Artist FavoriteLiner Notes
I love the inspiration that is FAWM. And when it hits it's a beautiful thing. It hit for this song, my 57 year manifesto.
3 different mouth harps used in this song. Key of Am(ish), I used F (intro), C (solo) and G (third break).
And the first time I used an actual bass.
Lyrics
In the end
Reaper comes calling worms come crawling
Don’t matter green grey or blue
Long as the light shines through
I ain’t hiding
Mighty god come looking for me
Laying it out for the world to see
Monkey in the middle
Jumping up and down
Reaching for the stars
Falling on the ground
In the beginning
Cast in squalling
Ride the madness
Fast and slow
Make it up as I go
Monkey in the middle
Jumping up and down
Reaching for the stars
Falling on the ground
Do my best do my worst
Round and round
Back on that horse
Stand tall fall back down
Monkey in the middle
Jumping up and down
Reaching for the stars
Falling on the ground
<Solo>
I ain’t lying
-42
Northern lights are dancing
I want to dance with you
<harp then mandolin solo>
@metalfoot 6 days
Really deep and rocking song. Love the vocal register here. Awesome job all around.
@yarimurray 4 weeks
Great vibe and performance! All the elements serve the material and your delivery drips with pathos.
@fonte 6 weeks
Oh VIBES man. This is GREAT! Love the harmonica, what a huge sound you got from that. Love it when the drums kick in, was not expecting it but it's a great pattern, and can imagine a drummer doing that.
@standup 6 weeks
Great dark sound, really nice rootsy groove. Catchy chorus, and I love the harp in the intro. Lots of layers, the mando and electric guitar combine nicely.
I guess that's all us humans, reaching for the stars and falling on the ground.
The tone of the harp has a great edge to it.
@timfatchen 6 weeks
Kudos on the bass! It takes years to pluck up the courage and then--the discovery it adds so much more life than cheating with a keyboard! The mandolin shines in this like little flashes of light through the dark.
There's an authentic live feel to this, some say "loose" but I like loose--who'd be deadbeat, especially in a give-death-the-universe-everything-the-finger-and LIVE song?
@crutherford 7 weeks
what a vibe this song is.
there is a grittiness and a space in the storytelling that i really love
also, some wonderful playing
i just looked at previous comments and see the word gritty coming up a lot - i see this as a good thing
but i'm going to elaborate on my version
there is a feeling of truth to this song that i really appreciate
it's one i would like to listen to a few times to dig my brain into it
wonderful tune.
so happy you mentioned it in the forums
bravo
@ayehahmur 7 weeks
This has a really nice loose and rough feel to it. The guitar is gritty, the drums jazz-lazy, the vocal smoky, and it all works so well together to create that Waitsian kinda atmosphere. Love this kind of lyric too, oblique and evocative and full of intriguing images. "Monkey In The Middle" is exactly the kind of track title I gravitate to.
And the harmonica and mandolin spots are a fantastic addition of brightness to the whole affair. Excellent work.
@oldlostjohn 7 weeks
Rough, dark and gritty, excellent stuff. This is a piece of strong writing and dead on arrangement and performance. The mean voice and distorted harmonica, love the drums too.
@kimbeggs 7 weeks
nice and rolling dark Richard. owww!
@mandolinda 7 weeks
Again, beautiful mandolin notes, and solo.
@laotranati 8 weeks
I really the drum beat, it was unexpected for me at least. I also love the lines "jumping up and down, reaching for the stars, falling on the ground". And... a harmonica and harp and mandolin solo? Cool stuff
@alg123 8 weeks
Also, great production!
@alg123 8 weeks
Love the chunky roll of this. Chorus is great - monkey in the middle, us humans on our ridiculous and profound quests...
@owl 8 weeks
Ooh that harmonica though! Love the attitude here, the low growling vocal notes against the shimmery mandolin are great. Love these lyrics too, kind of almost a nursery rhyme full of meditations about mortality.
@crisp1 8 weeks
Great hook and that's a mean harmonica you play there! Cool way to go out!
@unkept 8 weeks
I can never have enough harmonica! Liked the drums and the backing vocals especially, and the mood and lyrics fit together to make a great mood. Nice work!
@jonmeta 8 weeks
The chorus is really solid and hooky. And a mando solo-- yay! I like the way the overdriven electric guitar works with the mandolin and blues harp(s) to create a sound that's part back porch, part roadhouse.
The key of Am(ish) must be from the days of horse drawn carriages and no electricity!
@jmadison 8 weeks
Man, I really like how the bass moves you along in the song. The harp and mando really work well on this deep blues tune. Nice.
@scubed 8 weeks
What a cool gritty blues vibe! The harmonicas sound great, and the lovely mando outro is a nice touch. I love the chorus! Really, really enjoyable track.
@dzdandcunfsd Feb 22
😮 well you've just left me mostly speechless with this one......other than this just grooves the truth! Kudos!
@johnstaples Feb 22
Ya had me at Monkey in the Middle!! Plus, harmonica and mandolin doing the blues? Yes, please! Nice song. Good write and nicely performed!
@sjbatavia Feb 22
Man, this is NICE. I really like the raw vocals.
"Reaching for the stars, Falling in the ground."
"Northern lights are dancing. I want to dance with you."
Strong lyrics!
@mikeb Feb 22
Rough and ready blues. Mando outro lead was unexpected for the style, worked well.
@theodamus Feb 21
I listened to this while I was working this morning and was annoyed when it ended and the album didn’t continue - you clearly took me way beyond FAWM-land! Love how the laid back vibe carries through all the elements, this has a Morphine kinda feel to me.. I really like it.
@jyllian Feb 21
Great vibe! I love the harps too, the scratchiness of your voice, and the chorus.
@natalieedelson Feb 21
this is great - love the harps and the gritty yet laid back Tom Waits kinda vibe . Chorus is killer.
@billwhite51 Feb 21
now thus is a truly authentic modern blues number,, hard hitting lyric,,insistent funeral beat. those harmonicas are out of this world and the mandolin adds a light touch at the end. at the top of it all are those vocals. most blues musicians are stuck in a lexicon of phrases that have no pertinance to their own lives,,,but the unaffected honesty in your voice and the freshness of your word palette makes me believe in every word you sing and every note you play.
@billwhite51 Feb 21
now thus is a truly authentic modern blues number,, hard hitting lyric,,insistent funeral beat. those harmonicas are out of this world and the mandolin adds a light touch at the end. at the top of it all are those vocals. most blues musicians are stuck in a lexicon of phrases that have no pertinance to their own lives,,,but the unaffected honesty in your voice and the freshness of your word palette makes me believe in every word you sing and every note you play.
@wolfkier Feb 21
There's a blues in that screaming harp, weathered voice and the esoteric/mystical lyric. Loving on the line : "northern lights are dancing, I want to dance with you".
@ustaknow Feb 21
Yes, excellent.
I'd've been pinching myself on some of the vocal accents with water-pump pliers to push that edge just a little bit more 😀 (maybe a small hammer to a finger even 😉 ) - probably a little Rye, w/Honey chaser... hahhh. (Well, it's what I wash my harps with anyway 😀 )
So used a Shaker Mic or got the distortion in the mix? Anyway, really nice fuzz on the last one. Great real drums? And, yes, that's what a Bass is for, - dimension, nice dimension there.
I'll come back and listen again later, - wonderful.
@burrsettles Feb 20
Nice gritty instrumentation and vocal delivery, has a sort of Tom Waits / Kaisers Orchestra vibe going on. Nice work!
@amelea Feb 20
I'm glad I found this 57 year manifesto. These lyrics definitely question big things. (And thank you for reminding me of that Monkey In The Middle game, I totally forgot). The mouth harps, bass, guitar, and drums all work interestingly together here, great work.