Whiskey, Kill This Dream (2nd song of 2024)

Unexpected and Fast

I wasn’t going to share this for another week but upon a fresh listen this morning, imma do it!

Also below:

• Floss

• A sad guitar story
  The guitar is not sad… a sad story about a guitar

I had another song already started but last Thursday I picked up my Gibson J45 from getting repaired. This weekend I played the PIH event I spoke about on Monday’s post, using that guitar. This will figure in the sad guitar… er… sad story about a guitar… later.

I didn’t have as much time to play it as I wanted but I did rehearse a couple songs. One song I rehearsed but did not play at the event, another open tuning song is , “The Coward and The Fool”. That song is in an open tuning.

On Sunday and Monday I started noodling around in the same tuning (Open G) but capo’d elsewhere, so in a different key. I arrived at a melodic chord progression I liked and knew a song would come out of it. I had no idea what song but the guts were there.

Tuesday morning, around 4:10am, I woke up and began playing with those chords. I opened my songwriting journal, took my pen, and… and… and…

Nothing… until about 4:50am. Then, this.

It feels just like a reckoning, baby
It looks just like a crime
I could prepare my heart for anything
But all this empty that your leaving leaves behind

That’s a solid start. As I mentioned in my Taylor Swift/offensive line piece, I write a lot of breakup songs. The song I posted last Monday, My Best Friend, is more indicative of my current relationship but melancholy and music are pretty sweet partners.

I wrote the next stanza almost immediately and recorded a cell phone video of me playing it to send to a couple people.

Below is a photo of my songwriting journal. Note the rhyming word columns on the left. It is something I do… figure out if any rhyming words for a given line bring me somewhere.

Overall, it is pretty clean. Not a lot of “scribble outs” where I tossed whole lines or verses.

Then work. I am enjoying my work at Meta immensely but on days like this, I wish music paid the bills and allowed me to focus entirely on songcraft. This is a topic for another article.

At lunch, I wrote the third verse. Deb was out so I texted it to her.

After work, at 5:20pm I wrote the final verse. I know this due to the text I sent Deb, who was still out. Below is my actual text to Deb.

Upon re-reading that verse, it’s still really fucking good!

I realize that is self-congratulatory but whatevs.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There are times I eke out a phrase or two that I am proud of. This is one of those times.

I wrote the chorus around 6:30pm.

Yesterday morning, Valentine’s Day, around 4:30am - I recorded a couple tracks of guitar and two vocal takes. I video myself as I recorded, kept the last vocal take to make it simple, mashed one video of me playing guitar and one of me singing together in DaVinci Resolve (video editor), giving you the video below. I have the lyrics below that, although they’re in the video as well.

What I didn’t do yesterday, apparently, is shave.

Whiskey, Kill This Dream - video

Note: the video is unlisted on YouTube. I’m just sharing it with you folks… I don’t mind it being shared but this is raw. Raw as it may be… I like it… a LOT! It feels… true.

I hope you enjoy it as well!

Lyrics

WHISKEY KILL THIS DREAM
© 2024 - Matthew Moran

VERSE
It feels just like a reckoning baby
It looks just like a crime
I could prepare my heart for anything
But all this empty that your leaving leaves behind

I guess I’ll just get over you
I guess there ain’t no other way
Just mask the pain and muddle through
I got time and time is what I need, they say

VERSE
I remember what you said to me
Last November on that hill
Said, “Love will always find a way”
Seems you found it, you just didn’t find it here

CHORUS
Seems I lose the fight
Damn near every night
The visions they come as I fall asleep
You and me dancing
On the front porch
Then you slip away from me
Whiskey, kill this dream

VERSE
I thought I saw you by the laundromat
Tho, I know you moved away
Probably just another memory
I still run into one or two of those a day

---

For giggles, here is the video from my phone that I recorded when this song was untitled and only had the first two stanzas. On the phone, I named the video: 20240213_song.mp4 - pretty much sums it up.

About Flossing

I’m back to the dentist today for a cleaning. This follows a double root canal about 10 days ago. The guy who did was an ace… efficient and a real pro. But he was also pretty direct with me.

He said, “This is caused by not flossing.”

I said, “Guilty!”

In response he indicated I could either floss or just plan on coming back every year or two for more of this until my teeth were gone. It made me laugh. But, noted!

My mom always said, “Only floss the teeth you want to keep.” Tidbits of her sarcasm warm my heart.

So, note to reader: Floss. It’s not that time consuming and feels great when followed with a brushing.

Sad Story About a Guitar

I believe the song above is the first written on my Gibson. Soon after purchasing it, it met with disaster.

I had it on a guitar stand next to my desk. This goes back to when I had moved down to the garage - when the kids were living with us. My dog, Beaux, was sleeping behind me. I rolled my chair back, it must have pinched him or just scared him and he jumped up. He hit the guitar, which flew up and over, landing directly on the head-stock of the guitar.

I’ve had guitars for more than 40 years. In that time, there have been some mishaps. But I’ve never broken a guitar… ever… until…

The head stock snapped off completely. Not a crack… completely broken in two.

I stared at it, literally sick to my stomach.

And I thought, “I’m done playing music.”

I actually thought that. Beaux was terrified - it was loud and he knew intuitively that he caused it. But he was just being a dog. I pet him and said, “It’s okay Boy. It’s my fault!”

I’m glad I responded that way for him. It is too easy to visit our own frustrations on our pets, children, or other loved ones.

Eventually, I took the guitar into David Neely. In the world of guitar tech and repair, he’s a bit of a legend. When he saw it, he said, “That’s a bad break!”

Needless to say, he’s had it for a little bit.

I have it back and Whiskey, Kill This Dream is the first song I’ve completed on it.

The guitar is no longer a virgin. See John Craigie’s Virgin Guitar.

They gave me this virgin guitar, you ain't got no songs
And I've no one to sing to, but I'll keep pressing on

The song ends with

We need the bad things, to make the good things, I know
I hear them singing, no rain, no rose

My guitar now has a song and music always seems to be my rose.

---

Thank you, once again, for joining me on this journey.

With Love and Gratitude!
Matthew Moran
February 15, 2024