Feb 2022 country americana folk
Well, after The Smoke, I'm kinda giving myself genre-whiplash! But I am so comfortable around pedal steel and country drawl! Cannot decide whether I wanna be a rockstar or a country legend!
I do like this song a lot!
Roots and Wings
February 6, 2022
https://www.johnstaplesmusic.com/FAWM2022/JohnStaples-RootsAndWings.mp3
I almost met her
in a crowded bar
she smiled at me
I grinned at her
she wrote her number
on the back of my hand
then she disappeared again
I wanted roots
she wanted wings
I guess that kinda
explains everything
I held my ground
and she took flight
but I still dream about her
almost every night
she almost loved me
a hundred times
she held my hand
I tried to read her mind
she fit me sorta
like a leather glove
I guess I fell in love
I wanted roots
she wanted wings
I guess that kinda
explains everything
I held my ground
and she took flight
but I still dream about her
almost every night
I put down roots and stood my ground
she reached the sky without a sound
the note she left explained to me
she found her wings and needed to be free
I wanted roots
she wanted wings
I guess that kinda
explains everything
I held my ground
and she took flight
but I still dream about her
almost every night
almost every night
© 2022 John Staples
JohnStaplesMusic.com
@nancycunning Mar 2022
Great song. I like how both characters want something good, but they just can't make it work. That pedal steel feels like just the right wide open feeling - like pacing the ground staring up at the vast night sky.
@williamjames Mar 2022
Certainly sounds like your comfort zone. Playing and phrasing and tone and everything is really great! Loved that pedal steel, conveys so much emotional weight! What a tragic chorus, hits the feels the bridge part rally ties the song together and gives the last chorus even more weight! Spot on song!
@guatecoop Mar 2022
This starts out so gentle and pleasant. I like how the melody and words grab the listener right off. This song is pretty sad, but very well written. Yeah, that pedal steel is perfect....what a cool instrument that brings a very specific sound to a song--and in this case it is just right and in all the right places. Excellent song!
@berty38 Mar 2022
This is heartbreaking and beautiful. The lyrics are so sad, and the arrangement is so good. The lap steel is super nice… in a devastating kind of way.
@ofishell Mar 2022
John, this is, quite simply, beautiful. I knew from the first few notes that I was going to adore it. Your playing is impeccable, and your vocals go perfectly with the lyrics. There is a Magnetic Fields quality to it that I adore deeply (I hope that is the compliment for you that I mean it as). Looking forward to listening to more of your songs!
@sw1n3flu Feb 2022
Holy smokes, this is one accomplished song. Sonically gorgeous as always.
@cleanshoes Feb 2022
Oof, that pedal steel! The fingerpicked guitar is absolutely lovely as well, and "I wanted roots, she wanted wings" is a great refrain. Classy and classic.
@debrandio Feb 2022
Nice tune! Love that line "I wanted roots
she wanted wings"
@kadmad202 Feb 2022
This flows straight to the heart, John. Lovely lyrics, outstanding arrangement and instrumentation, and your wise and weary voice "fits sorta like a leather glove."
@karlsburg25 Feb 2022
Firstly you are a country/rock legend my friend. And i adore this. Ooo that slide guitar is to die for. Really really got me with these lyrics matey. You have an amazing poetic way to put over a story. And btw the song has a unique quality, which stands it out as neither country or rock in my book. Its just pure beauty matey. Woohooo
@colgoo Feb 2022
I love that chorus! Beautiful love story.
@acousticmaddie Feb 2022
aaaw great storytelling and so lovely instrumentation.
@gm7 Feb 2022
John!! Wow a great story..I see you on a stool playing this song. Some fine guitar playing and top notch production as always
@lcad Feb 2022
The roots/wings is such a good metaphor and played on well throughout the lyric. Nice and easy on the instrumentation and warm vocals, feels like classic American folk.
@rev Feb 2022
Yeah man...getting your Gordon Lightfoot, Dan Fogelberg thing on! :-)
Great tune!
@jerrypettit Feb 2022
Not to jump on your coattails or anything, but this reminds me so much of the music I like to do. Goodness, but you have raised the bar, though.
My favorite of yours so far. Perfect!
@dorit Feb 2022
Wow this is beautiful. And the production too! What a great job!
I agree with the 70's, there is a little James Taylor vibe.
@scottlake Feb 2022
I agree on the 70’s vibes. The chord sequences are right there. Especially the change at the first bar of the chorus. Really nice.
@billwhite51 Feb 2022
makes me feel like im back in a 70s bar, falling love during a set break with a girl who disappears before closing time. lyrics are right to the point and you sing them like a guy whose world has just ended.
@wurzelfrau Feb 2022
(Oh and you can be a rockstar AND a country legend. Of course you can!)
@wurzelfrau Feb 2022
I might have cried a little, John.
In a good kind of way. I can kinda relate to this feeling way too much, right now. It touched my heart. Thank you for that <3
@mikeb Feb 2022
Smooth sound with a story that grabs the listener. The pedal steel touches the heart with its lonesome sound.
@tan482 Feb 2022
So great! Fantastic performance and production. Love the lyrics too!
@judypie Feb 2022
Oh gosh John, I love this one. It’s made me totes emosh, Espesh that bridge and the outro. I wish it had gone on for longer, it’s so gorgeous. Amazing job.
@grayland Feb 2022
Great write John! This is more straight up country and I of course love it. The pedal steel is so sweet. along with a floaty, mellow guitar riff. it's kinda hypnotizing. I like this side of you...it feels so natural, and if you were forced to choose between rockstar and country legend (and thank goodness you don't have to!) I'd vote country legend!!!
@stuartbenbow Feb 2022
Wow, you knocked this one out of the park. Well done on all counts, love it!
@sheilerk Feb 2022
I agree with everything that has already been said. It could be playing on crossover stations right now, it’s so relatable, and so well done.
@kahlo2013 Feb 2022
Wow! John! This is an incredible song and production - such a wonderful country folk feel and great vulnerability in the lyric. I like the roots and wings analogies. Awesome!
@littlespiral Feb 2022
This could be released on streaming platforms tomorrow. Amazing stuff. Well recorded and performed.
@cindyrella Feb 2022
Wow Mr Staples! You've out down yourself with this awesome song! Bam!
@ductapeguy Feb 2022
This song is solid as a rock. And city mouse- country mouse is always a great theme for a song. I for one am so very glad that you are musically bilingual. Besides, very often the difference between modern rock and modern country comes down to hats and footwear.
@jacobeverettwallace Feb 2022
I'm loving the understated feel you've created here, John. Love that hook and chorus structure. Well-written and performed. I think you can be both a rocker and a legend, no genres necessary! Well done.