About the Song — “All Together Now”
This is the last of the notes describing the tracks on Loving Every Other Minute of It. Start at the beginning of the series here.
The last song on Loving Every Other Minute of It, “All Together Now,” is the theme song from my fourth novel 19 Ways to Destroy Your Rock Band.
As I touched on last month, the plan was to release the novel by the end of this year, but as I also revealed last month, I have not jumped through the self-publishing hoops necessary to make that happen. The novel will not come out in 2021. If you’ve been waiting for the novel because I told you it was coming in 2021, it’s not, and I apologize.
Why won’t I release the novel?
I want to release the novel. I just don’t want to self-publish it. I’ve been the ringleader of the novel self-publishing circus three times. The process has its rewards, but they diminish each time. I’ve come to the point that self-publishing is not gratifying enough for me to do the things I have to do to make it happen. There are just too many other things I want to do in life.
So, what will it take for this novel to see the light of day?
It will take a publisher who finds the novel worthy of doing the things that need to be done to bring it to the world. Those folks are out there, to some extent, and I’m pursuing them. I hope I find one as soon as possible, and I will keep you posted as I have developments.
Hey, maybe that person is you! In this day and age, the people most likely to have an interest in supporting your work can be closer than you think. If you’re interested in publishing my novel, shoot me an email at arthuredwards@gmail.com, and we’ll discuss it.
All right. On to “All Together Now.”
The chorus of this song reminds me of “(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles” by the Proclaimers, a song I like well enough but never imaged emulating. The track felt a little lazy to me before producer Bret Hartley’s low harmony backing vocal on the chorus, which made me happy as all getout. That pretty much saved the song.
The lyrical couplet “Saved all week, here to buy/Mid-tempo rock by a middle-aged white guy” is about my last trip to a record store before the pandemic. It was my 50th birthday, and I was trying to make going to the record store and buying an album a new birthday tradition. I went on this birthday to Music Millenium on Burnside in Portland, and I flipped through the racks until I settled on Childish Things by James McMurtry. The title track of that album is perfect, despite my cheeky line about buying it.
I also love Bret’s guitar solo in “All Together Now.” Go listen.
Finally, the couplet “I never thought I’d live to see/Me falling for you, and you trippin’ on me” is one of my favorites on the record. It came to me while I walked with my wife down the promenade of our favorite town. I’ll always remember right where I was and how I felt the moment those lines came to me. Very hard to top that feeling.
And that, my friends, marks the end of the “About the Song” series, at least until the next album. Yes, there will be a next album! Bret and Kevin Leahy, who plays drums on all of my solo stuff, have been enlisted as songwriters for the next one. The supply the music, I add bass and lyrics. This arrangement has made the process much easier, and I love writing over their stuff. Nine of the ten songs are already written. I’ll finish one more this month, and then we just have to knock them all out in the studio. Boy, am I not making any promises on release dates, but we all plan on a 2022 release.
Until then, thanks for your attention with Loving Every Other Minute of It. If you don’t already own it, I’d love for you to buy the album. I always feel like songs on a record disappear too quickly, especially these days. These pieces were my attempt to give each song their moment of dignity. I loved writing the songs, and the pieces, and I hope you like listening to and reading them. Feel free to check out my Medium page if you missed any.
Laying down the law,
Art
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