More dark, psycho, mysogenist lyrics. I stopped being fond of them years ago. Fully character driven and not personal, I assure you.
The guitar track is one straight take up to the end of the solo. Since the time of the solo was indeterminate, the drums for the next section had to be laid down after it was recorded; this meant the guitar for that section had to be laid down after the drums. The solo itself is one live take as well.
Since everyone was shunning this kind of rock when I recorded it, I suppose I should be proud of the fact that I did it before it became popular again, carrying the torch, so to speak. Trouble is, people either don't believe you when you say that, or don't care, and roll their eyes at the mention of it. "Yeah, but I was (fill in the blank) BEFORE it was cool." "Right. Your goatee too, huh?" These days I mostly keep my mouth shut.
You can find basically the same extended guitar solo on the Paper Bag tape "85.5" under the name "Saigon Falls", recorded during a performance at UCLA's Kerckhoff Coffee House. (Mojo Nixon opened! It was great! "Elvis Needs ships!") At the time it was my only outlet for any of this in a live context.
lyrics
You say you don't want me hanging around
Your friends think I'm strange and get scared
You say you don't want me sharing your ground
I was stupid to think that you cared
But one day babe, that sun will go down
And darkness will steal you from sight
And when that dark comes, give up hope, give up all
'Cause I will be king of the night
I sit in this room staring at the four walls
And I see your face form on the ceiling
The walls, closing in, seem to scream I can't win
They've forgotten with who they are dealing
One day, babe, that sun will go down
And darkness will steal you from sight
And when that dark comes, give up hope, give up all,
'Cause I will be king of the night
Thinking about how I tried hard to love you
Watching the world laughing right in my face
For now I'm the ground, but the sky up above you
Changes in hue to bring me to my place
credits
from A Man Who Was Here,
released March 19, 2014
Lyrics & music: '81. Instruments: guitar, drums, vocals, 8-string bass
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
