monday song #18: you and only me

lyrics

eighteen. voting age. no longer a minor, but not yet a drinker.

this would fit nicely in the real life high school musical world begun in number 16, “lowe valley high.” hell, the subject of this crush could even be meghan. it’s a small world after all.
on this one, there might be a warrant out for my arrest for musical thievery. though i think i satisfactorily made the song “my own,” there is a substantial influence from joe jackson’s “look sharp,” which my wife has been blasting in the kitchen for the last couple of weeks.

the rhythm is a major version of the riff of the song “look sharp,” and the verse melody owes a bit to “is she really going out with him.” actually the whole theme is bathing in that sentiment, and the angst of the record and it’s angry young man desperation is all over this song. if you haven’t heard the album, you should. actually, you should just go and buy it. it’s just gem after gem. though by listening to my song, you might lose some of the suspense…

still, for me, the tune is mostly about the passion of the choruses. it felt a bit like early 60s soul, singing those parts. it can be quite uplifting singing about sadness and desperation.

this one has a slight twinge of autobiography. i have this flash of a girl in high school, who i never spoke to, but she was awfully popular with the athletically inclined. at times she seemed luminous, at others, depressed and aggro, and others, mildly crazy (and therefore, kind of sexy). i assumed there was something sad going on there, but that might have been a talisman to keep from feeling attracted to her.

ahhh, high school. it always makes me feel so good to remember…