“Table Set Right” - a song about good cooking
I can’t name many things better than a table covered in food, surrounded by your closest friends. The noisier the better, the more food flying the sweeter. Pass that, pass those, try this, how are you, what did you say, no, yes, chaos, love, a table set right indeed.
Story Pairing
If you ask me if there are any foods that I don’t like, I will say only one thing. Lima Beans. They are horrid little bastards, and perhaps adult Ben would like them if I gave them a second chance, but child Ben has carved a strong hate on my brain for them.. and I’m in no rush to fill that etching.
Growing up we would share meals at the dinner table, almost always. Dinner especially was a family ordeal. Going to friends houses where they didn’t do a family dinner and would eat in their rooms or in front of the TV was mind blowing at first, an awesome break from a forced tradition second, and then it slowly dawned on me how great an experience they were missing. Now a family style meal is a beautiful thing I always look forward to with friends or back home with the OG cast of characters.
Our table was a big old solid wood ordeal, and it had these additional leaves underneath that you could add to extend. Having a large family we always had one of the leaves in, and it made for more than enough room. The second leave got left under the table and was never used. My place as a child was to sit in the middle of the table, and I remember I could reach under the table and touch that leave. It was like a little hidden second table.
I’m not sure when it started, but on days where the vegetable side to our meal was lima beans, or a medley that contained the vile legume, I would slyly spit them out into my napkin. Then I would carefully place the discarded beans onto that leave shelf under the table. It worked like a charm. Gone were the days where I would have to eat those chalky green abominations. I found that the shelf also worked for our chewable vitamins in the morning. Genius. An obstacle presented itself, and in classic creative fashion I found a solution that took away my woes.
I probably added to my collection for over a year. I wouldn’t be able to get rid of them all, but the majority of my beans and vitamins made it to my little hidden assembly.
When I was in trouble I knew it because the middle name got added to my summons. I think this is a universal parent move, a way they can add some gravity to their shouts. I don’t remember what I was doing when my mom called me that day, or why exactly she was cleaning the underside of a table… but I do remember walking into the dining room to see my mom next to the table, the leave area pulled apart, and the floor covered in wrinkled dried beans and powdery vitamins.
I had to clean them up, and say goodbye to that shelf. It was my best friend I ever had.
Song Structure
I have been using Active Melody lately to get a little better at guitar. I try and practice a couple lessons a week. For anyone interested, I highly suggest it. A guitar player from DC turned me on to it. Brain, the instructor, is incredible and puts out a new lesson weekly.
Anyway, there was one that was focusing on gospel blues chords, and adding some flourish to a traditional blues progression. That lesson birthed this song.
I built it mainly around that repeating tag at the end of every verse. It’s a E that climbs up to a C# then does a cool little F#/B movement to take you back to the E.
Voice Memos
Notebook Page.
Oct 2022
Lyrics
To them city folk heading to the countryside
Far from them big shining lights
Sunday come round, running through town
Stressing for something to bite
Sit down at mamas table, that old cloth may not be white
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Pass the butter and the biscuits
Make some room for that Mac and cheese
How was your day, did you get enough
Here try the apple baked beans
Come on fill your wine cup, don't care if it's red or white
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Long week and your feeling down
Tell that you're running on fumes
A peach cobbler and cherry pie,
put down your work and have a bite or two
So glad that you came over,
Done gone and made our night
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Monday morning and you're back to work
Standing in the company line
No mashed potatoes, or cornbread
No brown gravy in sight
Hate to break it to you boss man
It's already quitting time
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right
Aint the last person who will realize, there's something bout a table set right