AnneS Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Early last Friday morning, a locally-known roustabout (to put it lightly) died while attempting to catch a ride on a slow-moving train near the grounds of a music festival. He was 41 and had 5 kids, ranging from about 19 to 2. Having crossed paths with him a number of times, I was always struck how cool his kids are and how much it looked like he earned their admiration. I watched him teach one son how to properly use an axe to chop a palette for firewood, even though there'd probably be people who would think the kid was way too young for it. The guy was a mess of contradictions--an intelligent, feral, tattooed, kilt-wearing drug and alchohol addict who, having lately worn out his welcome among even his homeless drug-addict friends, lived in a camp by the river and who recently (as word has it) gave his mom about five phone numbers so she had people to contact if ever she needed to learn if he was still alive. Though the police say alchohol "may have" been involved, it appears the thing was indeed an accident. People who knew him say something like this was just a matter of time. He broke the top two rules for our kids: Don't break your mother's heart, and don't die dumb. Loaded Dice-updated Well you know your mama taught you the things that matter most Look both ways in traffic, son, before you start to cross Be a hero to your children, to everyone be nice But life is just a crapshoot and comes with loaded dice Oh my my… Laws are just suggestions and time is just a lie You can earn a living, boy, without a suit or tie Love the ones you want to, leave them when you're done You might be their door prize, but you're better left un-won Oh my my… We all saw it coming, well that's what people say You'd worn out your last welcome and there was no place to stay Could be sooner, could be later, but there was no going back So why not take your chance on that train along the track Oh my my… Is that what you were thinking when the sun came up that day? Or was it just plain bad luck, broke your mama's heart that way? I suppose it doesn't matter; for all, our time will come But there's dying for a purpose, and then there's dying dumb Oh my my… Whatever were you thinking when the sun came up that day? Was it really bad luck, broke your babies' hearts that way? Oh my my… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 I like this lots and lots, Anne. Great song, and did I say I liked it a lot?...lol.....Great use of words in this. I feel like I know this guy and I've never heard of him before, but I've likely known someone like him somewhere/sometime. This is real good writing, kid. Very concise. Don't see much wasted space or "feel good rhymes" or forced rhymes. I really like the way you started this tale. The two lines below are a good example of solid writing. The words "most" and "cross" don't rhyme, but they don't have to, because they sound good together. No soft or silly rhymes in this song. All the rhymes fit easily together and fit the song. I look for this stuff in songs and there's a lot of it in your songs, Well you know your mama taught you the things that matter most Look both ways in traffic, son, before you start to cross You kind of out-did yourself with this one, Anne, and that's saying a lot. [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Bravo Lady Anne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Wow oh WOW this is an outstanding lyric. I can't wait to hear what direction it takes in the melody - love it. You will need a late 40s J-45 or SJ to record this. [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwalker201 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Very nice Anne. You have some great lyrics in that song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Beautiful and touching song. Super! Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneS Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Wow oh WOW this is an outstanding lyric. I can't wait to hear what direction it takes in the melody - love it. You will need a late 40s J-45 or SJ to record this. [thumbup] The first cut is here, Dan: https://soundcloud.com/anne-rachel/loaded-dice It was the J100 that got the lyric/idea going- an ominous, steady train groove with a drop D, broken up with the "oh, my my..." part. Kinda had to be written. And it's playing like a champ, here on day 2, so it has some possibilities. Can't wait to take it live. Thanks, all--for listening and for commenting. Very glad you like. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Nice take. i like it . Find a fiddle player. This one has legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullmental Alpinist Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Very nice work, Anne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Bravo..... A very well written song that was inspired by an event. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with what was simply in your original post, and hearing the song. In my nearly 4 decades of playing bars, clubs and such all over the U.S.A. I have met and known literally hundreds of "characters" and watched many of them die stupid. Lose their drivers license, job, home, wife, family and so on. Some were friends and very talented musicians as well. It goes with the career path it seems. I am concerned and curious if you copyright these songs before posting them on internet forums and Soundcloud ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Logical question in regards to posting your own songs on Sound Cloud, etc. For myself, I don't worry about it much. According to U.S. Copyright law, if I put "Copyright © Larry Garrett 5-7-2016" (for example), that particular song is lawfully copyrighted. Plus, my playing of my own music and recording it (even at an amateur level) is further protection. I've created a history with it. If one has also recorded it at a studio as Anne has done, it's more proof that it's her property. Beyond that you get into the legal arguments that lawyers deal with on how similar two songs might be. There is no way I can stop someone taking one of my songs from wherever they find it on the internet and playing it in a venue in Colorado Springs, or London, or wherever. They can say that they wrote it. Hell, maybe someone has and I don't know about it. Even less likely that I could stop someone from being influenced by something I wrote. But, if all of a sudden I heard one of my songs on the radio, I'd have pretty good evidence that I wrote it. The thief wouldn't have the public and local history that I can provide. Beyond that, nothing is new. That progression has been used before. That riff has been played before. That melody has been sung before. People who are known to have stolen songs----The Beatles, Dylan, Diamond, Cash, Haggard, George Jones, Carl Perkins, Oasis, Jimmy Hendrix, and an endless list of names. And the majority of time it's debatable if it's theft or simply influence from one's songwriting heroes. The alternative to not putting your own songs on Sound Cloud, You Tube, other places on the internet or even singing them in public is to not share them at all. Kris Kristofferson wrote a song that refers to going to the big songwriter jams at Cash's house and how everyone was stealing lines and lyrics. They were all influenced by each other. How could one not be? Anyway, copyright laws can be a "can of worms." Regarding Anne's song---It's obvious it's her material because she posted it here and provided information about why she wrote the song. Dates and times and the actual incident are tied to her song. And again, I think it's just a great tale, based on a real-life happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Very nice!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatbaroque Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 That's a deep well you draw from Anne.Another good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 But, if all of a sudden I heard one of my songs on the radio, I'd have pretty good evidence that I wrote it. The thief wouldn't have the public and local history that I can provide. Not to start an argument, or de-rail the thread, but owning a copyright will almost always Trump. You can mail yourself tapes, and have all your friends testify, but the person holding the copyright from the Library Of Congress owns the song. Period. It would be YOUR job to prove otherwise, and a very expensive job indeed. Especially if the thief copyrighted it YEARS before you got around to it. Who swiped it from whom? I realize the odds of this happening are slim, however it's just like a car title or a land deed. The copyright holder is the owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneS Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 Hey all, I've updated the link to a refreshed version, now that the song is a few weeks down the road. I'm looking forward to finally playing it out live tonight, but this one has taken some wrasslin'. Loaded Dice-updated As for the copyright discussion, yeah, there's all of it. But reading this did give me nightmares, if that's any consolation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Hey all, I've updated the link to a refreshed version, now that the song is a few weeks down the road. I'm looking forward to finally playing it out live tonight, but this one has taken some wrasslin'. Loaded Dice-updated As for the copyright discussion, yeah, there's all of it. But reading this did give me nightmares, if that's any consolation. Do you get Acoustic Guitar Magazine? Great article on page 47 I think about copyrights and all that business related side of music. Its the issue with a Resonator on the cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 BTW, this was a fun one to play along with - its all G-C=-F right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneS Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 Yep, those three chords, all right--I play it capo'd 5 with drop-D, just to give it some extra 'umph.' In the updated track, I double-tracked the guitar, playing more of the thump on one track and more of the high-end on the other, looking for the train-drive feel that the song was born of. I haven't seen the magazine yet, Dan, but I'll look it up--thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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