Of all of the original songs I've written and recorded, this is probably the least commented on one.
And it's the one I've probably played the least (only 2 times according the stats database).
A big part of that is that I usually just play keyboards live solo or with a group and it's such a guitar song.
I haven't figured out a way to do it sitting down at a piano.
I feel like this is the at-first unremarkable song on an album that was never going to be a "single" (I put it in quotes because the thought of an independent artist like me thinking in terms of releasable "singles" is just plain silly).
But on major releases, it would be the kind of song that the 10th time you listen to the whole album, you start falling in love with it.
I feel like music and catchiness is a balancing act between the familiar and the new; this one skews a little new or unusual sounding to it might take a while.
One review of the record described "Deja Vu" as "resilient".
I like that.
Is it vain for me to say I really love this song?
The Music
You can read up on the lyrics and creation in the white section below.
But I had been holding onto this weirdo chord progression for a long time.
For those of you who play guitar, it starts with what would be an open C chord but slid up the neck one front to this really weird sounding Db chord.
If you want to play along, here's the whole pattern:
INTRO/VERSE
Ab
G
Db
C
(twice)
CHORUS
Fm - Bbm - Db - C (twice)
The Words
What can I say about the words.
They mean whatever they mean to whoever's listening.
And the hook is that everything is a quick string of paradoxes in a rhyme scheme.
Shay used to joke about "waking up dead" as just an extreme version of being tired.
Maybe I'm wrong or my quick Google search wasn't enough right now but I can't imagine I'm the first to make the observation about not believing in Heaven but totally believing in Hell.
Some of my absolute favorite lyrics are not narratives but just some strung together cool phrases.
Whether it's Dadaism or songwriters like David Byrhe or Beck emptying their notebooks in the lines, when this is well done ... chef's kiss!
By the way, for the time being if you ask ChatGPT to copy this style, it sucks at it.
For now.
The Recording
Like I described in the "liner notes" below, this really came together fast during recording.
Some of everybody's favorite song from an album ends up being not the one they crafted and labored over for months or years but instead the one that just came together by noodling around in the studio.
To me, the cool repetitive pattern was always a little hypnotic.
Should you look at this song on sheet music, there's not that much there.
But for me this whole thing is Andy's spooky guitar that is half Hawaiian slide and half John Lurie spookiness - that and the vocal "aahs" that are equal parts demonic and angelic.
Lyrics, Personnel, Notes - Scroll Section
Upon Further Reflection
Now that I wrote this all out, I gotta start playing this the next time I play a live solo show.
