FAWM: "Grasshopper (Where did you go?)"

Grasshopper (Where did you go?)

Liner Notes

More lament than protest. I've noticed a distinct lack of grasshoppers lately but I did see a few this summer. Could that be our last visit?

Lyrics

It's strange how I never see you round Back then I'd walk and you would bound You annoyed me so I stomped up the path But now I'm afraid your aren't coming back

How can they wipe you away? Things won't work if you aren't here Not sure I have a say. But it keeps me fed so why do I care

Grasshopper grasshopper where did you go? I would have been kinder if I'd known Grasshopper grasshopper will I see you next year? Or is it as bad as I fear?

Comments

@newukenewyork 2d

Could be the grasshoppers, could be bees (until that last stanza)! I dig the harsh kazoo solo, and the plaintive picking. This is simple in tone but deep in concept. Lovely.

@dudachris 5d

Oh man this is so sweet and the kazoo for the grasshopper song is a perfect fit!! Also, a friend called you my musical doppleganger and I listed to some of your other songs (but didn't comment, was doing dishes and lost pages lol) and the other day I went and got a kazoo of my own. Very likely you are a major influence on that decision 😀

@wehappyfew 1w

Really felt this one. That descending chord sequence in 3/4 is perfect for a lament and gives it a gentle but heavy pull all the way through. I love how the grasshopper works both as a simple character and something much bigger once you sit with the lyrics. The sparse arrangement really lets the emotion land, and that kazoo is such a strange but touching choice. Quietly devastating in the best way.

@thefifthsister 1w

That kazoo solo was a very welcome surprise and fitting for the topic. Very touching song. Really thought provoking and the simplicity of the arrangement elevates the meaning

@omaistarz 1w

If I hadn't read the liner notes I would have thought that "grasshopper" was a bothersome yet endearing character that suddenly disappeared. The descending line is perfect for a lament. I really felt it.

@porrectus 2w

Kazoo intro, awesome. The prosody of this song is great, absolutely a lament. Really well done. Great song.

@rtiger8 2w

I also turn to thoughts of martial arts apprentices. That interpretation can be a metaphor for so many shutting out their parents and other family members.

The line, I would have been kinder, hits hard in the family context.

@hakk 2w

This got me thinking of loss of hearing the high pitched sounds! Grasshoppers have left me too, at least I don't hear them anymore! 😂 Great chorus: Grasshopper, grasshopper... Really melancholic gazoo in the end.

@jeremykazoo 2w

Maybe my own loss of high-pitched hearing is part of my loss of grasshoppers. But at least the tinnitus brings back all those high-pitch drones. I can hear them night and day! 😄

@smiley 2w

I can see a literal meaning here, but also, an analogy to "Grasshopper" in Karate Kid. Grasshoppers can refer to youngsters, but also, the insect. Bugs are fascinating and I am glad you penned this piece in their honor. Great structure and rhyme and cool kazoo.

@jeremykazoo 2w

I actually wrestled a lot with bringing in the analogy to grasshopper from The karate kid on this song. Part of me really wanted to avoid it because it seems a bit cliche, but it also feels like you can't say the word grasshopper without bringing to mind that movie.

@willow1 2w

Love that you started w the full on personality of your kazoo. So insecty! The delicate balance of nature presented so naturally in the form of a waltz.

@jeremykazoo 2w

Would you believe I really wanted to underplay the kazoo in this one. I wanted that. Melody and I wanted the kazoo there but I want it mixed way less in the whole track. One of the disadvantages of doing one take is I can't just pull that particular channel down and make it sound a little bit more distant. If I ever record this song, I'll probably record the kazoo separately, throw on a whole bunch of reverb and even delay and put it way back in the mix. I wanted it to sound like the insects were far away

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Grasshopper (Where did you go?)

Liner Notes

Lyrics

Comments

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