Name: An Ode to Anxiety by The Skunk-Boy Project
Duration: 5 min 17 s
Description: This one's kind of silly, a song about the need for constant reassurance.

This one's kind of silly, a song about the need for constant reassurance.

An Ode to Anxiety

This started life with me messing about with a capo on a high fret of my nylon string guitar. My first attempt at words was genuinely awful. "You make the dinner and I'll pour some wine...." sort-of-thing... BLEURGH. As with many slow numbers, I found that going darker with the lyrics unlocked the song. Disclaimer: I don't think anyone would actually be like this in real life, I just rather enjoyed the metaphor (and the title, I like the title).

LYRICS

You strike a match
And I'll toss it in
We'll watch together
As the fire begins
It's a kind of addiction
We both know is a sin
But who cares

Stand in the moonlight
Watching the flames
The innocent victims
With unmemorable names
And sooner or later
We'll do it again
So who cares

There goes our love again
There goes our love again

Your friends think I'm crazy
I'm poison for you
I'm weak and I'm lazy
Hell, most of it's true
But deep down they know
That you're built like that too
So who cares

When we're together
The flames never cease
We’re both like a jigsaw
With one missing piece
I guess maybe someone
Should call the police
But who cares

There goes our love again
There goes our love again

Oh, I know it’s crazy
But I love to watch it burn
So let’s burn it down again

There goes our love again
There goes our love again
There goes our love again

The Arsonists

This one is essentially a one-take guitar and vocal (well, this is technically take 2), plus a very very very simple slide guitar line and a harmony vocal.

It evolved out of me noodling a riff from an open-E tuning. I almost reverted to a standard, as I was struggling with the bridge, but I'm glad I persevered as I think the open tuning makes the guitar part sound a bit more interesting. I have to admit, the lyrics were a bit of an afterthought, and ended up being a case of choosing words that rhyme with 'bend' and retrofitting the other lines accordingly🤦

LYRICS:

We've been doing this ol' dance
So long, I swear
You say I'm an idiot
I say that's unfair
'Cause if you bend a little
I'll meet you halfway there

I’ve been pulling at this thread
And so have you
Baby, we’re unravelling
Like we always do
But if you mend a little
I’ll meet you halfway there

And I don’t even know the truth of it
Just know I hate to be apart
So when you ask me what’s the use of it
I point a finger to my heart

I’m planting out these seeds
On a sunny day
Gonna cover them with earth
Then hope and pray
And if you tend a little
I’ll meet you halfway there

Halfway There

A demo for FAWM (The singing is supposed to be slurred!)

Soon

Just your common or garden song about a Catholic schoolgirl who loves singing the blues. Thank you to the mighty Rich Joseph for lending his vocal stylings (https://soundcloud.com/user-831068061).

LYRICS

Did you ever see young Emily
The clean cut Catholic girl
Walked just like an angel
A head full of golden curls
But Emily she hid a secret
That only her friends knew
As the Lord’s my witness
Emily could sing the blues

Every day, she'd try and play
Some Ella or some Etta James
She loved Big Mama Thornton
And all those other names
Then every night she snuck outside
To a club down in Waterloo
Where as the Lord’s my witness
Emily would sing the blues

Emily, if they could see
How you got those blues running
Ah, now wait... someone's coming...

Sister Jean was big and mean
Caught Emily breaking curfew
Said if I catch you singing in that club again
I'm gonna throw you out of school
But Emily she paid no heed
She knew what she had do
As the Lord's my witness
Emily she sung the blues

Emily Could Sing The Blues (feat. Rich Joseph)

This song is basically a glorified riff. I wanted it to sound a bit like an outtake from The Big Pink or The Basement Tapes (hence the rather silly 'Take one' bit at the start). Although it goes a bit Blues Brothers in the middle and, arguably, a bit erm... Muppets with the vocal breakdowns. Anyway, I hope the end result sounds vaguely like a band jamming, because that was the intention.

LYRICS

We're cutting it loose
We're cutting it loose
We're cutting it loose tonight

Nothing to lose
Nothing to lose
Nothing to lose alright

I couldn't hold a candle to you
When you danced me off the floor
Didn't want a scandal, darlin’
But,  oh, let's dance some more

We're singin’ the blues
We're singin’ the blues
We're singin’ the blues tonight

Shake your caboose
Shake your caboose
Shake your caboose alright

I didn’t want to kiss you
Until the moment felt right
I didn't want to miss you, darlin’
But, oh, let’s dance tonight

We got Big Man Kelly on the lead guitar
Fingers faster than a racing car
Holly Go Brightly on the piano keys
Holly won't you play a little blues for me
Sam on the drums, Sally on bass
Tighter than a miser in a one horse race
Pam on the organ playing lines so clean
Me, I'm just shaking this ol' tambourine

I couldn't hold a candle to you
When you danced me off the floor
Didn't want a scandal, darlin’
But oh, let's dance some more

We're cutting it loose
We're cutting it loose
We're cutting it loose tonight

Nothing to lose
Nothing to lose
Nothing to lose alright

Cutting It Loose

I woke up one morning last week with the first line of this song in my head. I'm not sure why, but the image of a 'puddle of moonbeams' seeping in through a crack in the window tickled me, and the rest of the lyrics are basically me squeezing the remaining juice out of that initial idea.

Big thanks to @gm7 for bringing the Steve Cropper/BB King vibes on the lead guitar - it really adds an extra layer of gloss on the final track!

(PS. Couldn't resist the little nod to 'Oh! Darling' in the chorus turnarounds.)

LYRICS

There’s a puddle of moonbeams in the corner
Under the cracked window pane
I’ve been trying to get used to living without you
Just me and my troubles again

There’s a scatter of takeaway boxes
A great drift of mail by the door
The weather’s been strange since you left
It's been me and my troubles once more

Just me and my troubles
Holed up in this room
Me and my troubles
Dreaming, oh yeah we're dreaming 
Dreaming of you

There's a sprinkling of dust on the carpet
A newspaper over my knee
Last night it hailed whiskey bottles
That sure was something to see

Just me and my troubles
Holed up in this room
Me and my troubles
Dreaming, oh yeah we're dreaming 
Dreaming of you

Me And My Troubles

Lyrics courtesy of John Nicholson (https://johnnicholson.bandcamp.com/album/a-piece-of-the-action-2)

Everyday Lives

Lyrics courtesy of the fabulous Brisk aka Yeslessness aka Stephen Street (https://yeslessness.bandcamp.com/)

Love Song Of A Misanthrope

Ta-ku - Higher (Flume Remix) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

https://theskunk-boyproject1.bandcamp.com/

An Ode to Anxiety

The Skunk-Boy Project

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