FAWM: "No Fair Fight"

No Fair Fight

1 week ago by @oddbod

No Fair Fight

oddbod

00:00

Liner Notes

I've been struggling for the last week trying to write lyrics for two other songs getting very frustrated and close to ditching them. Saturday afternoon I gave up with music completely and cooked instead.
Then yesterday I just sat down with my acoustic and this song just came out in about an hour - both the music and lyrics. Recorded it all this evening.
It's a right old lark this songwriting.

#folk #political #fingerpicking #blues

Lyrics

Take my soul and dignity
Leave me no identity
Take my land for what it’s worth
Deny me my place of birth

But the story that you tell
Is that I brought this on myself

Take the water from my well
Make my life a living hell
Take the bread from my mouth
Silence me from speaking out

You claim it’s justified
But this is no fair fight

Burn my house to the ground
Leave me homeless drag me down
Because you’ve borders to defend
Its any means to an end

From the sky the fire rains
You don’t listen, you won’t change

Comments

@mikedebenham 5d

I thought I'd clicked on @oldlostjohn for a moment there. That's a hell of a riff - love all those adjacent notes together. Great lyrics and delivery too. Excellent stuff, Tim.

@rshakesp 5d

great marriage of riff and vocal melody in this haunting piece. Great playing and the opening out into the instrumental section is fantastic. Has a really wistful feel to it that could place it in a timeless past. Really enjoyed my listen to this top job!

@sherrycanary 5d

What a gorgeous haunting melody. It is perfect for these lyrics. Yes, it is not a fair fight

@howthenightcame 1w

beautiful fingerpicking and recording, the first ten seconds had me think you'd go full john fahey on us

great lyrics too :::: 'debt is the modern form of slavery'

@sailingmagpie 1w

Ooh such a spooky feel to the chords that's right up my street (which won't surprise you, I'm sure!).
Funny how you can spend hours agonising over one song, only for another to pop out fully formed - especially if it's as good as this one! I like the small p political lyrics. Very easy to veer into lyrics that sound like Rick from The Young Ones but you've masterfully avoided that here!

@philnorman 1w

Yessir! None of us are free until we're all free. You might be struggling with other lyrics, but this one is fantastic. Funny how the songs can just fall out of us sometimes. I like those.

I adore the way the melody and the guitar create a tension -- slightly uncomfortable, unresolved -- with the lyric that suits the meaning so well. And then, of course, your delightful production touches just carry it home. Or to what's left of home...

@adforperu 1w

That is a lovely, angular progression - is that standard tuning? Has a bit of a campy horror vibe going on. The pregnant pause and then the slide and uke (?) is wonderful.

@hanley 1w

Really lovely listen here. The guitar is beguiling and dark, perfectly fitting for the all too true lyrics. That moment when the distant slide guitar comes in is ‘chef’s kiss’! Nice new last line too… I hope you’ve absolved yourself from any blame for songwriting difficulties, as this one is cracking!

@oddbod 1w

Note to self - change that last line to
“But you absolve yourself from blame”

@billwhite51 1w

stark images depict the cost of war to the innocent civilian. the guitar arrangement is gorgeous in a despairing kind of way.

@nadine 1w

The guitar playing just wow. Quite a complex picking and so well. The calm vocals have such a great contrast. I also like that the lyrics say a lot without attacking somebody directly

@stephenwordsmith 1w

I love the dark ambivalence in the guitarwork, the calm fury of the vocal, and the stark calamity of the lyrics. It comes together in a rich package that is a treat to listen to while offering plenty of food for thought.

@coolparadisoMod 1w

ah they come when they want to!' lovely playing and a really quality vocal tone here, which delivers a really interesting lyric.. really good song

@deena 1w

Nailed it! Beautiful to listen to and great lyrics. And, sigh.... this is so true...

@davidtaro 1w

I did say it wouldn't last long! Beautiful fingerpicking here, and those chords sound super interesting and rather disquieting, in lock-step with the darkness in the words. There's a lot of totally justified rage exhibited on the site this year, and this is another worthy addition to that canon. Also love how tastefully spare you are with arrangement elements. The pads lend just the right background hum, and then that echoey guitar solo is superb. Songwriting, eh...