Feb 2022 music-hall piano
Mike:
Called an Indian burn in the US, I hear. (Probably also racist.) Mike on the mic, Tin Ear doing glorious work on the old Joanna. Matofono warning.
Tin Ear: The star of this number is Mike's gifted weaving of a story into charming lyrics. Who can fail to be wooed by those opening two lines?
i don't know why it's called a chinese burn
it's probably racist
a sore red mark on my arm
you used to say it meant that we were friends
a little red bracelet
you didn't mean me any harm
i don't know, kids are cruel
you were my bully, i was your fool
stop twisting my arm, harry
just leave me alone with your massive hands
i never could stand the way you made me feel
yeah leave me alone, harry
i've had it with you and your massive hands
may a baby grand fall from the sky on you
so thirty years and then just last week
i saw you at woolworths
buying some lasagna sheets
you seemed to think that somehow we'd been friends
now you worked in plastics
you'd bought a house down the street
you loved your wife, well you tried
but things had been hard since your daughter died
you ruined my song, harry
now you've got me wishing you the best
you were a pest, now you're a real-life human being
yeah, you ruined it all, harry
you were going to be the villain of this song
now it feels wrong to end the song this way
what do you do
when your childhood bully's
just a sad man in the pasta aisle?
@leepat Mar 2022
delightful trills on that baby grand and poetic justice by the bucket.
always a pleasure gentlemen.
@miltz Mar 2022
It's no Archie Rice, but it's a corker nonetheless.
@shortdan Feb 2022
This is lovely. Some of those fruity chord changes are right up my street. Some absolute cracking lines in this one too - excellent!
@nagavaeoe Feb 2022
This was a lot of fun. Great playing!
The lyrics are hilarious and awesome!
Harry loves pasta.
@datsch Feb 2022
I love the way the chord changes in the chorus jsut keep on coming like a very long sentence that seems to take ages to come to a full stop. And yes, lovingly crafted storyline and I enjoyed the ogranic feel of the (real?) piano.
@deena Feb 2022
Perfectly beautiful in all the ways!
@vomvorton Feb 2022
These lyrics are absolutely amazing, I was on board as soon as "racist" rhymed with "bracelet" and then somehow FURTHER on board at "leave me alone with your massive hands". And then the melancholy shift later on is a beautiful twist - wonderful stuff!
@susyblue Feb 2022
Ohh I was wondering what music hall is and then immediately knew it and loved it. Kazoo no less. N then you give us that twist you clever chap.... oh Harryy..... Needless to say I love this song
@owl Feb 2022
This is so funny and poignant and incredibly well executed… love the piano, the matofono, the brushes—just an utterly charming and compassionate little tune.
@nadine Feb 2022
What music production sorcery is this?! This sounds so professional in every way. Love the easiness in the piano, the solo, the brush drums and this voice just fits into this oldschool arrangement. I never heard about this word...
@mikeskliar Feb 2022
Wow- this is indescribably wonderful in every way! Incredibly creative and hilarious way to explore human nature of what happens to people over time, memory, and life happening. The music is perfect for this and I love the vocal delivery. Fantastic!
@oswlek Feb 2022
This is too damn good! The opening lines are great and the fabulous wordplay keeps rolling from there. The piano playing and chord choices are perfect, as are the melody and vocal performance. The horn is almost too fitting to be considered a FAWM song!
Inspiring stuff, guys. Color me very impressed.... and a wee bit jealous. :-)
@bethdesombre Feb 2022
This is great! It meanders so beautifully around the complicated story via memory and reflection and watching thoughts change in real time. The "I don't know/kids are cruel" stanza (especially "you were my bully; I was your fool" line) makes this song for me. And then even more when you get to "you ruined my song" and that conclusion . . .
@judypie Feb 2022
Ah bloody Harry and his massive hands! What fun :)
@richardmasters Feb 2022
This is a brilliant song through and through - I love music hall pop. The lyrics are so accomplished, funny, sad and insightful and delivered in such a beautiful timbre and feeling. The accompaniment is spot on - a gentle touch on those keys and an arrangement that lifts the song above the crowd. Wonderful.
@roddy Feb 2022
A great collaboration. Such a gentle delivery. The rhythm, the piano and the lovely vocal all blend together really well. Excellent lyrics with such compassion and wit.
@roysmith Feb 2022
Wonderful song, with bittersweet humour, performed with a what can probably be described as just the right amount of pathos. Possibly my favourite lyrics of fawm this year so far.
@yewnorker Feb 2022
Excellent excellent job! Wow! Take a bow guys. I'm gonna play it again.