This song is approximately what you’d get if you picked up the tempo on Wheat Kings and then asked Hootie to sing over top of it. It’s also what you get when Chris goes into his basement on a Thursday night without any song idea at all and comes out an hour and a half later with a recording. Have we lost you yet? No? Ok, here ya go… (And yes, we know that the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish is not actually called “Hootie.” Save your angry letters.)

Song

 Oh bother [3:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Discussion

CHRIS: Ok guys, I’ll be honest, I kinda phoned this one in. It’s been a busy week, and I have a few other songs that I like a lot better and are mostly written, but they were going to take more time to record. So I concluded, correctly, that it would be faster and more realistic for me to write a new, simpler song from scratch and record it instead. That said, we only have 15 songs left (!!!) so I’m gonna try and sprint to the finish as much as possible from now on.

Anyway, about THIS song. Many of you know Steve and I started playing together as a cover act on university and college campuses in the early 00’s. We learned to play every single song that a drunk college student could think to request, which involved a lot of 90’s radio rock like Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind and Sugar Ray. There was also a lot of Tragically Hip, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, etc. It didn’t take us long to discover that learning hundreds of those songs was easier than we expected, because when you play them acoustic a lot of them break down to the same three chords (usually G, C, D) with the occasional Em, Am or F thrown in for good measure.

And whatever, I like that music. It makes me feel comfortable. It’s familiar. So I set out to write a song that might have been the kind of thing we’d played as a cover at Georgian College in Barrie or Wilf’s on the Laurier campus had it been a hit in 1998.

So while I think it’s a bit rushed and does a nice job of showcasing what a bad guitar player I am, the lyrics are kinda fun. I’m going to cling to that.

Also! These blog posts were a lot more fun when the “discussion” part was actually a discussion! Steve and I will try to make more of that happen in the final 15 songs, too.

Lyrics

You get me bothered
but it’s really no bother
I could use the distraction today
You’re a tall drink of water
But still make me hotter
With each of the words that you say

You drink me up
So I’m down with that
Chuck all these lame inhibitions away
You can’t be real
So I fake what I feel
‘Til the faking’s what’s making you stay

Where have you been ’til now?

I am a sucker for people who pucker
Tonight you’ll lie in the arms of another

You crash my car
but we don’t have to go that far
I say we walk it from here
There’s a crispness in tonight’s air
Pinkies entwined like they’re
Trying to hide from the fear

Where have you been ’til now

I am a lover of what I’ve discovered
Tonight you’ll lie in the arms of another

I am a sucker for people who pucker
Tonight I’ll lie in the arms of another

Credits

Words and music: Chris Tindal
Chris Tindal: Acoustic guitar and vocals
Steve Salt: I think he’s on a trip of some kind?
Claire Salloum: This wasn’t her fault. She was not given enough time to illustrate anything.