The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: Well, when you're sittin' back
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “It ain't an easy thing to do” is from the song "Wish I Didn’t Know Now”, performed by Toby Keith. Written by Mr. Keith, it was released as a single in 1994, after appearing as Track 5 on the self titled album “Toby Keith”, released in 1993. Produced by Nelson Larkin & Harold Shedd.
(Ed. - a very young looking Mr. Keith. I needed something to get last week’s “Handle With Care” earworm out of my head this week. Not that there’s anything wrong with “Handle With Care”…)
Credit: Genius Link: >Wish I Didn't Know Now<
This Week’s Documentary Film Recommendation:
On Amazon via Freevee, (may be fee-based): “The Hollies: Look Through Any Window”.
Things I Found On Social Media:
The photos of Keith Richards and Mark Knopfler are there for a reason. Two great, legendary guitar players each using a capo. Don’t ever be shy, hesitant, or embarrassed about using a capo for easier to play chords, or to change keys on the fly to fit your (or your vocalist’s) voice….
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
“Eponymous”…(Ed. I didn’t know what that word meant when I first encountered it years ago. It means, “(of a person) giving their name to something”, so I guess you could say “self-titled”. Or something.)
Mr. Keith’s song, “Wish I Didn’t Know Now”, from his eponymous first studio album, is our song for the day - both the Rando Lyrics answer and A Song To Play. I’ve noted on here how Mr. Keith is one of my favorites and this song, from early in his career is great for lots of reasons, and not just because it’s an easy song to learn. The lyrics are pure Toby Keith, adding a twist to a common enough phrase and making it relatable as the country music staple of cheatin’ and heartbreakin’ and all that makes money for country song lyricists.
I do want to use it for more than just a relatively easy song to play, though. The first part may be, as Bob Ross would say, “A happy accident…”, that is, a Chordify glitch. Note the Chordify chart below: I don’t know that measure 12 is accurate, a one beat (1/4 note) Gm chord followed by a dotted half-note (Ed. sort of a half and a half note - 2 beats and a beat = 3 beats total) Eminor chord. It kind of makes sense as a transitional chord between the GMajor proceeding and the Eminor following, but Chordify does sometimes hear things that may or may not actually be there. For clarity, the numbers along the left hand side of Chordify chord charts indicate the number of the measure that begins the line. In this case, there were 10 measures/bars in the first line, and 11 measures in each subsequent line, so line 2 begins with measure 11, which contains a whole note GMaj, and the following measure, 12, has a 1/4 note Gminor and a dotted half note Em. See it? Stare at it until you do, it’s important….
Assuming the chart is correct, that gives us an opportunity to use a barre chord in a useful way, besides just showing off. Instead of the usual GMajor open shape, try barring across the third fret and use the Aminor shape moved one string left to play the chord. Keep in mind, it’s the shape of an Am, not an actual Am chord, it’s just handy to refer to the shape below the barre in terms of familiar shapes to help you place your fingers correctly. Look closely at the chord diagrams I inserted just below the Chordify chart to see the shapes.
So, let’s assume the Chordify chart is correct, and there is a quick Gm between the GMaj and the Em. Using the 3rd fret barred GMaj means you only need to lift the finger on the 4th fret of the G string to change the GMajor to a Gminor. Do that for the single 1/4 note Gm and then lift the barre, move the remaining two fingers from the 5th fret up to the 2nd fret, and you’re on the 3 beat Eminor for the rest of the measure. You may see the similar progression of a GMaj to Dm to Em in measure 50, but since there’s no Dm barre that’s close, it’s best to just play them all as open chords and move on.
The next thing I wanted to point out is in the lyrics. There is an actual refrain in this song, but no bridge. There’s a last full (8 lines) chorus, then there’s an instrumental break, then the refrain follows in the form of the repeated last 4 lines of the chorus, then the outro. That’s unusual in U.S. pop/rock/blues/country songs but more common (along with the very British “middle eight”) in songs by UK artists. My guess, and it’s only that, is the 2 verse, 2 chorus, no bridge song was just a bit short for U.S. radio/CMT/MTV play and adding the instrumental break and refrain bringing it to 3:29 was just close enough to the desired 3:30 length for radio play. Dunno, it’s the only thing that makes sense to me, but Toby Keith was a master at doing things his way, (see “Red Solo Cup”, and “Trailerhood” for example) so maybe not.
Anyway, here’s a more scholarly, if not exactly more clarifying, explanation of refrains and choruses:
“While the terms 'refrain' and 'chorus' often are used synonymously, it has been suggested to use 'refrain' exclusively for a recurring line of identical text and melody which is part of a formal section—an A section in an AABA form (as in I Got Rhythm: "...who could ask for anything more?") or a verse (as in Blowing in the Wind: "...the answer my friend is blowing in the wind")—whereas 'chorus' shall refer to a discrete form part (as in Yellow Submarine: "We all live in a..."). According to the musicologists Ralf von Appen and Markus Frei-Hauenschild: In German, the term, "Refrain," is used synonymously with "chorus" when referring to a chorus within the verse/chorus form. At least one English-language author, Richard Middleton, uses the term in the same way. In English usage, however, the term, »refrain« typically refers to what in German is more precisely called the »Refrainzeile« (refrain line): a lyric at the beginning or end of a section that is repeated in every iteration. In this usage, the refrain does not constitute a discrete, independent section within the form.“
Credit: Wikipedia Link: >Refrain or Chorus?<
Anyway, it’s a cool song, serious stuff in comparison to some of Mr. Keith’s later efforts, but still a very cool….
…Song To Play…
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I never ask you where you're goin'
I've never asked you where you've been
I've never called and checked your story
You stayed out with all your friends
I've never tried to catch you lyin'
I didn't want to know the truth
I'd rather go on lovin' blind, girl
Than go on lovin' without you
[Chorus]
I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then
I wish I could start this whole thing over again
I'm not sayin' that you, could ever be true
I just don't want to know how it ends
You'd still have my heart in the palm of your hand
I'd still look like a fool in front of your friends
Yeah, I wish somehow I didn't know now
What I didn't know then
[Verse 2]
I've always said what I don't know
Couldn't hurt as bad as leavin' you
Turns out I knew what I was thinkin'
It ain't an easy thing to do
Well, I guess I should be goin'
I sure found out too much to stay
Please don't say you're sorry
I might wait another day
[Chorus]
I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then
I wish I could start this whole thing over again
I'm not sayin' that you, could ever be true
I just don't want to know how it ends
You'd still have my heart in the palm of your hand
I'd still look like a fool in front of your friends
Yeah, I wish somehow I didn't know now
What I didn't know then
(Ed. Instrumental Break)
[Refrain]
You'd still have my heart in the palm of your hand
I'd still look like a fool in front of your friends
Yeah, I wish somehow I didn't know now
What I didn't know then
[Outro]
Yeah, I wish somehow I didn't know now
What I didn't know then
Credit: Genius Link: >Wish I Didn't Know Now<
The “ME!” Section…..
What I’m Listening2: Spotify Link: >Mrs Miss Mister<
Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back”click on link for streaming options, then scroll down for links (or just click on these links) to Amazon, Apple, Pandora, iTunes and even Spotify
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-Michael Acoustic
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Some Links For Today
ED. None of these result in compensation to me in any way, and I’m not endorsing any of them, but some of my readers may find them as interesting as I did…
From ASCAP:
ASCAP OnStage - Are you an ASCAP member, or thinking about it? Here’s how you get paid when you perform your own original songs live. BMI and SESAC probably have something similar, but I’m with ASCAP, so….
From Carvin Audio:
The Power Of "Impulse Responses" - Get the most from your amp/speakers with digital capture from you setup. I think. Kind of “Mr. Wizard” stuff, but cool.
From Soundfly:
The Power Of Mistakes - Your audience may love it when you mess up a little on stage. At least, these guys think so… Interesting perspective, good read.
From Blues Guitar Unleashed:
Wow - Joe Bonamassa AND Jimmy Page songs and licks!!
From American Songwriter Magazine:
Job Board - American Songwriter’s fabulous writer, Dean Fields has a great piece about an innovative idea: their “Sync Job Board”! Looking for a job in the music industry? Here’s the place!
Simon And Garfunkel - Why DID they break up? Find out here…
From Songtown:
Song Demo Tips - Read this before you spend too much on a demo!
Song Critiques - Do they drive you crazy? Yeah, me too. Good advice here, I suppose…still don’t care…pouts…
From the Disc Makers Blog:
Social Media - How to get the most out of this swamp as a musician….
Borrowed Chords - Is there like a bank where you can get a chord loan? Nope! They just mean use non-diatonic chords to add interest to your songs (get it?). What does that mean? Click the link!
From Speed Songwriting:
Where Does Inspiration Come From? - It ain’t the stork, Timmy… And it ain’t routine!
Thank You To Our New Subscribers and Followers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Her Highness demands silence as she surveys the mere commoners….
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”