“Keep On” - a song about having and wanting more
In a time where we are all missing something we had or wanting something we don’t… it’s a thought worth exploring to stay in the moment.
Backstory
There isn’t much here. Songs sometimes come from seemingly nowhere for me. It’s a regular occurrence, and the ones that don’t mean much I typically jot down in my notebook, make a voice memo, and then place it aside to never see the light of day.
This one is all about having and not being content, wanting more. A slope that welcomes that first step to quickly take you on a downward journey. That’s about as deep as I can get… I mean the song quotes Jack and Beanstalk… it’s not high brow art.
It seems that after I write a handful of sad songs, full of my personal struggles, I need to throw one together that is lighter in nature to keep me sane. This is that one. Simple as that.
Writing Process
In one of my newer songs “Gone” (that I haven’t shared yet), I do this double-stop shape starting at the E7 and slide up two “stages” throughout the tune. The one that specifically was bringing my fingers a bunch of joy is the E7 into the C# one (I think, my theory is weak). In my mind I view it as a C shape on the second fret and I lift my middle finger. It gives this cool and complex chord sound when you play everything open, and the low E string grounds the movement.
Sliding between the two actually sounds a bit like Chug a lug by Roger Miller. I have been finding myself trying to watch as many videos of him as I can find, what an entertainer! He had seemingly no self confidence issues and put all that he was capable of out there, I love it.
Anyway the night before I wrote this song I was playing a show in Rocky River, OH at Tartine Bistro and Dan Socha was with me. I was just warming up and jamming on these two shapes and he started noodling some really cool melodies over top. I think one of them stuck because I couldn’t stop playing that pattern the entire next day, and just humming different things over it.
The line that I sort of built this song around was the first one “eating my steak on fine china”. It painted this picture of a person who has the means to create a purchased happiness, but the thing that you can’t have is typically the thing that takes over your thoughts, and what better than love/passion.
I didn’t want to add another verse because I was running out of ideas around the things that rich people have, and I wanted to go get dinner, so I plucked some low hanging fruit and nodded to nursery rhymes/stories to create a little movement. I had been listening to some old blues players lately too, and you find a lot of that, where they take a well known story/character, and change it slightly.
I plan on having a big section between the 2nd and 3rd verse for a solo, either from me on harmonica, or whoever I am playing with. Time will tell, thank you for reading!
Notebook Page.
April. 8th, 2021
Lyrics
Ima eat my steak on fine china
Sleeping on a king size bed
Every night I'm counting my money,
But I'd rather be counting your kisses instead
Won't you keep on coming sweet mama
Oh Oh, won't you keep on
Fee Fi Fo Fum Look out boy, here she come
Won't you keep on
Ima sail my ship cross the ocean
Run my car in the red
Fly my plane, fast round the world
I'd rather be revving your engine instead
Won't you keep on coming sweet mama
Oh Oh, won't you keep on
Jack be nimble, jack be quick
Old jack he never been this heart sick
Won't you keep on
Tell the doctor I know I'm hurting
It's a mix of my heart and my head
Could numb the ache, with a glass of brown
But I'd rather be drinking your loving instead
Won't you keep on coming sweet mama
Oh Oh, won't you keep on
The kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't put this broken man together again
Wont you keep on
Wont you keep on