“Complaining” - a song about disagreeing
Do you ever write or type a word and it looks wrong and you have to google it to make sure you aren’t either dumb or going crazy…? “Disagreeing” sure looks like it has too many vowels touching, and “Complaining” has that weird inin thing going on....
Story Pairing
I love pizza. That’s where this song comes from at it’s core. There are some things that people argue about that I think are stupid. An example is NY style vs. Chicago style pizza. I love them both. I won’t pick one, it’s pointless, they aren’t the same, and they are both great.
That concept had me thinking of its inverse, a thing that get’s argued over that is blatantly wrong or should be a no brainer. Opinion, I know, but sometimes it’s like… “come on, you can’t be serious right?”. That was the idea behind this song. Each verse has a topic or two that people argue over for fun, and then an item that shouldn’t be debated at all. Topics that seem to be treated as a way to place people in political/spiritual/intellectual camps, but should be solved together in the name of human decency instead of used to fight.
This is where some readers may start to say, “ok buddy, calm down, you’re qualified to play some songs, but maybe not so much in the preaching department”. Fair, but also you made it this far, so I might as well spew a few examples and either remind you why you love me or rile you up a bit.
So pizza was the catalyst for the lighthearted lines, and guns the one that has me touching on topics that confuse me as to why they’re even argued. The idea that someone would say that school shootings can be solved/improved by taking kids out of their learning to train them how to hide from a shooter…. especially with the underlying reason being because they don’t want their gun rights tampered with.. its wild to me. Completely and utterly wild. The fact that no other country deals with these problems like us is wild. The fact that kids are getting shot daily is wild. That people will argue “guns aren’t a problem, ther’re just a tool”, or “it’s people that are the problem”, or whatever other delusional spittle, wild. I have friends who are passionate about firearms, and I know they are very responsible with what they own, of course that (and you) isn’t the issue. The problem is how desensitized we are that it can even be argued that it’s not a problem. For a little perspective here are some interesting numbers worth sitting with and just thinking about. Do I have a solution? No. I don’t think that means I can’t be frustrated and recognize when current solutions aren’t effective.
I guess I can leave it at that for this platform. This is just a little story section where I stream of conscious about a song I just wrote. I just wanted to expand on one particular part of what this song is. The song has just 15 words about gun violence, but I could write paragraphs about how I feel. That’s one of the reasons I am so drawn to songwriting. You can take a giant chest of emotions and squash it into a handful of words and the listener may never know the enormity of what sits behind those words, or they may feel it all, exactly.
My guess is that a listener can find that enormity in a few of the lines in this song. It can be argued that I snatched at some pretty low hanging fruit when selecting the controversial verses. Global warming, homelessness, domestic abuse, hate crimes, all pretty nasty things to talk about in polite company. That may be some of the problem. When polite company comes first, a lot of our ability to solve problems comes second.
It’s exhausting to feel despair bumping its head against mine as I type opinionated words on a personal blog that focuses on marketing for a wanna-be folk singer. Doesn’t seem like the place to make a difference, but it feels good to put out a few drops of something good into the bucket. Songs are just a way to get your thoughts going in the same direction, and when thoughts go in the same direction with a little purpose and some integrity, I think valuable change can start to take root. I hope so anyway.
Song Structure
Chords:
Verse - G / F / C / G / F / G / Am / G / F / C / Am / G / C
Chorus - C / F / C / C / F / C / Am / G / F / Am / G / C
*I think I am going to keep the capo on
Voice Memos
Notebook Page (Kinda)
Dec. 2023
*my notebook was in the van and I was already in front of my computer, so I lazily typed this one. (That said I think it helped speed up the writing process and allow me to move the verses around… I may do it more often).
Lyrics
I guess I’m old enough, to get to complaining
Sitting around listing whats bothering me
The things other people are saying
Well I just have to disagree
Like country crock is butter, that’s just silly
And Home Alone 2 is worse than the first try
Guns they aren't a problem, it’s our right
So elementary children get training to hide
I guess I’m old enough, to get to complaining
Sitting around listing whats bothering me
The things other people are saying
Well I just have to disagree
Like boy bands have better songs and harmony
Than the beatles or queen or the stones
And it’s ok that humans are sleeping in the streets
So millionaires can have tax free vacation homes
Like fake scratches on your guitar, that’s pretty cool
And deep dish and NY style aren’t both delicious
And it’s ok to hit your wife
If you’re mad and feeling suspicious
I guess I’m old enough, to get to complaining
Sitting around listing whats bothering me
The things other people are saying
Well I just have to disagree
Like pokemon are an attack on the church
And The walking dead is still a good show
Catastrophic global warming isn’t so bad
Cause it saves me from shoveling snow
Like lima beans belong in any dinner
And green bubbles are just as good as blue
And hating a stranger cause their different
Is ever an acceptable thing to do
I guess I’m old enough, to get to complaining
Sitting around listing whats bothering me
The things other people are saying
Well I just have to disagree