the matthew show revisited: week seven
I liken my songwriting process to a rain gauge. It fills up very slowly over time, and then when the water reaches the top, it spills over. When this happens, it is often very sudden, and I have to stop whatever I'm doing to try and capture everything that's flowing down upon me. This one hit me almost fully formed while driving home from the doctor, and I had to pull over. Some eras fill the gauge faster than others, and the 2018-2019 period, full of major life changes, was definitely in that category. But in truth, I think this one was from a deeper reservoir that took more like forty five years to well up. I joke that it's like that ultimate summation tune in the movie Walk Hard, the one that everything's been building to, but it's sort of not a joke. If I have an ending montage for my span here, it's probably soundtracked by this song.
The tune was a good excuse to journey down to Taylor Tatsch's studio, in Dripping Springs at that time, and he put some of his own experienced flavor on it as well. I reconnected with my old NYC pal Arthur Winer for the mastering, which was nice. Add in the lovely cover art by Trista Morris, and it's a lovely package. I released it in the middle of the pandemic shutdown, and I think the sense of weary struggle hit a lot of people on a sympathetic frequency, particularly those in the Fort Worth area who recognize the references. If you haven't ever heard of the Goat Man of Greer Island, do yourself a favor. He and I have never been seen in the same room. Make of that what you will.