FAWM: "Treadmill Blues"

Treadmill Blues

Liner Notes

Saw two workmen by the traffic lights..
#rock #guitar #indierock

Lyrics

Verse 1:
Two workmen walking by the traffic lights,
One of them's a boy, with a caged look in his eye.
Old man telling tales of marriage bills and woe,
The boy just hears a clock ticking really slow.

Pre-Chorus:
You want to run, but your feet are stuck,
Like a dumb schmo in a TV show

Verse 2:
It’s wearing him down, there’s a knot in his gut,
Waist deep in myrrh the door is nailed shut
Walking round the mizmaze, he’s stuck in a rut
Rubbing salt deep into the cut

Pre-Chorus:
You want to run, but your feet are stuck,
Like a dumb schmo in a TV show

Chorus:
Lilacs bloom in stony ground
Loneliness is all around

Verse 3:
While he was fishing by the steel mill
Behind the workhouse where the water is still
Musing on the wrecks of what could have been
And the ghost’s of fathers drowning deep within
Pre-Chorus:
You want to run, but your feet are stuck,
Like a dumb schmo in a TV show

Chorus:
Lilacs bloom in stony ground
Loneliness is all around x2

Comments

@blainev83 1w

This has some 80’s vibes to it, and I am HERE for it. Great imagery in the lyrics. This is a total bop.

@nancycunning 1w

I like that feeling of these characters opening up from a glimpse out the open car window at a stoplight. Then those other two verses feel like these deeper scoops from the world of stories floating all around in space and also time. It feels very finished.

@richaaaay 1w

Great opening verse, totally relatable. It sets to tone well for what's to come. I like your vocal phrasing, it adds a lot.

@thedutchwidows 2w

That bubbly synth gives such a lovely warmth and I love the wobbly jangle of the guitars. I loved the line "Like a dumb schmo in a TV show", it has such a pleasing rhythm and form. Great vocal. I suspect this could end up in the IW set, no?

@headfirstonlyMod 2w

Oh, I remember that feeling of being trapped in a job I hated... This really captures the despair well; that's intended as a compliment, by the way.

You can't go wrong with some sweet synthpop and a bunch of jangly guitars. I know that this doesn't sound anything like it, but somehow it's got me thinking of Robert Palmer's classic, "Johnny and Mary".