I wanted to share a verse from one of my favorite songs: “Drugstore Perfume” by the lead singer for the band My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, from his solo album … Continue reading Poetry and Lyrics: “Drugstore Perfume”

I wanted to share a verse from one of my favorite songs: “Drugstore Perfume” by the lead singer for the band My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, from his solo album … Continue reading Poetry and Lyrics: “Drugstore Perfume”
Yeah, that title is long, isn’t it? Sorry about that. But let’s dig in. One of my favorite elements of the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series, is the inclusion of song … Continue reading Anatomy of a Song: The Real Story Behind “Come For The Wake, Stay For The Funeral”
Hello, everyone! Since its Throwback Thursday, I decided to upload one of my old blog posts. This one is about Our Lady of Righteous Rage. Enjoy!
Thursday, June 12, 2014: Anatomy of a Song w/ Our Lady of Righteous Rage
One of the most important elements of Our Lady is music, and by music, I mean the lyrics to the band’s songs. The first full set of lyrics to appear in the book, are the lyrics to “Wish You Well”. It’s the song Amy writes in reference to her father. In reality, it’s a song I wrote for my father. The line, “I wish you well”, sounds like she’s wishing her father luck. The truth is, she’s being sarcastic. She doesn’t wish him well at all. More or less, what she’s trying to say is, “Hey, you were never around when I needed you, but I’ll move on, so forget you”. The lyrics, “This would be so easy/ If you were just deceased”, doesn’t mean she wishes her father was dead. What Amy is referring to, is if her father was dead, at least that would be an excuse for him not spending time with her. The fact that he is alive and well and just doesn’t see her, makes the situation harder to deal with. Another important song in the book (and my personal favorite) is “Come for the Wake, Stay for the Funeral”. Amy writes this song after her mother’s aunt’s funeral. Disgusted by the way her family is acting during the wake and at the burial site, Amy begins to view the service as a sort of “Spectator Sport”. The opening lyrics to the song, “All you spectators please gather ‘round/The dearly beloved is barely in the ground” relates to the conversations Amy overhears during the service: people simply wondering if the aunt left them anything in her will. No one seems to care that she is no longer living. In reality, I wrote this song in 2009, after my mother’s Aunt Dorothy passed away. Same situation: people just wanted to know who would get her house or her money. Next, is Nick’s song, “Smoke and Glass”. The complete lyrics do not appear in the book, however, the song is a tribute to September 11th.
The lyrics that the characters write in the story run parallel with the events in their lives. But, this is what most songwriters do: use the events in their lives as inspiration for their music. I suppose this is true for writers of any sort. Charles Dickens is a good example. Some of his best work involves young men born into unfortunate circumstances, and later, their lives turn around for the better. I wrote the lyrics for all of Our Lady’s songs, and bits and pieces of my life can be found in the lyrics.
Hello, folks. It’s “Must Be The Music” Month on woolastonentertainment.com, so here are some of Amy’s lyrics from Our Lady of Righteous Rage. Enjoy!
I’m Giving It To You Straight
I’m ready to go,
I think this date is over
I’d say I had a nice time,
But that would be a lie
Don’t ask me what’s wrong
I don’t think you could handle the truth
But if you want it
I’ll give it to you straight
I love you
But I don’t like you
I adore you,
But I can’t stand you
Is it possible
To love someone, yet
Hate them so much?
The emotions contradict each other
Something’s wrong here
I want to try to learn
To like you…
But you just annoy me so much
I love you
But I don’t like you
I adore you,
But I can’t stand you
I don’t want to deceive you anymore
That’s why I’m giving it to you straight
Though the truth may hurt
I believe, in the long run
We’ll be better off
You’re better off knowing
That I love you
But I just don’t like you
I adore you
But I can’t stand you
I love you
But I don’t like you
I adore you
But damn, I can’t stand you
http://www.woolastonentertainment.com #olorr #ourladyofrighteousrage #writing #lyrics
Hello again. In keeping with this month’s theme on Woolaston Entertainment.com, Character Month, I wanted to share some of the song lyrics found in “Our Lady of Righteous Rage”. After learning to play the guitar, Amy, the main character, begins penning the words to what would later become one of her band’s best songs. So, here are the lyrics to “Come for the Wake, Stay for the Funeral”. Enjoy.
All you spectators, please gather ‘round
The dearly beloved is barely in the ground
Did you come to mourn, or to grieve
All you care about is…..
What did he leave me?
Come for the wake, stay for the funeral
Come for the wake, stay for the funeral
Promise you, its gonna be one hell of a show
Come for the wake, but stay for the funeral
Well, its Grandma’s tea set
And her antique chest
And that rare coin collection you mustn’t forget
Now everyone’s sitting on the edge of their seats
So quiet you can hear your own heart beat
It’s the grand finale
The reading of the will
The room’s dead silent, everyone is still
Has your name been called?
Did you make the list?
Did you get everything you wanted to get?
Now the service is over
Everyone’s walking away
They really didn’t have a reason to stay
A loved one is dead and didn’t leave them shit
When you’re just a spectator
That’s what you get
You weren’t there in their life
But you’ll collect in their death
Like greedy little vultures feeding off of the rest
Spectators only come when there’s something to see
They just want the money
They’re not here to grieve
Come for the wake, stay for the funeral
Come for the wake, stay for the funeral
Promise you, its gonna be one hell of a show
Come for the wake, but stay for the funeral
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
If the sadness doesn’t bring you,
Then the money must
All you spectators, please gather ‘round
The dearly beloved is barely in the ground
All you spectators, please gather ‘round
The dearly beloved is barely in the ground….