This one has a weird history. Its genesis was a hot July afternoon in 1999. It was one of those instances where I’d decided to set out a challenge for myself: how fast could I compose and record a song completely from scratch, using 12-string guitar, banjo, bass, drums, vocals, and tambourine?
The answer was 90 minutes. That’s how long it took to complete the original version of this song, which was originally a different first verse, and the verse that is now the first verse was the second verse. There was not yet a bridge, just a brief instrumental break on the banjo where the vocal bridge would eventually reside.
I re-recorded this version with the 2000-01 batch of re-recorded songs, and then I dreamed up a new demo with an added bridge sometime during the period 2003-04, a demo recording which I have since lost. That demo was turned into a lo-fi produced version from 2006’s compact disc, Fit for Consumption.
This new version came about during my spiritual upgrade period of early 2020. I added a new second verse, and adds another layer to it. The lyrics “someone else has got the same weird fun as you” were channeled from Source.
The lyrics:
Verse 1:
Hearts beat out of time
I’ll tell you the meaning, if you wanna know
Fire just cannot light, and nothing is pleasin’
But then you find that crimson rose
Standing out in a field of grey
You find a way
And then you try again
And all the walls just crumble down
And the dust clears out to stay
You found a way
To do it again
Bridge:
If you wanna know
What makes the world go ’round
You’ve got to find your way
On your own ground
And every day
You do it again
And do it again
And do it again
And do it again
Verse 2:
Life keeps passing by
I’ll tell you the meaning, if you wanna know
Somewhere deep inside, a light there is beaming
And all around you, someone else
Has got the same weird fun as you
It’s what we do
And so you try again
And then you’re back up on your feet
And your life’s brand new today
You found a way
To do it again
Here’s me recording the original vocals with the lyrics as subtitles.
