FAWM: "Waterless Town"

Waterless Town

Liner Notes

#singersongwriter #biab #americana
Doug ( @crisp1 ) won the December Muse Songwriters lyric contest (he seems to do that frequently) with this one and was kind enough to let me take a crack at some music for it here. Worked up a little acoustic version but decided my BIAB partners needed to get off the bench and earn their keep just to augment it a little.

Doug: Mr. Walker, you have outdone yourself. This has a beautifully dark edge to it and your voice is magical. I'm glad the band came out of its box to join you -- it's a great sound. We'll have to release the album soon! Thanks for another cool collab.

Lyrics

Waterless Town - Doug Haberman

[Verse 1]
This place has just one stop sign
And Johnson’s General Store
And people who’ve been here their whole life
’Cause they’re too scared to explore
When you look around, you ask yourself
“Can I take it here much more?”

[Verse 2]
You’ve got tremendous talent
You’ve got ambitious dreams
You wanna see more of the world out there,
Hopes bursting at the seams
You’re the brightest light folks in these parts
Know for sure they’ve ever seen

[Lift 1]
Sticking around means no real shot for you to succeed
But the people who love you most can’t bear to see you leave

[Chorus]
Maybe you should
Maybe you shouldn’t
Maybe you could
Maybe you couldn’t
But if you stay in this waterless town
Let me warn you now:
You’ll drown

[Verse 3]
No lake or river is nearby
No ocean breezes blow
The future’s got no plans to show up
Hell, the stop sign wants to go
With no promise here, you won’t profit from
Opportunities to grow

[Lift 2]
Out in the world there is no end to what you could achieve
But the people who love you most can’t bear to see you leave

[Chorus]
Maybe you should
Maybe you shouldn’t
Maybe you could
Maybe you couldn’t
But if you stay in this waterless town
Let me warn you now:
You’ll drown

(B)
I myself had dreams of leaving
In my youth
It’s why I’m telling you
The brutal truth
I let fear of the unknown
Jam my gears
And I’ve been drowning in regret
For forty years

(Instrumental)

[Chorus]
Maybe you should
Maybe you shouldn’t
Maybe you could
Maybe you couldn’t
But if you stay in this waterless town
Let me warn you now:
You’ll drown

Comments

@greengrassgirl 1d

"Hell, the stop sign wants to go." Says it all! Excellent lyrics brought to the wider world by @jeff9's incomparable vocals, and a music vibe that really delivers. Inspired collab!

@davidtaro 4d

“If you stay in this waterless town … you’ll drown” is just brilliant writing. Amazing scene setting in that opening verse too. Jeff’s musical setting feels like the perfect match, the ‘maybe you should’ lines are very very earwormy, and then resolving on that minor chord just gives me all the feels. Award-winning lyrics and should-be-award-winning music, great collab 👍

@jerrypettit 5d

I'm a small town boy myself--towns measured in the low hundreds. So this one speaks to me. Great collaboration--and I delight in hearing a good BIAB arrangement, since that's how I arrange my own songs! Great program! ❤️

@tamsnumber4 5d

What a wonderful chorus and great story and congrats on winning for this well-deserved write!! I love the production and melody that fit the movement of the lines. Great collaboration!

@james10 5d

Great job Jeff and Doug!
This song really takes me to some places I have driven through and wondered why people stay there?
You two have been terrific together as a team over the years:)

@bethdesombre 5d

Had to come back to say (in addition to my earlier comments): I just keep thinking of this song. It's amazing.

@mikeb 5d

Of course when I see a collab with Jeff and Doug, I have to listen! Doug - very stark lyrics, but I'm reminded of some places I drove through last year when on my southwest vacation. Stunning dark presentation from Jeff and his 'band'. I'd like to hear a 1+1 version, too.

@frozenlonesome 5d

Wow! Great song. Love how the story builds over verses. Excellent instrumentation and the production is really terrific!

@hbusse 5d

Very apt, smoky, Western delivery of the lyric. That hook at the end of the chorus is perfectly written and delivered!

@billwhite51 5d

briliantly constructed lyric and jeff takes it to all the right places. each section builds on the previous one in a way that the picture is finally completed in the bridge, after which an instrumental break and final chorus sets us lightly down. among the many things l like about the lyric is that this is a particular kind of a town (one that is waterless) yet can apply to any small town.

@sbs 5d

So "Gunfight at the OK Corral" vibe - lyrics and music. Super cool - especially that punch line! Nice collab!

@daveyboy103 5d

The vocals as so Johnny Cash it's unreal. As ever Doug's words are fantastic. Great collab guys.

@bethdesombre 5d

love, love, love that chorus and its punchline. The should/shouldn't could/couldn't is great, and the image of drowning in a waterless town (that is so nicely spun out in the verses). Love the chorus melody too.

(I also like the prechorus line "But the people who love you most can’t bear to see you leave") This is great!