meaning studio-style and many tracks, with drums, bass, backing vocals, lead guitar, etc, then click here.
You sit alone in the dark by a candlelight...wishing again for things that might have been.
Hearing that voice it whispers the same thing: "coulda had it all, coulda had everything".
You know what I mean?
Oh, you know don't you? it won't go away. It won't go away; gotta face it again today.
You know don't you? it won't go away. It won't go away 'til you're thankful for today.
You made some mistakes, a long time ago.
That's all it takes sometimes to put you on a different road.
You gotta care when the time comes, gotta be aware...
There's no one now to hold your hand, there's fools everywhere.
You know what I mean?
You know don't you? it won't go away. It won't go away; gotta face it again today.
You know don't you? You know the score: you know what the days and the months and the years are for.
How dare you think of anything else?
You fool do you really wanna be someone else? No!
Look around, there's plenty here, oh yeah, not outside, look inside...
look inside yourself.
More often now your spirit breaks free.
You smile as you think of what is, and what could be.
Loosen the chain, lighten your load.
Now you're sailing away, on a different road.
You know what I mean? You know what I said...
whoa, I think you know...
You know don't you? You know the way, you know the way, now you're thankful for today.
You know don't you? You know the score: you know what the days and the months and the years are for.
you know...
you know...don't you, don't you run away...
you know...don't you, don't you run away...
you know...don't you, don't you run away...
you know...don't you, don't you run away...
don't you run away.