dhanners623 Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 A couple of weeks ago I posted a video of a new song, "The Eviction Notice Blues," but something about the song bugged me. Actually, several things about it bugged me, but the main thing was the song was trying to say and do too much. I was sitting on the beach in Sri Lanka last week and started re-thinking the song. We were there for a week and I took my Republic reso with me (it is indestructible so good for traveling) but the song just wasn't coming. The minute we got home, I pulled the J-35 out and the new version came out, like a dam being burst. Or like diarrhea. Either way, there was a lot of clean-up and editing involved afterwards. This is a song meant for a Gibson slope dread, and I was silly to think it wasn't. I started over, with only the title, and wrote from a perspective I understand (up to a point) but don't agree with. The protagonist is a guy in a poor and predominately white neighborhood in Milwaukee. He's afraid if he falls any further down the ladder, the only place he can afford to live is in a predominately black neighborhood. (The article that inspired the first version of the song said the biggest fear whites in the study had was that they'd have to live in a black neighborhood.) The guy thinks that because he doesn't wear a white sheet, he isn't racist, but he is. He'll be in debt forever and he doesn't have the skills or education to improve his lot in life. He thinks others have it easier than he does. Coming from the rural Midwest and having lived in the cities, I've known plenty of folks like him. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tNi9M-rjw00 And the new lyrics: The Eviction Notice Blues © 2017 by David Hanners This neighborhood thrived after the Second World War Now worn-out duplexes and corner stores Whites afraid they'll wind up in Metcalfe Park Places we don't go after dark Crazies in white sheets on TV That's not my wife and that's not me We're not racist, just don't wanna live around The blacks and foreigners taking over this town Blacks and foreigners taking over this town Wanted what our parents had, just more Then they busted our unions, shipped our jobs offshore 'Tween the Greatest Generation and right now Working man lost a lot of ground somehow Still paying off the emergency room If you get sick, better be a tycoon Debt so deep there's no daylight But I'm past where it keeps me up at night Past the point it keeps me up at night Water pump's whining and it's gonna go Replaced the fan clutch couple weeks ago Can't take it in, not this week Paycheck barely covers rent and gasoline Sonny next door, maybe he can take a look Knows a Detroit motor like a teacher knows a book Mountain Dew mouth, jailhouse tattoos An ex-con running from the eviction notice blues We're all running from the eviction notice blues We're all just running from the eviction notice blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I still can't see the songs performance - something wrong with this old apple I suspect. Interesting tenant you pose here - writing songs takes on a certain flavor or direction depending upon what is sitting in your lap. The lyric and topic of this song seem like a multi- faceted challenge, in my mind much more suited to a slope than a reso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I like the newer version, well done. Yes it is a sloped shoulder song. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Lyrically very accomplished. Your narrator paints such a vivid picture of himself, like a Randy Newman protagonist. Great job, David! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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