About
Key Fm, Tempo 115, 3/4 time
11/30/80, College Station
Written after a “date” with a popular girl in high school who was way above my pay grade and that didn’t go well. She was a Mean Girl, on the drill team, and I was obsessed with her. During my Junior year I was beginning to feel more comfortable with my persona as a budding Gonzo Journalist and Rock Star, as I began strutting my literary stuff in the school newspaper, and me and some guys butchered a few songs on stage at the annual talent show. With these notches on my belt, I somehow gathered up the courage to ask the object of my adolescent desires out to dinner. We went to some place I couldn’t afford, and spent an hour or so avoiding eye contact and saying next to nothing. When I got back to the house, I composed these words. 40+ years later, I can still feel the pain I experienced that night, and (believe or not) I remember exactly what she wore (the sweater was purple, and low cut).
Musically, this song was the first one I composed using 3/4 time. The keyboards, drums, and bass were recorded in Garageband and then imported into Logic, where I embellished with strings, woodwinds, and other ear candy. I really like the flow on this, and how the music and the words weave around each other. Maybe not a top 40 hit, but a song I can listen to and enjoy again and again, always finding something new in it. And those words – I don’t think I’m capable of a better opening line than,
The Knight gazes at his Queen
And probes her starry eyes
That appear so small, so far away,
So preoccupied
Music available on all major streaming and social platforms. Watch video below.