Thursday, January 05, 2006

A Country Song (Annotated)

"Drivin' Down the Road"(1)

I was drivin' (2)
Down an old dirt road in the dark
Through a tunnel trees headin' nowhere
I was gettin' there fast (3)

I was layin'
In a field of grass diggin' my toes in the dirt (4)
Runnin' my hands 'cross your face,
Feelin' your curves like a blind man
Tryin' to remember your skin.

I was standin'
On a white sandy beach, ankle deep in the surf
Jeans rolled up, hands in my pockets
Like I was posin' for a postcard
Hopin' for a storm. (5)

Back at home now
Sittin' at my desk job (6)
Boss's words commandin':
'Get your head in the game.'
Wait'll they find out...
I'm gone. (7)

(1) Written by me.
(2) Note use of the apostrophe to replace the 'g' in my gerunds. That's how you can tell it's a country song.
(3) In song, all roads should lead to "nowhere" or "you". They should never lead to "work" or "the pharmacy".
(4) My wife took a picture of me like this. I looked cool. Or was it someone else?
(5) Use of visceral nature imagery gives lyrics a powerful edge, implying a certain musical fury that will no doubt come across on the pedal steel. Or should we add a synth?
(6) Use of "desk job" in song is risky. In the rock era, few if any serious lyrics have included core office features such as "desks," "copy machines," and "tech support." I believe I am on the cutting edge here.
(7) Yes, I am.

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