Category: Lyrics

#TBT: Anatomy of a Song

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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.

Giving It To You Straight

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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 #lyricsOur_Lady_of_Righteou_Cover_for_Kindle

Come for the Wake, Stay for the Funeral

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Our_Lady_of_Righteou_Cover_for_Kindle

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….

http://www.woolastonentertainment.com