This one is a master class in getting so much down with simple lyrical phrases stacked and repeated. you let the guitar especially that last solo and your voice carry so much emotion.

Destiny in black is a great line. Dying on the vine doing nine to five is an immortal line for sure! so relatable! Very soft sound on this one. Warm and honey like. Very nice to listen to indeed. #tit4tat

That's a killer chorus. Sounds fine on this crappy work laptop I'm listening on this morning.

Great song. Especially for how fast you worked! I don't mind a bit of grim. But the tune has a more joyful vibe, so I feel also hope from this.

Glad to hear you are ok! Yup my writing doesn’t always reflect my personal situation! Very John but I never noticed before has a bit of REM feel, not that guitar though! Good as it is! Builds so well and holds the emotional pull throughout! Nice mate,

Wow what a way to get back to my listening cycle. Ha ha , john i reckon its because you're such a deep soul that you can produce dark songs but which somehow musically evelate one's soul inside on listening. The chorus for this has a classic rememebred for good feel to it. I can honestly imagine festival mosh pitting to this with the whole crowd screaming "destiny in black" together. awesome stuff

The 3 syllable chorus lines are superb. Punchy and to the point. You say this dark, and the topic of the lyrics is, but the over all feel isn’t at all. The melody has an edge of hope, the singability is strong and its a great song.

the paradox is that a person as sad as the protagonist of this song could not have written such a song. it takes a happy man to sing a sad song. depressed people arent about to get up the energy and enthusiasm to put together something like this. or to play such a cool guitar solo. the hope is that sad people will find some sort of comfort in hearing a song that speaks to them..as opposed to some bouncy, happy thing that makes them feel even more alienated.

Dark or not I LOVE this song!!! The melody is awesome and sneaks into your head before you realize it!! Perfect mix of instruments and beat. And actually I don't find the lyrics all that dark...more like momentary desperation, the kind everyone feels at some point..like the world's coming down on you and you can't see the light.. I've been there...I think most of us have.. So relatable...damn!!! I loved the chorus cadence and the "Destiny in Black" repeat... My favorite line is "grueling malfeasance"! How'd ya work that so sweetly into the lyric??!! I think my favorite section is the bridge. I love the guitar lead breaks and the outro...perfectly done. Love the way you repeat "destiny in black" for the vocal outro. Awesome John Staples vocals as usual...what a voice!!! What a song!! You're rockin the charts dude!!

Was scrolling through FAWM on iphone but when I saw the part about headphones recommended (my preferred listen), I had to go to my studio and give it a listen with headphones. Super cool guitar/vocal delivery - perfect for the lyrics. So clever. And I've found that when it comes to music - what you listen to and write has little to do with who you are as a person. I'm an upbeat person but have always loved the blues and dark, moody music. This may be my favorite of yours this season! Excellent!

Great build into the chorus. Love the guitar work. Catchy melody, too.

Falling/crawling/climbing - there’s lots of movement in your chorus. This is almost a depression anthem but there’s so much hope in your voice and music. My fav verse was ‘dying on the vine/five to nine. Good work John!

“Falling down/ Crawling back” sounds so good together and will be stuck in my head for a while.

I'm the same way; my songs are (mostly) super depressing, but that's not who I am, I don't think. Great, vibrant sound here. The way you break up the rhythm of the verse is great. The chorus sounds a little too similar (texturally, rhythmically) to the verse to my ears. The bridge is a nice changeup.

I listen to everything on headphone, so, happy to oblige. I like the darkness of this. Not everything can (or should be) lollipops and roses. I really like the structure of the chorus where almost every line consists of two words. Nice guitar extro.