FAWM: "Saturday Night At The Palindrome"

Saturday Night At The Palindrome

2 weeks ago by @hamiltonpoolhall

Challenge: PALINDROME

Saturday Night At The Palindrome

hamiltonpoolhall

00:00

Liner Notes

#acousticonetake #onemic #folk #acousticblues
I wrote these lyrics a few days back and am finally home and had a chance to figure out the music. This is maybe the third or fourth setting I've come up with and while this is the first complete take, it's still a little rough and ready. But it's always absolutely the hardest posting the first song of the season, so now at least, as a sweet little old lady from Britain one said to me on a transatlantic flight, I've broken my duck.

Challenge notes: I wrote each stanza as a palindrome, and then ordered the stanzas as a palindrome as well. It didn't hurt that we'd been talking about Steve James' song "Talco Girl" around the house lately as well.

Lyrics

Saturday night at the Palindrome
I can’t stay here and I can’t go home
I can’t stay here and I can’t go home
Saturday night at the Palindrome

I thought I’d see you again tonight
And change your mind under the neon light
And change your mind under the neon light
I thought I’d see you again tonight

Your friends in the corner, the girls at the bar
Everyone knows where you probably are
Everyone knows where you probably are
Your friends in the corner, the girls at the bar

Saturday night at the Palindrome
I can’t stay here and I can’t go home
I can’t stay here and I can’t go home
Saturday night at the Palindrome

Your friends in the corner, the girls at the bar
Everyone knows where you probably are
Everyone knows where you probably are
Your friends in the corner, the girls at the bar

I thought I’d see you again tonight
And change your mind under the neon lights
And change your mind under the neon lights
I thought I’d see you again tonight

Saturday night at the Palindrome
I can’t stay here and I can’t go home
I can’t stay here and I can’t go home
Saturday night at the Palindrome

Comments

@mikeskliar 2d

ha! palindrome, indeed! creative, and so much damn fun to hear! love what you do musically/chordally thru the whole thing, but especially the bridge, (the whole thing really!) And a fantastic album-worthy performance. great stuff!

@spinhead 3d

The opening notes just scream 'Saturday night'.

I like the simplicity of the palindromic layout. It fits so well, I might not have noticed if I were just listening.

As others have mentioned, your 'dodgy one take' is better than my best, so I'll muddle through another listen, yeah?

@jmadison 1w

Man, that's a lot of lyrical work, and it came together super well. I always dig hearing your acoustic blues style guitar. Broken duck seems like a starting idea for a new song of its own.

@fearlessflight2014 1w

Wow, I’ve heard lots of takes on the palindrome theme but you’ve nailed a perfect balance between cleverly nailing the prompt and also writing a killer song. I love how you suggest a whole nuanced narrative with such sparse lyrics. And I just love hearing your sound again.

@pippa 1w

I don't know what the name of the genre is, of this style guitar and singing and theme, kind hontytonk, but you totally nailed it! Great song, great.listening.

@singbiosis 1w

Clever, making each verse—and the entire song—a palindrome! Much less lyrics to write! ;-) Fantastic guitar work, which is one reason I keep coming back here.

@davidtaro 2w

Imagining the Palindrome as a cool venue is an absolutely genius move! And this is definitely one of the most creative takes on the challenge I've come across in terms of that unfurling and recoiling structure. Love the world weary tinge to the vocal. Nothing wrong with rough and ready. Also, I believe 'broken my duck' originates from cricket, aka the finest sport known to mankind, so you get extra points for mentioning that in the liner notes.

@paulhenry 2w

wonderful in almost every respect, and as @philnorman said, a nice approach to the challenge. Two things struck me:
It would be cool if the central verse was unique, the pivot of the palindrome. And if you could make it musically palindromic, all the better.

@resonut123 2w

So Cool!!!
Fine Fingerpickin' and your smooth Jazz/Blues vocals really shine like a neon bar light out at the corner of Sad and Lonesome. Great lyric too.

@jessicamagoch 2w

Love this! It took me three verses to realize the palindrome because I was enjoying it so much!

@philnorman 2w

Absolutely brilliant way to approach the challenge, from the shape of each stanza to the way the repetition unfolds backwards. All the bonus points for turning the Palindrome into the bar where all the cool cats hangout.

I'd put this song right into your live set, with no preamble patter. This has a vibe and conveys an emotion that make a great song, whether or not anyone in the audience is clever enough to catch the structure. A magician never reveals his tricks and all that...

@andrewjtaylor 2w

This is one of my favorites so far. Love your lyrics, your writing, your vocal performance, and especially your guitar playing. Beautiful work. Ironically, as you were singing the lines of can’t stay here and can’t go home. The song closing time by Semisonic was playing in another part of the building.

Later edit: Could only listen earlier. After reading your liner notes and reading the lyrics, it works so beautifully the palindrome. Well done! Break that duck.

@bethdesombre 2w

I'm so happy to have a song from you to listen to! This prompt had your name written all over it, and this one doesn't disappoint. I like how you make a complex structure simple and also actually make sense. I love how your mind -- and fingers -- work.

@richaaaay 2w

So great to hear that familiar guitar playing again. Love that bass run leading into the chorus and of course the instrumental break, which just kicks a$$. And that outro was just darn awesome too. I’m gonna play this again right now!!!