“Sweet Susannah” - a song about robbery
I wrote this the same day as another song of mine called “Ghost Ship”. The idea was to take a couple campfire songs form childhood and let them inspire a new batch. This one was a reworking (and new story) of “Oh Susannah”. (Ghost Ship is inspired by Row Row Row your boat btw).
Story Pairing
My current disposition seems to be leaning less towards specific song talk and more towards general ranting, so rant we shall.
Let’s talk about how lovely it is to spend time writing songs. I feel this is a timely song in a sense because I think my time is being robbed from songwriting as I place it at the feet of other things. I also think that songwriting in general is being abused with the use of AI and things like Suno. Care to indulge me as I ramble?
A new common occurrence that I am experiencing is folks coming up to me at a show and telling me about a song they’ve just written. Then they proceed to ask if they can have me listen. I of course say yes. Then they pull out their phone and press play on an AI generated song and my heart sinks.
On one hand, I love that people are finding a way to express themselves and using songwriting as a medium. However they aren’t really songwriting, they are being tricked by perceived worth. The idea of having a song that sounds similar to what you hear on radio has the power to make people feel like they belong. That in turn makes the words that they found or the emotion that they were sitting in feel recognized, and that is important and special. Regardless of the tool, I love that piece of this puzzle. To feel less alone in this world is what I love the most about songwriting, and I welcome anyone and everyone to try and find that feeling as well.
The other side of the coin is the ease in which a “product” can be achieved. That is where the bullshit comes in.
A song isn’t a product, or at least it shouldn’t be viewed so simply.
You didn’t really make that, you hit an easy button, and you robbed yourself of what you could have actually made.
Art is yours until you share it. That’s where the power is, and when you transfer that power to the listener, now they own a piece of it. AI is fast food. You’re giving them a cold McCchicken and expecting them to react like a home cooked meal?
Shall we dig into these a bit deeper?
I mean.. I sell songs I guess, so it has value. Personally I think the exchange of money is for the time and the inspiration more than it is the specific song. When we replace all of the moments that lead up to a song with a computer program then we are losing the core of art. It’s not something that we just select from a screen and then gawk at instantaneously. This form of expression demands quality time and that’s where all the good bits are. Being a full time musician and songwriter, I constantly ride the line of using music for a living, and then reminding myself how precious this all is. Don’t screw it up by making it into a factory, that’s not what creating with any sort of purpose is.
Think about tracing, or paying a classmate to do your assignments (I made a lot of spending money in High School off of a couple bozos that would do that..), or stealing someone else’s work and calling it yours. They don’t have any substance in your space. You don’t learn anything, uncover anything, there is little to no improvement on the self when you place the work in someone or something else’s hands. If you find a way to make a song instantly, what did you miss? Sitting with a story or a thought and flipping over all the rocks is the best part. It’s frustrating, sure. You’ll hit blocks and feel like a piece of shit over and over.. but when you do finish that song, really finish it and take a step back… it’s awesome. Truly a one of a kind feeling to be the steward of a song and to claim any sort of partnership with the creative realm in bringing something beautiful across the veil into this world. Don’t rob yourself of that, ever.
I think the fast food analogy is ideal. It’s food I suppose. It has trace ingredients of arguable value… but at the end of the day it does very little besides scratching a temporary itch. The consequence of creating and consuming in that space is you become more and more unhealthy and get farther away from anything real. There is comfort in that, but it’s so fleeting and upon any introspection, you only grasp air. No substance. All filler and nothing foundationally impressive. It will never pass from your hands to another in the way that you want it to. You’re handing over false scraps to people hungry for something real.
Deeper?
Nah, I’m kidding. I’ve rambled enough. Feel free to poke holes in any of these opinions. Better yet, write a song about it.
Song Structure
Verse: C - F - C - C - Am - G - F - C
Chorus: F - G - Am - C - F - C - F - G - Am - C - F - C - C - G - C
Bridge: F - C - G - F - C - F - C - C - G - C
There are a lot of chords in this one, easy chords, but a lot nonetheless. (I also wish chords was spelled cords…)
Voice Memos
No Notebook Page
2016
It’s a sad thing to lose a notebook full of songs. Maybe it’s still out there somewhere intact and waiting to be found.
Lyrics
Alabama, the place where I was raised
And I spent so many nights so many days
Here I am, down on luck and down on coin
And there's only one direction left to go in
So they’ll catch me, I don't know when
So I’m stealing all I can until then
Sweet Susannah
I know you think the best of me
Sweet susannah
Here I rot, to keep you free
Susannah, stay away from me
Hold a pistol, in a shaking hand
Well I never took a life or shot a man
Oh bankrobber they whisper behind my back
As I’m filling up my suitcase stack by stack
And I always thought I’d be harder to track
So they caught me unprepared for the attack
Sweet Susannah
I know you think the best of me
Sweet susannah
Here I rot, to keep you free
Susannah, stay away from me
Im in chains, close your eyes
Don't want you to see me like this
Oh Susannah don't you cry
This will be our final kiss
It's the moment, I'll always miss
Sweet Susannah
I know you think the best of me
Sweet susannah
Here I rot, to keep you free
Susannah, stay away from me
Susannah, stay away from me
Susannah, stay away from me