away
Written by Ron Moses
Guitar, bass and vocal by Ron Moses
From Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, produced by Scott Lurowist and Ron Moses
This is the best song I ever wrote, and no one but me seems to realize it. Maybe it actually sucks, I don't know, but I set upon this song with two specific goals in mind, and I think I accomplished both.
First, I wanted to get away from the literalism of my previous lyrics. Little interpretation is required for those songs; I had something to say and I said it in direct, if rhyming, language. Well in this song, I wanted to get indirect. This song is about nothing, other than my attempt to evoke a non-specific sense of loss. I think I kinda nailed it.
Second, I wanted to create a sort of musical bait-and-switch. A surprise for the listener so there’s actually a reason for the song to exist. (Warning! You will not care about any of this and I'm gonna talk about it a LOT.) To accomplish this, I start with a lilting 6/8 stroll, alternating between the 1 and the 5 (in this case, E major and Bmaj7). Then when the vocal starts, your ear-brain expects that pattern to continue. And it certainly could; the song would work if I went to the Bmaj7 again. BUT NO! Instead I whip out a Csus2, aka the flat 6, aka what the hell is that chord doing in E major??? It’s basically C-D-G, and none of those notes are in E major. No pivot chord to lube you up, I just go there, and I only stop there for a moment before sliding into to the natural 6 with a C#m7, where comfort resumes. And then I dick around with that idea a couple of other times, most notably going to F in the bridge, which is almost creepy, especially how cleanly it resolves back to the E-B theme at the end like a hunted killer melting into a crowd. Spooky. But it’s that Csus2 that presents the greatest disruption, and that’s why I love this one so.
I can only assume everyone else finds it significantly less thrilling than I do. Hey, it’s not Schoenberg but it’s pretty good by my standards.
Look around
All that we’ve known is gone
Away
All but the silence
Been too long
We could have thrown it all
Away
Miles divide us
I should know
I’ve been there before
Far away
We should be gone
Some have said
There is no difference
I should know
Take your time
Why would we ever run
Away
Crawling takes longer
Every day
So many words you give
Away
Couldn’t be wronger
I should know
I’ve been there before
Far away
We should be gone
Some have said
There is no difference
I should know
And somehow
I could see the point of being sane
And I could feel the power in your routine
And I could see the blindness
In the kindness
In your eyes
In your eyes
Look around
All that we’ve known is gone
Away
All but the silence
Been too long
We could have thrown it all
Away
Miles divide us
I should know
I’ve been there before
Far away
We should be gone
Some have said
There is no difference
I should know