"What A Good Boy"

It happens every now & then that I MUST post song lyrics...

Sigh. If it really must come out.. it is the full truth as to WHY I got a blog in the first place. I was on Twitter (@jazzdolphin on there) one day.. and I posted a song on Blip.fm (jazzdolphin on there, no @ thingy symbol needed) and I had an overwhelming urge to share the lyrics for a song. I can't recall which one at this very moment, as it has happened a number of times since. Let me tell you.. 140 char just doesn't go very far when you have the very immediate need to type a whole bunch of song lyrics out.

Actually, it isn't really why I got a blog, but it seems to be a good use for it when I have the strange and rather extreme urge to post song lyrics and no other place to go in the wee hours of the morning.
If you get that I could almost reference a Meatloaf song right there.. you may have a hope in hell of following my train of thought (and finding a caboose) in the midst of the madness I'm attempting to reign in here...

So, back to the topic at hand. Music, song lyrics, obsession... perhaps could fit into there somewhere... (and possibly sarcasm... ;)

I do random things like that.. sometimes... often... I kinda *heart* music.. it just takes over my brain & I must listen, or post, or download, or search the net for hours (and hours) reading about new bands and old...often at 2-3am in the morning. Like now.

I actually tend to do this most often on Sunday's... (the music searching & listening, etc)...

I "blame" (kidding..) George Stroumboulopoulos a wee bit (@strombo in Twitter-land).. and his Strombo Show on Sunday nights 8pm-midnight on CBC Radio 2 (http://www.cbc.ca/radio2 AND more specifically http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/programs/strombo oh AND.. http://www.strombo.com/ - which is apparently being "re-done".)
We all wait with baited breath as to what this will look like. As a former web developer.. all I can say is FINALLY.. it so needs it..
I mean.. Yah... Georgie! };> or {;/

But tonight after my usual weeknight before bed menu of The Hour, Ghost Whisperer, and some email, I found myself needing to hear a song that I'm pretty sure I only have on tape somewhere, and recalling the first time I think I heard it.

So the crazy song that started this foolishness (or possible insanity) off is "What A Good Boy" by the Barenaked Ladies. However, when a song takes you on trip, be it down a memory lane filled with forgotten neural pathways, or to a place in your heart... you have follow it through. I am finding it hard to believe that song came out in 1992. I'm having an even harder time believing that I was ~19 at the time. Hmm... Totally dated myself there. Shudder.
You do the math.

I had moved back to Calgary (after my parents had moved to Red Deer) to go to university and I had my first real apartment in a great area in downtown Calgary on 15th Ave & 1st Street. I even remember the exact address and everything... Wow. Details. And being in university and living spitting distance from places like The Republic (and The Night Gallery, etc) where live bands stopped by quite often, it was easy to build such awesome, robust and divine musical memories.

Some of my best memories and moments in music go back to that apartment and those years. More than I can get into in this "article", however I am working on an indie music/blog/series (perhaps a trilogy in 5 parts..) that will hopefully make more sense, but also trip down that memory lane in some fairly extensive detail.

Ohhh.. and only to add few more tangents to the mix here (think of it like a when an awesome DJ layers ~7 songs in & you just have to treasure it while dancing your ass off at ~5am, it may make more sense then)... while popping over to CBC's website to copy & paste those links to Radio 2, et all to make sure they were correct.. I just discovered that while I can never listen to Radio 2 Morning
(@CBCR2Morning) with Bob Mackowycz in regular time.. I can listen at 3am PST.. but on AST. Woot.

Oh yes... The Facebook Group for Citizens Against Hump-Day.
I like it Bob!

And to be even more random... Rich Terfry was just on Bob's show.. and the previous song I felt the most imminent need to post song lyrics for on Twitter was "Convoy" by "C. W. McCall" (http://blip.fm/jazzdolphin to play it along with a few other gems.)

WARNING: Before visiting the above link I should warn you.. I have rather.. ummm... "eclectic" musical taste. (It's a good thing. Honest!)

And.. just in case I've completely lost you here, I'll try and make some sense and bring this all around to some point or closure...
Rich Terfry (@CBCR2Drive)/@bucksixtyfive) was on The Strombo Show back on Dec 20, 2009 (possibly the BEST Strombo Show EVER... hint, Hint, HINT on the whole playlist/podcast thing.. please..) and those boys.. George & Rich... those nasty musical teases talked about Convoy, but DIDN'T freaking play it. So I had to go find the song on Blip and play it about 10x to fulfill my musical fix and re-live some long ago moments when I was very young, lived on a ranch and ran amok. I will however, save any details of that for another day, time & random moment in the early hours of the morning.

And while I'm not posting those particular song lyrics (Convoy), I have since gotten that out of my system.. here are the song lyrics that started this whole crazy assortment of thoughts, memories and general chaos at ~3am.

And if this made ANY sense.. at all.. let me know.
And if it didn't.. let me know.

"What A Good Boy"
by the Barenaked Ladies

When I was born, they looked at me and said
what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl.

We've got these chains that hang around our necks,
people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same,
when temptation calls, we just look away.

[Chorus]
This name is the hairshirt I wear,
and this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair.
This song is the cross that I bear,
bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me,
be with me tonight,
I know that it isn't right, but be with me tonight.

I go to school, I write exams,
if I pass, if I fail, if I drop out,
does anyone give a damn?
And if they do, they'll soon forget 'cause it won't take much for me
to show my life ain't over yet.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange.
I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever going to change.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange
and everything around me stays the same.

[Chorus]

I couldn't tell you that I was wrong,
chickened out, grabbed a pen and paper, sat down and I wrote this song.
I couldn't tell you that you were right,
so instead I looked in the mirror,
watched TV, laid awake all night.

We've got these chains, hang 'round our necks,
people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same when temptation calls ...

[Chorus]

When I was born, they looked at me and said;
What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said;
what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl, hey

Song Lyrics: "What A Good Boy" Barenaked Ladies

(The rest of the nonsense is mine.)

Chaos, panic, and disorder... my work here is done.
~Unknown Author