When You Need Me
https://youtu.be/LsKoGRsGnEk?si=CEMz-jjTwgVRZ4_G
Lyrics by Tommy L. Day and the Runaways
(v1)
You only call me when you need me
But you never want me, no not anymore
You only call me when you’re lonely
But you’re never lonely, no not anymore
(Bridge)
I know, I know, I know that
You don’t really care, cause you’re not there when I’m feeling blue
Even so it’s true, I’m still in love with you, how I miss the way things used to be
(v2)
When your eyes used to caress me
They gazed so intensely into my heart and soul
Now it seems so very different
You’re oh so very different, you’re not the girl I thought I knew
(Instrumental bridge)
(v3)
You only call me when it’s easy
You know that it’s so easy to play with this heart of mine
You only call me when it’s raining, cause when the sun is fading, I’ll do my best to make it shine
(Bridge)
I know, I know, I know that
You don’t really care, cause you’re not there when I’m feeling blue
Even so it’s true, I’m still in love with you, how I miss the way things used to be
(v2)
When your eyes used to caress me
They gazed so intensely into my heart and soul
Now it seems so very different
You’re oh so very different, you’re not the girl I thought I knew
(Outro)
But I’m still in love with you
Comments
-
The current Ai fad is driving me nuts so I needed to hear some real music, and here it is! If I'm honest, it's not particularly my thing these days, but this is really well done. The Beatles influence is obvious. PS I Love You springs to mind, but this also has a feel all of it's own. Great vocals and some nice instrumentation.
Keep doing what you do. This is excellent. 😀
1 -
That is so of the era. It could easily have been a classic of its time.
The vocal harmonies are so lush!
In v1 you've got:
You only call me when you need me
But you never want me, no not anymore
I'd be tempted to switch "want" to "need" to mirror line 1
Like the definite ending too rather than a fade out on this one.
Good stuff!
0 -
I close my eyes and I can hear the Applejacks.
Agree with Chris, bring on more of this, I love it.
Sid
0 -
@ChrisPrice - Thanks Chris. I never think less of those who have a creative spirit but can’t sing / play and therefore use AI, but as for me, I do personally prefer my own voice, flawed though it may be :p. Appreciate the compliments on the song. P.S I Love You is a good shout actually. I wasn’t consciously thinking of that one, but it does have some similarities!
@RainyDayMan - Hey RDM, thanks for listening and for those kind words. I had a lot of fun coming up with and recording these harmonies. I feel like that and the Latin percussion added a bit of that nostalgia magic factor, which I was really happy about.
As for v1, you make a good point, as every other verse after that repeats itself. The original idea was that every verse would be contrasting, like “need / want” in v1, but I pretty much gave up on that idea in the following verses. I really liked the ending too. Originally I only had one refrain before the end, but decided to add a second to drag it out a bit. Glad you liked it 🙂
@sidshovel - Hey Sid, thanks so much for that, I love the Applejacks, such an underrated band. More will definitely be coming. Thanks for listening!!0 -
I really enjoyed the jazzy and Latin vibes in this ballad! The harmonies and lyrics create a poignant and reflective mood. The way you capture the contrast between past and present is really effective. Thanks for sharing this beautiful piece!
0 -
looking at the lyrics you have no chorus? are the bridges meant to be choruses?
also the verses are not in the same style, in v1 you have lines working together then in v2 you just drop that and then the lines have no relation to each other, then you go back to the line you only call me, then repeat v2 at the end.
for me its not a beatles sounding track it's more like something you would hear on a Caribbean cruise ship, lol, its got that sandy beach and coconut sound!
i would be tempted to put v1 and v3 together as one verse then v2 and write another verse to put with v2, you could have a longer verse that uses the lines you only then the other verses different, add variety to the song to stop boredom.
0 -
@abuhanzala Thanks for listening, I appreciate the kind words, and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the vibe I was going for 🙂
@DanTyler Hey Dan, thanks for the in-depth comment, I appreciate it!
Yeah, there’s no chorus on this one, like the Beatles early songs. The first line of each verse is sort meant to be a hook melodically, and the bridge acts kind of like a chorus, but I called it a bridge because it’s more transitional than a traditional chorus. also the reason that verse 2 specifically repeats is because the lyrics follow from the bridge:
How I miss the way things used to be / When your eyes used to caress me etc. etc.
And the final line of v2 leads into the coda
You’re not the girl I thought I knew / but I’m still in love with you
I definitely see your point about the lyrical style changing after v1. As I said to RDM, I had originally planned to do that for every verse to have the lines contrasting, but I ended up dropping that idea. It does make it a bit inconsistent, but hopefully it’s not too distracting haha.
The Latin percussion definitely takes it away from a pure Beatles sound and more towards a light jazz-pop type sound, so I definitely see what you mean there! Though I like to think the bridge still has some inspiration from the bridges in This Boy and Yes It Is.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment! 🙂0 -
This is about the forth or fifth time I've played it. I wouldn't have noticed to difference in the verses if it wasn't pointed out. But then again I don't believe rhyming convensions have to be followed so ridgedly. Especially when the vocal delivery is done so well. Nice one... I'm off to replay it again.
0 -
Thoroughly enjoyable lyrics and yes a definite Beatles undertone. You have skills!
(edited) I am not musically inclined so I cannot comment on the music except that I liked it a lot.
0
Howdy, Stranger!