Very beautiful song, singing and playing. A real treat to listen to. Instant classic and instantly likable. Always such a pleasure to listen to your songs. I love the melodious feel and the instrumentation.

I love this tune John. I put this gem into the category, Easy Listening. Well done!

Love the lines: "I was a cloud she was the sky giving me room so I could learn how to fly" Such a beautiful description of love, love the music and the vibe of the track, downloading this too. Kudos

so good to hear more from @johnstaples this year. he just keeps getting better and this song demonstrates his skill at condensing a complicated situation into a few telling images. i can understand if my comparing it to the lemonheads seems a bit outlandish, but there is a similar indy minimalism here that i find closer to the mainstream than his more americana songs. my favorite lines are "I was a river she was a dam she opened the floodgates so I could learn who I am" i think that approximates what a lot of people are looking for in a soulmate.

Hi John. Cool song. I like the nice laid-back groove, your vocal style (reminds me a bit of James McMurty's style), and the instrumentation is tasty and well put together. I like the various metaphors in the verses for their creative ways to describe a relationship's impact. I do like the chorus, too, but I may have missed something...I had some trouble reconciling the largely-positive verses (drowning her pain, giving me room so I could learn who I am -- great relationship stuff) with the "we were the hell..." verse and the "being out of control" in the chorus. That is, the "we were the heavens" I understand. If you're still playing with this, though, maybe adding a bridge that more emphatically gets at the challenging parts of the relationship that made it a roller coaster. Other commenters seem smitten with this song so please take this with a ton of salt. There IS a lot to like!

I really like the placement of the three guitars + bass in different ranges, different processing and played in different styles. Fills the sound out beautifully without needing to get fancy. This song is also proof of how much you can do with three chords! It works great to ride on that I-IV through the verses, so when you finally get to the V at 'merry-go-round', it opens up like a whole new horizon of sound. Your voice is classic country.

I love all the comparisons! I think the slow pace really works! it's a really good song and I would reckon one to keep and maybe play with.

Very nice piece musically and lyrically. I am getting time now to listen to some of the amazing artists on this platform. Inspiring and motivating me to continue on a path long ignored and passion long thought dead. Thank you John, you are one of those artists. Cheers

This sounds great! The guitars have a really nice tone and fit really well with your voice, so I think the key works. I really like the melody, especially the lift in the chorus. And the lyrics have really good imagery in them making this an overall enjoyable listen. Well done!

#tit4tat

I was first struck by your wonderfully crafted lyrics. They're perfectly complimented by the fabulous guitar playing. I concur with @b3nut that some kind of organ sound would go great on this - but it's really a lovely listen as it is. :-)

Now that's a smooth instrumentation ! The bass is fluffy like a soft matress. The two guitars are twinkling like a starry night sky. I love the metaphores piling up endlessly. It shows the story is not only "out of control" but also "out of any narrow definition".

Really solid write, really relatable lyrics. A Wurlitzer electric piano would sound cool on this. Really good tune!

I do like this. Had to play it a second time and grab my guitar to play along. Well done, John.

This has a really friendly nostalgic feel. The bass is lovely, and I really like how the melody is kind of comfortably predictable. Nice sentiment in the lyrics - would be fun to sing backing vocals on... #tit4tat

Firstly i adore the lead guitar bits intersecting the lines of dialogue in this, they are so sweet and melodic but so very skilled and catchy. I really enjoy the more down beat rhythm of this and somehow you've managed to write something that sounds timeless. the movement from the out of control to the merry go round section is perfectly done. PS- isn't it good to be out of control now and then whilst feckin scary!!!

Wow! I love that opening riff! The lyrics and vocal delivery is beautiful!

This is classic John Staples. Brilliant lyrics, so intelligently written, so cleverly assembled. The guitar work is awesome!! The trade-off between the rhythm and the accent guitar sets the musical theme and is flawless. Love the hook alot!! Love the melody... Great song... I don't think Ive ever listened to a JS song I didn't like or love..

oh my goodness these lyrics are incredible, such great imagery. Though I think the singer may be a bit hard on themselves and giving way too much credit to "her" hahah. But great story development. "We were the heavens, we were the hell." So good! Man, I feel invested in this couple now. . . I think your voice sounds great (and very much in control) btw.

Excellent work my friend. Musically it's right in my wheelhouse, but the lyrics are great too. Doesn't sound to me like there's too much wrong with the arrangement. You've got a great voice but I agree it might be worth trying in a different key. Or maybe just another take trying something else at the bottom end?

If you want, I could try to get some time to add some lap steel in the next month, although I'm no virtuoso!

Wow, this is awesome. The instrumentation is so well put together. Laid back and tight as a drum. Sounds really professional. Love the choruses. It lifts the song so nicely. Superb work.