Honey I'm Home

Stony Island Avenue at 63rd Street, 1946

Honey I'm Home - MP3

Lyrics

every night i walk home from the factory
and sing a song about the things i see
i see bottles exploded against the curb in a spray of glass
i watch the water getting sick
on its way down the walls of the underpass

with the weather or traffic the verses change
you can kick across a city block a lot of ways
but every night i knock my boots on the same spot against the same stoop
hang my hat, wash my hands, and i say

honey i'm home
how was your day?
i brought you what i could and put the rest away
i've been sweating through the clothes you sewed
and doing everything i'm told
and counting every penny that we've saved
i'm not in it for the money
i just go so i can keep on coming home 
to you my love

every morning i pry myself out of bed
try to let you sleep, but i can't help it when
the faucet squeaks and the shower thunders its reveille
the razor scrapes my face 
the mirror rebukes me incrementally

by the time i'm strapped into my overalls
i hear you out in the kitchen at the end of the hall 
packing up a lunch that would have made my mother proud
you exchange it for a kiss as i merge with the crowd

for another long day away from my baby
lately it's been more than i can take
stand on the line 
take the bits on my right
fit them tightly
one at a time
string the hours together and watch them slide by

until the sun spills
the horizon across
stony island avenue
i don't mind havin' to
sing and haven't you 
ever sung while you're running by honey i'm 

home
how was your day?
i brought you what i could and put the rest away
i've been counting down and keeping track
of course you'll want to check the math
but i figure that no shift can last forever
one of these days they'll blow the whistle
you can meet me at the gate don't wait 
for me to make that last walk back alone

i will sweep you off your feet and keep 
the promise that i made to sing
the verse that brings 
the two of us at last to the refrain

honey i'm home

Music

Chords

This song is in Db major, and it's got the most chords of anything I've ever written. By far. I'll post them up here soon.

Structure

A A' B A A' C B' B

Author's Comments

I've been in labor with this song for something like a year and a half. There are some things about it I like, but I can hardly hear it anymore. Of the jazzy/early-American-popular-music-inspired numbers I've worked on, this is the epic.

I'm not completely sold on all the lyrics, though some I quite like. I rewrote the second verse since the first time I debuted this at a corporeal songwriting group ages ago, at, I think, Deirdre's suggestion.

This recording is far from complete (I want to add bass and drums, and some sort of instrumental outro (ideally trumpet, probably cheap keyboard trumpet for this demo).

I am not sure what the tone of the vocal should be, either. I tried to sing this with kind of a "stage" voice (as much as I am able), because this is one of the more overtly theatrical songs I've done. This song is also kind of tangentially about what it means to be a man, so I've tried to sing in a more manly way than I might on say, a glam song.

Questions:

1. Does the entrance into the bridge work for you?
2. Does the end of the bridge work for you? I was aiming for something specific and I think I managed it, but it's been so long, I can't tell if that's a good thing or not.
3. How should I arrange this monster to keep it excited despite its unfortunate length?
4. Should I opt for a more tender, natural singing style?
5. I should just learn to play piano, shouldn't I?

Reflections Some Months Afterwards

So numerous people have told me that they just can't get into this song. Complaints I've had include the following:

1. Aimless
2. Meandering
3. Too long
4. Structure is confusing
5. No momentum

I am thinking about just removing the second verse. Maybe trying to streamline the bridge somehow? I think the refrain on this song is as good as anything I've ever done, but I think the rest of the song is really weighing it down.

I like to think that the addition of some other parts and a good arrangement could add dynamics and momentum, but that's going to be a cosmetic solution, at best. I'd rather get to the root of the problem.

Gabemcelwain 08:35, 27 October 2006 (PDT)