Hello there. Pleased to be back.
A slow start from me. Still recovering from a fairly hectic January (and, like many of you, a less-than-excellent 2021), so I'm planning to take it easy this year. Just stupidly grateful for the opportunity to pick up a guitar and sing. Have a great FAWM, all.
Boring background stuff:
Australia responded to Covid by closing its borders and cutting itself off from the world. On top of this, as a bit of needless cruelty, we were the only democracy to ban its citizens from leaving their own country (for nearly 2 years). Why? The government never bothered to offer a coherent explanation, because they didn't need to. Being tough on borders is a reliable vote-winner here. Just say the words 'strong borders' and most Australians get all warm and happy in their pants.
Tough time to be an immigrant.
i gave you a smile, you gave me a stare
i gave you my name, you put it somewhere
a difficult name, you raised an eyebrow
i thought i could belong here
get lost, get lost
who knows if i even exist
i'm lost, i'm lost
you want me to leave but you won't take your hand from my wrist
i'm building a bridge, you're building a wall
and blooding your dogs till they're savages all
i could've sworn i once belonged here
now all the boys and girls sing:
'get lost, get lost'
i'm trying, i'm taking the hint
but i can't get your app off my phone
check in, check out
a lifetime of renting and slowly dementing
where can i build my home?
i cannot confine my love in your lines
so where do i build my home?
where is my home?
so here is my curse, before i slip though
may all of your kids be braver than you
and kick down the gates and force your heart open
till all the world belongs here
while i get lost, get lost
i'm slipping away and you won, i lost
no more left to say
throw my compass away and get lost
@sherrycanary Mar 2022
This is an incredible write. I was taken in immediately.
Love the unique musical changes.
Your voice is so beautiful and vulnerable
@tan482 Feb 2022
Wow, this had me hooked from the start. Beautiful, delicate vocals and lovely guitar. Lyrics are stunning.. couldn’t take my ears off this!
@bethkille Feb 2022
This is gorgeous. So heartfelt and well crafted. “I cannot confine my love in your lines…” that is just awesome. I like the slightly optimistic twist with the reference to the next generation. Great work!
@itneverhappened Feb 2022
This is so good. The bare setting really makes your voice shine, brilliantly economical songwriting and production. The little extra "get losts" and "check outs" and instrumental flourishes are perfectly timed. In awe of this level of balanced excellence where lyrics and vocal delivery and subtle details seem so perfectly thought out and feels laidback at the same time.
@bethdesombre Feb 2022
You had me at "i gave you my name, you put it somewhere." So many absolutely gorgeous lines here (another one I love is "i'm building a bridge, you're building a wall") and they add together into an achingly sad story. The slow, simple accompaniment leaves the right amount of space. This is stunning.
@fearlessflight2014 Feb 2022
Oh! This is exquisite! I love the way the harmonies anticipate the lead vocal and that spooky perfect descending line in the verse. It’s good to think that something beautiful came out of this shit show. That feel change at the end really ties it all together, Bravo! What a song!
@oldlostjohn Feb 2022
Ah, that descending fourth line! As beautiful as ever from you, words put so carefully together and a sensitive delivery with all those small details you're so good at. Like those subtle pace alterations where you slow down and leave the line sort of hanging in the air.
@hanley Feb 2022
Sincere and contagious as always. So many great lines throughout, and some nice little backing vocals taking on another character/cohort at times. It's perplexing and frustrating why our government has been so hard line with some of these measures... such an embarrassment. Hope you get to visit your family/friends back home soon enough!
@pcob1993 Feb 2022
How utterly, utterly beautiful. I started out smiling and nodding and ended up with a big lump in my throat in tears.
I'm a long-time Paddy in the states and I couldn't go home for either my mother's or my sister's funeral in the last two years so your song slaughtered me. Truly wonderful writing, playing and singing.
Thank you so much.
Cheers
Pearse
@susyblue Feb 2022
Beautiful stripped back vibes let those lyric shine - but oh those little 'get losts' backing vocals on the chorus, ahhh. Such clever lyrics, especially the end flipping it to I get lost. I love the line 'kids be braver than you' Beautiful stuff - you do melancholy so well!
@sailingmagpie Feb 2022
"You want me to leave but you won't take your hand from my wrist." Wow, what a powerful line!. In fact, I absolutely love all of the lyrics here (that renting/dementing rhyme is exceptional).
@miltz Feb 2022
"...ah but in such an ugly time the true protest is beauty," said Mr. Ochs.
And that's what you've given us here.
@isaacq Feb 2022
i hadn't heard anything about Australia's response to the pandemic, that's disheartening. oh Mike, you are one of the most singular songwriters i've heard. often you're using the same building blocks as many others, but you always end up with a finished product i could not have seen coming, and that's unmistakably you. what a thing of beauty here.
@greengrassgirl Feb 2022
I love this. The haunting vocal, the music, and of course the lyrics, which I always hone in on. "a lifetime of renting/may all of your kids be braver than you/ Thanks for the experience.
@jorh Feb 2022
I loved the tension between the two different parties in the first couple
Of the verses. The harmonies in the chorus were super pretty as well. ‘The cofine / lines’ internal rhyme was my fave I think :)
@thelowestbitter Feb 2022
This is beautiful, love the extra harmonies in the chorus especially. Like the shift to the faster picking at the end too. Lovely stuff
@theawkwardsleep Feb 2022
That’s tough. I had heard about this. What shit.
These lyrics are so well done. And your vocals are enviable as always. Such beautiful little interspersed harmonies that add to that feeling of lost hope. Just fantastic. -ru
@philnorman Feb 2022
Holy shit.
Maybe it's just another quiet cold Friday night with too many bourbons.
Maybe you managed to make a jaded heart listen closely, and smile the world weary smile this song demands.
Maybe it's just been too long since I've heard you sing.
@bigmood Feb 2022
oh, this is beautiful. The falling line with a little bit of a breath - the background vocals coming in dry and short, the sparse guitar. And your lyrics are maybe my favorite part; you're not just singing you're saying something meaningful. It all gels together so well.
@owl Feb 2022
Lovely and sad. A moving personal lament and snapshot of this time.
@jeff9 Feb 2022
An incredibly powerful and graceful way of delivering a message about a subject with lots of complex emotions That, combined with such exquisite craftmanship, equals art.
@caterwauler Feb 2022
This is really beautiful : bittersweet and moving. I can almost feel the weight of being shutdown, but your voice breaks out and shines in the dark.
A few days ago, my uncle told me he was about to travel to Australia to visit his sons. He was super excited, as he hadn't seen the youngest for two years, and the oldest for four years. These are odd times...
@jbp123 Feb 2022
Beautiful stuff, Mike. Very relatable as a Brit living in post-Brexit continental Europe, though I've been lucky enough to visit my family in the UK. Anyway, god, let's talk about the song. Wonderfully simple and touching. One thing I love about all of your stuff is the little instrumental additions (piano in this case). Vocal work is superb, as always, and I really liked how the secondary vocals announced 'I'm lost' before the lead - worked really well. Great job!
@karlsburg25 Feb 2022
ooo the image of australians getting warm in the pants is disturbing ;-)
And i felt the restrictions really hard in my psyche here in England so can't imagine what its been like down there.
Thank god you've got an incredible musical talent to express these things. I adore some of the chord progressions and those harmonies are simply lush.
In a totally musical way of course coming back to hear your stuff makes me feel all warm in my pants!!! ahem ;-)
@bradbrubaker Feb 2022
Ooh, that rhythmic shift at the end... This line is so amazing: "may all of your kids be braver than you."
@readerwriterpoet Feb 2022
the movement from "where can i build my home?" to "where is my home?" is just devastating, in that specific way that tugs on your heart and pulls water from the corners of your eyes. so poignant and delicately, gorgeously, perfectly rendered. oh how i've missed the way you write and the songs you create!
@jdschramm Feb 2022
I like the "I thought I could belong here" chords - very beatles-ish. The get lost backing vocals are beautiful.
@elainedimasi Feb 2022
This may be the most beautiful song I'll ever hear about one of the saddest things we're all watching happen, everywhere. Thank you for creating this song. I love how you saved some special instrumental detailing for the very finish. The "curse" is the most uplifting and optimistic word on it; that tells volumes.
Now I've read the other comments and of course, Scott said what I wanted to say and better - no surprise there!
@tinear Feb 2022
On the plus side it keeps those cocky Serbian tennis stars out (just) *winking emoji here*
@davidsnyder Feb 2022
Hey this is a very lovely tune! I enjoyed it a lot. Love the guitar.
@debrandio Feb 2022
That second chorus is stunning! Beautiful, sad, thought provoking piece. I love it!
@autoclamp Feb 2022
Beautiful, timely, tragic: choose three.
Thank you for this. That this song works in my own backyard as well as yours doesn't fill me with hope, but I count myself lucky to know people who are willing to express this frustration so poignantly.
@sunnymae Feb 2022
Oh goodness Michael. The King of cathartic art is in the house. The tenderness and lullaby like Cadence to your voice and lyrical form draws in and elevates the listener to a clear and calm place of comprehension.
i cannot confine my love in your lines
so where do i build my home?
Sometimes I just shake my head in wonderment when I read some of your lines. You really have a gift from the Gods..
Welcome back!
@lcad Feb 2022
Great to hear your voice again and sounding beautiful as always. Lovely lyric, especially the 'here is my curse' line. Tightly produced, emotional and satisfying. Great start, happy FAWM!
@adforperu Feb 2022
Your silence up until yesterday had me worried there! Delighted you're back, and delighted you're still writing tracks like this. The smatterings of backing vocals are really lovely.
@vomvorton Feb 2022
This is beautiful, a tender take on a difficult theme. The pause after "all the boys and girls sing" and the harmony-augmented chorus really made me smile. Also I started FAWM 2009 (!) with a song of the same title so I also got Bonus Nostalgia - thanks!
@shortdan Feb 2022
Oh Mike, you get me every bloody time don't you? ;-(
I mean, this is stunning isn't it? Beautiful melody, vocal work, lyrics, guitar-work... the lot. A tremendous opener :)
@judypie Feb 2022
Simple and stunning, heartfelt and I loved it, thank you!
@jessi14 Feb 2022
So good to hear your voice again. You make anything sound good, even
a song about the time people were hoarding toilet paper:-)
@leepat Feb 2022
aren’t we all emigrants from the country of our soul…
loving the second lines…
fun fact: Belgium did sth similar - only valid reason to leave was to repair a car or care for a dog. or in the context of moving house.
we did the last, it was Easter and the policeman was smiling at the chocolate rabbit on his desk while considering our solemn declaration…
@eas3637 Feb 2022
Ahhhh. I was filled with such happiness in the first line. The lyrics are exquisite ("you won't take your hand off my wrist") and the guitar walkdown is just heartbreaking. And oh my goodness the background vox! This song is amazing.
@pabrizzer Feb 2022
like this a lot -vocals is the chorus are so effective - real good song
@aaronnathans Feb 2022
So bittersweet. Sounded like a love song for a person until I dug a little deeper. Really poignant, great work.
@sheslin Feb 2022
Beautiful tender delivery of this very touching song. I loved the harmonies and the restraint you used throughout to keep it minimal and really highlight the lyrics.
@mightyq Feb 2022
This is a really beautiful song. I cannot confine my love in your lines...well-woven music and words.
@kenmattsson Feb 2022
This is amazingly lovely and heart-tugging. Beautiful playing and singing and harmonies, and I love so many of the lyrics, and especially "may all of your kids be braver than you". Tremendous song.
@tukayandryan Feb 2022
Lovely to see you back! This is folky loveliness. Love the run down. Melancholic beauty here.
@coolparadiso Feb 2022
been waiting for your return! without being too political its play number 1 for the coalition party. the opposition will be much more honourable if far far from perfect on this issue. i think popular opinion is moving slowly may it speed up! lovely song on an impostanmt topic not just here but worldwide