I always loved this song, and it had various incarnations. I recorded this song on Martin Luther King Weekend in 2004 by Jim Robert of Mixtake Studios ( www.mixtake.com/StudioTips.aspx ). I actually submitted a version of this song with alternative--less depressing lyrics--to Songs of Love ( www.songsoflove.org ), which is a fantastic organization. That's why I went into a studio where the guy mixing and mastering and programming everything actually understood what he was doing.
I never ended up submitting anything else to Songs of Love, but I'm still very proud of this recording. Banjo, bass, guitar, piano, and voice: all sounding pretty good. And my suggestions for the drum programming ain't too shabby either I think...
Another fun fact about this song is that I wrote it actually back in middle school: I think around the middle of 8th grade.
lyrics
Close all the barn doors.
Set the wheat on fire.
Seek the things that you want to lure.
Ask what you want to inquire.
Forget that life will still go on.
Forget that, one day, they’ll cite us.
Look at the pros if you don’t want cons.
Forget that you were righteous.
And, like nature’s walls of a rainy day,
Your brain will be too blurry to find
That no matter what you think or say,
You’ll leave yourself behind.
If you have the will, you can have the thrill.
If you feel the wrong beat, you might lose your seat.
If you have bad desires that you’d rather kill,
Then try to avoid rolling around in the middle of streets.
You can change your ways, and you can change your face.
You can change your religion, and you can change your savior.
You can change the way you view the earth and space,
But know you’re not you if you change your behavior.
If you want to run away,
Understand that it wasn’t designed.
If you feel that your life can’t stay,
Then you’ll leave yourself behind.
Optimism and pessimism
Equally are blindness.
Despite all the symbolism,
The president is not your Highness.
Try to see between thin lines.
Try to see reality.
Imagine not the people that you meet in life
Nor the images that are shown on TV.
Think that you deserve to laugh,
But know that there are reasons they’ve cried.
Now for the better half,
Please leave yourself behind.
Thirteen previously unreleased songs from NYC acts like Half Waif and Shilpa Ananth to raise money for New Yorkers in need. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 1, 2020
A compilation of side-splitters from Tim Heidecker’s podcast “Office Hours,” with appearances by Fred Armisen & others. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 9, 2021
California group Floral combines dizzying guitar work with frenetic drumming for head-spinning, deeply complex post-rock. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 19, 2020
Robins decided to release the recording of his 2016 comedy tour during the Covid-19 shutdown at the behest of fans. Bandcamp New & Notable May 29, 2020
