I sent this email to my band mates yesterday...
Sooo....
Does the idea of a song based on the words and melody of a nursery rhyme make you nervous? Maybe even, downright freak you out?
If not, I've been overdosing on this full moon of late and Sunday afternoon a weird notion came to me. I heard TEN LITTLE INDIANS in a song. A different song. A Mitty's song. One where Sam the Sham meets swamp. Tom Waits does Nursery Room Nightmares.
Still with me?
Here's the lyrics and chords (I'm thinking A but I put them in Roman Numerals so we can change if necessary):
TEN LITTLE INDISCREET LOVERS
(I) One little, Two little, Three little indiscreets
(V) Four little, Five little, Six little indiscreets
(I) Seven little, Eight little, Nine little indiscreets
(V) Ten little indiscreet (I) lovers
(I) One found out that life gets lonely
(V) Two forgot their one and only
(I) Three must flee from matrimony
(NC) Four don't care what people say.
CHORUS
(I) Five contrived when they quit trying
(V) Six save time and spent more lying
(I) Seven don't see no sense in crying
(NC) Eight won't wait for sunny day
CHORUS
(IV) Nine is fine with doing time
(I) Mine all mine right down the line
(IV) But time and time and time again
(V) Nine ends up with Number Ten!
CHORUS
(I) Ten little (V) indiscreet (I) lovers
(I) Ten little (V) indiscreet (I)
I didn't lose them. No doubt, there was some caution.
It was only the three of us as Jim was out sick. Once we determined the actual key (not A but F#), Paul aptly set a cajun beat going. That was abandoned for a more straight-ahead rock count. The middle-eight got repeated after a space for an instrumental break—and we had it!
A twisted little hillbilly-rock take on a classic nursery rhyme. Maybe you'll get to hear it soon.
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Nope, I can definitely see this, Kevin!! Too bad no one plays the fiddle, as I can easily see a Cajun instrumental break in there.
ReplyDeleteI think you’ve hit upon a goldmine! I was wondering if you could do anything with nursery rhymes that aren't that well known? Rhymes such as; John Jacob Jingleheiner Schmidt or maybe There Was A Little Guinea-Pig, which came from the satirical rhyme by Colyngbourne; "The Cat, the Rat and Lovell our Dog, Rule all England under a Hog." Sir Thomas Catesby was the Cat, Sir William Ratcliffe of Ordsall Hall was the Rat; Lord Francis Lovell was the Dog, and King Richard III was the Hog