The chorus of this song actually came to me in a dream last year when I was performing a one-month solo residency at a hotel in Thailand. Not that I was falling asleep on stage of course.....in case you were wondering... but in between performances, they gave me this beautiful room with an enourmous double bed, very conducive to dreaming about choruses in fact. Especially after playing a gig for 4 hours in a bar by the beach.
I say the "chorus", but all I got was the line "You make me wanna drink that Love Potion". Where did it come from? Who knows, but there it was. At another time and place, I may have ignored that sort of thing and never really done anything with it, but free from distractions and with a day to kill on the coast of Phuket, I figured it was worth trying to turn it into a song... A few hours later, and after yet another outrageously good all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast, I had the basic gist of where it was going, then it was a matter of refining the song over the next week or so. I wouldn't say there was a whole lot of "refining" going on mind you - just enough to make it sound listenable. This was a song I had started in a dream after all, so I didn't want to be over-complicating it too much. Essentially, I was trying to make it feel like I was almost still asleep - I guess as some representation of where the song first started.
The lyrics themselves I wouldn't say required too much attention - have a listen and you will see what I mean there. In keeping with the overall feel of the song, I tried not to agonise too much over the words, just ran with whatever came to me first (and seemed to fit in). Sometimes I can think for days and even weeks about a word or a phrase in one line of a song. I would do it quicker if I could believe me, but it's purely a personal thing, and I am prepared to play the same line over and over again in my head until the right words come to me. It's always worth it when you get the one you were looking for.
In keeping with the "dreamy" feel of the song itself, I tried not to over-think things with the recording, so it didn't really depart too far from the original acoustic version. I have a special attachment to this song because I started from scratch and created the whole thing myself - not an incredible feat by any means in the overall history of self-produced records, but significant because I was trusting myself to play all the instruments for the first time. In the end, this song probably also gave me the confidence to play more different instruments on other tracks as the recording progressed.
Having said all that, there wasn't really too much to do - once the acoustic guitar was down then I layered a few different percussion tracks (nearly said "Drums" there, although technically not a drum credit because I wasn't playing a "kit"... one day I'll figure that one out...), then the bass, and finally a couple of electric guitar parts that drift in and out in a sort of mock relationship throughout the song. (You might be interested to know that I used one of my mother's old lipstick canisters for the "slide" guitar part - that was the best thing I could find in the house... it really doesn't sound great, but it works... ). I think there is a keyboard in there as well, but it's so low in the mix that I can't remember what I played. As for the harmonies, they are all me too - a Renny overkill perhaps? Well probably, but that's why I got the girls in for the other songs!
Anyway that's it for this week. Next week Crossfire.
Cheers,
Renny
PS - If you listen really closely in the quiet parts, you can here the crickets outside the window of my studio.
PPS - Album Launch is booked in. Check the gig guide for all the info. Would love to see you there.
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.. .. .. .. .. .. ....
LOVE POTION....
....
I’m not a soldier, I’m not a saint
And just some combination of these things I’d like to think I ain’t
I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get to know myself
Now I’ve gone and put that person on the shelf
....
Cause you make me wanna drink that love potion
Like it was going out of style
I’d come for you across the greatest ocean
Just to hold you one more time
....
I’m not a loser, I’m not a star
I guess I’m somewhere in between those two but I ain’t ever sure how far
I’ve spent a lifetime trying to work these damn things out
But I could learn to love the middle ground with you about
....
Cause you make me wanna drink that love potion….
One more time.
One more time.
....
Now nothing can hold me down, cause this feeling just hangs around
And I’ve had this dream before, but I don’t wanna sleep no more.
....
Cause you make me wanna drink that love potion…
One more time.
One more time.
....
Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Percussion, Keyboard - Renny
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