My Favorite Sunbeam's Gone Away
February 9, 2010 7:16 PM
A deliriously cheerful song of complete misery.
One day, years ago, I was sad and I wrote a sad song at three in the morning. It was one of those times where you write a song while bathing in self-pity at, as I said, three in the morning, and you're all i'm really pouring my heart out and this is so meaningful and then in the cold light of the next day you look at it and you're all wow, this is so awful and embarrassing.
(Stephen Merritt says, "Never try to write a song when you’re actually feeling the emotion.")
Anyway, this is not that song.
That day -- the day after, that is -- after looking at and listening to and being horrified by what I had done the night before, I decided to write another sad song, but this time I made it as upbeat and happy as I could. That's this song.
Now, years later, I've finally gotten around to making a halfway-decent recording, so, um, here you are.
Tech specs: Autoharp, Alesis Micron, Boss DR-202 Dr. Groove & HC-2 clap machine, and a couple of cheap cymbals. The tremoloa and a small plastic harmonica make cameo appearances.
One day, years ago, I was sad and I wrote a sad song at three in the morning. It was one of those times where you write a song while bathing in self-pity at, as I said, three in the morning, and you're all i'm really pouring my heart out and this is so meaningful and then in the cold light of the next day you look at it and you're all wow, this is so awful and embarrassing.
(Stephen Merritt says, "Never try to write a song when you’re actually feeling the emotion.")
Anyway, this is not that song.
That day -- the day after, that is -- after looking at and listening to and being horrified by what I had done the night before, I decided to write another sad song, but this time I made it as upbeat and happy as I could. That's this song.
Now, years later, I've finally gotten around to making a halfway-decent recording, so, um, here you are.
Tech specs: Autoharp, Alesis Micron, Boss DR-202 Dr. Groove & HC-2 clap machine, and a couple of cheap cymbals. The tremoloa and a small plastic harmonica make cameo appearances.
posted by Karlos the Jackal (7 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
How can so much goodness be packed into one song? Amazing.
I almost always like when song lyrics have colons because, since you can't hear a colon, they give this nice double meaning effect. So thanks for pumping this song full of them.
Speaking of Stephen Merritt, have you seen this trailer for a documentary about him? I hope it's good.
posted by Corduroy at 8:56 PM on February 9, 2010
I almost always like when song lyrics have colons because, since you can't hear a colon, they give this nice double meaning effect. So thanks for pumping this song full of them.
Speaking of Stephen Merritt, have you seen this trailer for a documentary about him? I hope it's good.
posted by Corduroy at 8:56 PM on February 9, 2010
This is a fullway-decent recording. Great sound!
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 10:42 PM on February 9, 2010
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 10:42 PM on February 9, 2010
It's got this full-on TMBG vibe that I really dig. This is cool!
posted by uncleozzy at 1:44 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by uncleozzy at 1:44 PM on February 10, 2010
I was listening to it and thinking "but this is regular KTJ cheerfulness, it's not really more upbeat than his other happy stuff", but then I came to the break with the synth, the accordion and the xylophone. Lovely man, you did it again.
posted by micayetoca at 8:00 AM on February 11, 2010
posted by micayetoca at 8:00 AM on February 11, 2010
This is really goddam great, Karlos.
and then in the cold light of the next day you look at it and you're all wow, this is so awful and embarrassing.
I've actually got something like that going on with my RPM album, some epically overwrought metaphors getting re-purposed by a clearer-headed protagonist as a self-mocking open-mic-poetry performance. I'm sure there's a nice long German word for it.
posted by cortex at 8:30 AM on February 11, 2010
and then in the cold light of the next day you look at it and you're all wow, this is so awful and embarrassing.
I've actually got something like that going on with my RPM album, some epically overwrought metaphors getting re-purposed by a clearer-headed protagonist as a self-mocking open-mic-poetry performance. I'm sure there's a nice long German word for it.
posted by cortex at 8:30 AM on February 11, 2010
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Rain! Rain! Rain! Rain! I knew you'd come again; I never thought it'd be today. Gray clouds in the sky, I know the reason why: my favorite sunbeam's gone away. Gone away, gone away! My favorite sunbeam's gone away and now she's making someone else's day that much brighter. My favorite sunbeam's gone away, gone away and now she's making someone else's day that much brighter.
Somehow she slipped in through my Venetian blinds and I was awoken from a slumber deep. Now I'm wide awake -- no matter how much I might wish, I can never go back to sleep. Back to sleep, back to sleep! Deaf and dumb and counting sheep and dreaming that she'd never gone away. Gone away, gone away! My favorite sunbeam's gone away and now she's making someone else’s day that much brighter.
She warned me: nice weather never lasts, but I convinced myself this time it would. On the radio this morning, the forecast said "100% chance of losing something good." This good, this good -- I never had it that good -- back before she'd gone away. Gone away, gone away! My favorite sunbeam's gone away and now she's making someone else's day that much brighter.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 7:22 PM on February 9, 2010 [1 favorite]