Harmonica Man
https://audius.co/sidshovel/harmonica-man (right click then open link in new tab,) to open song. lyrics SS : music/vocals Ai
This is an amalgamation of two experiences;
The first, a chance encounter with a guy playing the harmonica, in a residential garden in Beijing. His neighbours complained of the noise so the only place he could play was in the garden. The second was walking through Kings Cross Sydney at 3 a.m on a Monday morning, seeing a busker packing up for the night. I stuck them both together for this song.
[verse 1]
The melody floats in the heavy rain,
people scurry by, pullin' collars up.
The Harmonica Man's in a doorway.
at his feet, a chipped enamel cup.
[verse 2]
Apart from the odd pieces of silver,
most of the coins, are coloured brown.
Not enough, to pay for a cot,
or a couch, to put his head down.
[chorus]
The Harmonica Man, bares his soul,
each night for all to hear,
He says a prayer, but no one cares,
only police an' drunks come near.
[verse 3]
"Oh, Danny Boy" is usually worth a quid,
closin' time, outside the Irish Pub.
It comes with a risk, some drunks will kick,
his cup of coins, outside the club.
[chorus]
The Harmonica Man, bares his soul,
each night for all to hear,
He says a prayer, but no one cares,
only police an' drunks come near.
[verse 4]
The cops ignore him most of the time,
they've got better things to do.
Chat up strays, in the alleyways,
then disappear for an hour or two.
[chorus]
The Harmonica Man, bares his soul,
each night for all to hear,
He says a prayer, but no one cares,
only police an' drunks come near.
[bridge]
Closin' time's the money shot,
drunks share their misery with him.
Girls fill his cup, with what they've got
Young guys try, to pee in his pot.
[final chorus]
The Harmonica Man, bares his soul,
each night for all to hear,
He says a prayer, but no one cares,
only police an' drunks come near.
[outro]
3 a.m., the streets are quiet again,
the old man picks up his pot.
Empties the coins, into his hat,
and tallies up his lot.
Comments
-
Wonderful imagery, Sid. Takes me right there. Love the hook, too! You are a most prolific writer and your works are much appreciated. Get a real chuckle out of the 'pee in his pot'. And thank you for the story behind the song! Makes me wanna use AI 'cuz Lord Almighty knows I could use better music and vocals, BUT...... 😍
Write on . . .
hummer
0 -
Wonderful evocative story. And you've made us all root for the harmonica man!
Couple of very minor thoughts:
- maybe cops an' drunks come near?
- the old man collects his pot.
But it's fine as is, great story.
0 -
Thanks for the comments and feedback, RDM.
None of your thoughts are minor, I value them highly.
Which brings me to;
Cops v Police, interesting, when to use which!
There are times when cops is without doubt the right choice, and yet, in others, it sounds coarse and out of context. I mulled over this in this song and concluded exactly that. Why is that? In some of my other songs, I came to the same conclusion. Any ideas, or don't you think it matters!
Picks up v collect, this is a bit easier, collect would presuppose possession by someone/place else.
E.g., collect your coffee from the counter, collect your luggage from the locker, etc.
The cup is already with him, so collect is probably not the best, but I do see why you propose the change,
"the old man picks up his pot." too much like "peter pecker", good spot! Maybe "reaches for" is better?
You've got eyes like a hawk,
Appreciated,
Sid
0 -
You choose your words with great care, as always!
Re Police vs Cops, unless the context obviously calls for one or the other, I'm likely going to choose based on how it sounds. In this case, using the AI version may be fraught as it's possibly only a place marker.
"Reaches" is a good choice, and honestly "picks up" is ok too.
0 -
Excuse my ignorance, what do you mean by place marker?
0 -
I meant that it may not be the final version. You use AI to generate a version, and sometimes that leads on to a different one.
0 -
Really enjoyed this one. Lyrics are beautiful and evocative, and I thought the AI did a surprisingly good job with the melody, especially during the chorus.
It obviously reminds me of “Mr Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan though your song has a more of pop-song vibe. The AI took it a little pop-country, but from the lyrics alone I get a very strong Counting Crows vibe.
0 -
Good instrumentation which does a fine job of enhancing and tieing the lyrics together. The prosody is quite good. The mood of the music has just enough 'prettiness' to it to contrast the lyrics, but still remains compatible. Many songs don't manage to do that. They are either too different from the lyric, or not different enough. This was enjoyable front to back.
0 -
Great song...great playing
During the verses tho, I found myself wanting to scan in the lyrics differently
0 -
This is awesome! You're a very gifted lyricist. Hats off to you! Although there's no resemblance in the song itself. The mood your song sets reminds of The Piano Man by Billy Joel. again, great job on this awesome song,
0
Howdy, Stranger!