Every week we try to put a clever short blurb about the song here without giving away too much that we want to talk about in the “discussion” part below. The problem is, I don’t have a lot to say about this. I don’t know what this sounds like or is influenced by (aside from an obvious lyrical proximity to Bob Dylan), so I’ll let you work that out on your own. Heck, the real point of this text is just to fill space beside the illustration anyway. (Look! It’s a bell!)
Song
Discussion
CHRIS: Hey, you may have noticed it’s been me here flying solo for awhile. What’s going on? Well, you know how we still owe you a song 28 ever since Steve’s system crashed and ate his work? His recording setup still isn’t back up and running. On top of that, he’s got this crazy summer job where he’s touring with the Canadian Youth Orchestra, which makes it very tricky to find space (temporal and physical) to write and record. (Too bad, because that orchestra could sound very cool on a track.)
Not that this is the easiest week for me either. I’m closing on a new house today, moving tomorrow, and we just bought a puppy that needs to be taken outside every few hours to prevent it from peeing on my life. Also, puppies don’t really like or understand loud noises, so that actually ended up influencing this song’s production. I decided to do all of the instruments (just two, the piano and bells) on the keyboard so that I could record them silently (plug the keyboard straight in to my computer, listen on my headphones). Then I sang the vocals as quietly as I could (unlike the loud yelly stuff of last week) and only gave myself one take, which is why they sometimes sound strained or airy.
Also, I didn’t write any of this song until about 30 minutes before I started recording, and then only gave myself an hour or so to record, so given all those factors I’m pretty proud of the outcome. Enjoy! Ring your bell!
Lyrics
You’re as lucky as a no leaf clover
But your bad year’s ending, it’s finally over
Ring your bell
Get back to work
When they say you’re brave it’s a misnomer
But you fooled ’em all, pat yourself on the shoulder
Ring your bell
Get back to work
Ring your bell from the top of the hill, it’s over!
Get back to work like you never left, like you’ve never been bolder
Credits
Words and music: Chris Tindal
Chris Tindal: Piano, bells (keyboard), vocals
Steve Salt: Email blast, Facebook post, tweeting
Claire Salloum: Illustration, puppy duty
Well I’ve got tears streaming down my face. In like a good way. Thanks, Tindal. I love it.