FAWM: "Turnip Truck Blues (Getting Here Again)"

Turnip Truck Blues (Getting Here Again)

6 days ago by @joefahey

Turnip Truck Blues (Getting Here Again)

joefahey

00:00

Liner Notes

#acoustic #acousticonetake #singersongwriter #minneapolis

Here's a song that I've spent the last few days crafting the lyrics for. My songwriting goal lately is to try and be a bit more serious about songwriting, not to remove the joy of songwriting but to resist the temptation for wordplay and puns and all that clever stuff.

I've always wanted to write songs that connect with people and I feel like I have but right just trying to focus more on that more. This song was based on moving to Minneapolis in the late 70s, about not knowing anyone and then after many years the town starts to feel smaller, for better or for worse. I kept rewriting, editing, hoping to make it more universal, something people can relate to from their own experiences. I feel like this is a work in progress still.

Anyway, after spending days on the lyrics I barely thought about the music. I maybe strummed a couple lines while writing so this recording is a first-time, one-take at it. I'm not sure if the choruses even match but I need to keep moving so here it is.

Lyrics

After I fell off the turnip truck Didn’t have much choice who I ran with I was a lost lamb in a new land May as well have been in Japan

I’d wrecked my Hudson map book During a hazy incident With grenadine And the cheapest tequila I could find

How did I ever get here I don’t know But how do, How do I get here again?

Quiet at parties Where I didn’t know anyone Brownstone castles off the interstate As far as you could see Speakers so loud It didn’t matter anyway So high I thought All those lonesome lyrics were aimed at me

How did I ever get here To find that she was gone? And how do I get there again?

Every patron knows my name Every street’s a shortcut home I thought I’d conquered everything Turns out I just got known

I’d find the finer things by accident That record store with those old wooden floors Clerks behind the counter nodding like they knew Sound and vision singing from the skies

Parties in the subterranean depths of unmarked buildings in the warehouse zone Cold on the stone floor but warmer by the stage more Who is this band, they’re so weird and they they sound so good

How did I ever get here I don’t know But how do, How do I get here again?

Comments

@toddnorem 3d

I’ve always wondered what it is with certain songs that allow them to connect to a wide audience who want to hear them again and again and again. There’s some kind of magic there. Or maybe payola. Super crazy that we listen to records that are 50-some years old and still get new things out of them. This is a really cool story about finding your people. I can totally relate to this with Minneapolis. I love the creaky wood floors of record stores. And how cold those stone floors were, but yes, always warmer up by the stage. Love the whole idea of this…how did I get here and how do I get here again. Really cool. I’m always in awe of how you can write lyrics out ahead of time and then can just play a song on the spot like this. Although I would love to hear this one polished up a bit. Nice song!

@tspoon 6d

Sweet nostalgic and cool is what i would say. I think you accomplished what you wanted with making it relatable to others moving to a new place. I love the references to discovering the record store and the warehouse parties. You paint a vivid picture of a young man in a new town. Well done Joe.