Wake Up Livid (Rehearsal take)
by @reinderd
Liner Notes
As I get older, my days get shorter so bedtime appears to come earlier and earlier, long before I feel like I should be done with the day. So songs referencing sleep become more common than they used to be. Otherwise, this is… not quite a political song but a song about what the state of world politics is doing to my mental health. It's not good, folks! I tried to keep the rhymes really simple while using rhyming triplets. The challenge for me was to use obvious rhymes that still tell a coherent story. I could have got more clever, like "if I got too incandescent, the results would be unpleasant", but that would take the ridiculousness of triplets a little too far. This is the right amount of ridiculous.
The part where I seem outwardly sparkly is the one piece of fiction in the song. I'm not that personable most of the time. But I needed that to put my anger into greater relief.
As happens more often than not, I got sick just before the first day of FAWM and that is why the demo is a rehearsal take with the drums taken out and all flubs and bum notes left in. I tried a few more times to get a better take but had to stop so I wouldn't destroy my vocal chords. The performance is spirited, though.
Lyrics
Verse They say there he goes, what a pleasant old man So full of life, we've got no choice but to stan And maybe just maybe you’re not much of a fan You think I'm only playing nice, I’ve heard it once or twice
Making small talk as I’m walking my dog Through sunshine and rain, through thunder or fog But the truth about me would leave you agog Cause when I lay me down to sleep And the thoughts begin to creep
Chorus I wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, I wake up livid I wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, I wake up livid I go to bed boiling with fury and I wake up livid
Verse I hold my face like an empty page But behind my eyes, there’s a simmering rage And i never let it out of its cage Cause when the fire burns too bright It would set my world alight
Verse Every hour of the day, I'm coming apart At the state of the world, and the state of the art It's eating me up, and I don't think it's smart To obsess from dawn to dusk, Over nazis, Trump and Musk
Chorus I wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, I wake up livid I wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, I wake up livid I go to bed boiling with fury and I wake up livid
Bridge Each night, when I lose my train of thought I know that peace will soon coming But even then, as I cross into the dream world Each thread, every story’s unresolved.
Verse I can’t keep it in, I gotta let it all out And say this is what I warned you about I’m done being calm, I’m ready to shout
So don’t say I'm paranoid, as I scream into the void
Chorus I wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, I wake up livid I wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, I wake up livid I go to bed boiling with fury and I wake up livid
Comments
I’m also feeling you, but wanting to avoid a complete breakdown, so I’m making adjustments.
I feel you so much. It's taking a lot of self-discipline (and all the mental health tools I have at my disposal) for me to not go down that path.
Your slightly raw performance only underlines the urgency of the message!
i hear ya! livid and flabbergasted. Love the chorus, very catchy, some funny lines like the musk lines, and the way you sing Void! i like the 3,2 structure of the verses too. nice one Reinder