Songs: Stop, Look and Listen

notes / gigs / releases

You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
Stop saying that you feel all right when really you're wiped out inside
You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
Look on as you fake one more smile and dive deeper down into denial
You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
Listen to you convince yourself by lying to everybody else
You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
You've got to give yourself time to rewrire your mind

It's not over till it's over, you can't get out early with this
The pain will wait for you no matter how late you roll in pissed
You're trying to heal too soon
But you've got to stop, look and listen to you.

You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
The sooner you let in your friends the sooner this nightmare will end
You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
Tell them the state that you're in, show them the wasteland within
You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
Start trusting again, and in time you can get on with your life
You've got to Stop, Look, and Listen
Stop trying to look like it's okay and listen to everybody say
You've got to stop

Published by Wipe Out Music Publishing

The tune to this one rattled round my head for MONTHS, as did the idea of what it'd be about, but I couldn't resolve the two into a decent song. Eventually I was thinking about how I'd love to write a song as good as Here,There and Everywhere, when realised that I could at least pinch the Thematic Template... thus careful readers will note that the STRUCTURE follows each bit of the title, explains why one should do what is instructed, illustrates the point by going BACKWARDS through the OPPOSITE of the title, and then resolves with the title again. Needless to say I was (and still am) INSANELY chuffed about this, and tend to point it out to people whenever I can.

Recording was a whole HECK of fun - if you listen carefully you can hear Durham Ox Singers LARFING with glee, and I love the way the horns and violins work round each other. The descending violin in the middle was the subject of much SHOUTING IN PUBS between me and Tom when he first joined, and we both loved the way it worked out.

The most exciting thing about this song, however, is that Nigel from Half Man Half Biscuit told me it's his favourite song of ours, or so he told me outside The Charlotte in Leicester one night long ago. The idea that he could HAVE a favourite song of ours nearly made me pass out with happiness!