Early Retirement

Mickey took over my house for this one as that’s where the piano lives at the minute. We managed to move it into the sitting room, shifted a fair amount of furniture, covered the floor with plywood and set up a few microphones. After Mickey had twiddled for a fair while, we did three takes and that was that.

I always liked the idea of not messing about with this song – with little else going on it means you can only focus on the melody and the lyric. Plus with the song having been written in situe on that instrument it didn’t feel right to add any other layers.

The song is one that captures a point in my life – at which I’d just become a dad and I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with conversations between ourselves and people in the music industry. I got the sense that the lives of some of these people were just about a product, a profit or a process; chasing some sort of escapism, flanked by shady morals and all fuelled by the apparent love of money. It made us hope that it wouldn’t rub off. Luckily, the majority of people we work with and have worked with are lovely but it just takes the odd person to knock you out of kilter.

I know that we have to operate as a business in order to keep writing songs for a living but if it all became a hobby again, we’d still take solace in expressing through music – that felt a whole lot different to the pursuits of others and had the effect of casting a rather large shadow over us for a while.

I suppose the line in the song that means the most to me is about seeing the centuries in my little one’s eyes. Even though it is blatantly manifested from a Paul Simon lyric somewhere along the way, it is powerful to sing. I like being defiant in life, and this line is the foundation of it.

As the quieter little brother of In Blue Music We Trust, this song does a good job.

———————————-

Fortunately I have got
Enough to realise that
This is growing old
The promises you sew are
Shallow footsteps in the snow
That you cover up

Sumptuously I have seen
The centuries in his eyes
Now I’m growing up
It’s wealth that makes you proud
Well there’s no pockets in a shroud
You want showing up.
You need showing up.

I’m worn down by it all
I’m worn down by it all
Take my innocent relief
Take my shattered inner peace
I’m worn down

A culture cannot die
If it is already long dead
The only place for language is
The remnants of these bandages
That weave a futile melody
While they’re wrapped around my head
The subtle chill of dread that’s filling me
Is deep in each capillary

Fortunately I have got
Enough to realise
This is growing old.

I’m worn down by it all
I’m cut down by it all
Take my innocent relief
Take my shattered inner peace
Take my worry
Take my scorn
Take my enigmatic pause
Take the contents of my head
Take the remnants
Take my dread
For I’m worn down.

The Gentle EP

The Gentle EP by Little Comets available to buy on iTunes now!

[fbcomments]