Friday, January 28, 2011

My first country song

I composed these lyrics over the past year, completely while singing in the shower. (It started with "I need caffeine to wake me up" and then evolved from there.) For the melody on the verses, I used "Slipping Around" from 1949 by country music hall-of-fame artist Floyd Tillman. For the chorus, though, I just winged it. I'll record it soon and post it here.

"Killin’ Time"

Lyrics © Bryan Mangum

Verse 1
I need caffeine to pick me up
In the mornin’ get me out of bed
Whiskey at night
To put me down and clear my head
And in between adrenaline
Keeps me goin’ throughout the day
So weeks and years pass and I’m still outta gas
Still tryin’ to find my way

Chorus 1
Just killin’ time while time kills me
There must be more to life than what I see
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger indeed
But I’m just gettin’ older; time is killin’ me

Verse 2
I scrape for every dollar and dime
‘Cause nothin’ comes for free
Then everybody wants some of what I got
‘Til there’s nothin’ left for me
And then at work, my boss is a jerk
I don’t get credit for what I done
But I’m too damn tired to get myself fired
So I just bite my tongue

Chorus 2
And keep killin’ time while time kills me
Is there more to life than what I see?
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger indeed
But I’m just gettin’ older; time is killin’ me

Verse 3
Women come, but mostly go
I still haven’t got ‘em figured out
And I keep sayin’ every time’s the last
Until the next one comes about
I pay my bills and I deserve some thrills
So what else can I do?
And hey, you look alright here in this bar tonight
Maybe I’ll kill some time with you

Chorus 3
Yeah, I’m killin’ time while time kills me
Can you show me more to life than what I see?
They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger indeed
But I’m just gettin’ older; time is killin’ me
Time is killin’ me