Trying To Break Your Heart.
According to the original lyric sheet for this one, I started work on this on May 31st of 2018. It’s been a minute, so let me see what I recall about putting this number together.
I remember writing the original intro/verse bit on guitar and then wondering if it might sound cooler on piano, so I slid over to the keys and goofed around until I was able to shift those weird, inverted guitar chords over to something I could fumble through with a reasonable degree of seeming competency. Somewhere in the midst of that process, it occurred to me that these parts might benefit from giving them a little Jeff Lynne/ELO treatment, hence the funky clav part that now sits there.
The lyrics and music for this one developed in step, for the most part, but my notes show a few revisions that must’ve happened along the way, and a few lines that got jettisoned as work progressed…thankfully, because a couple of these are really not so good. Whew(brow wipe).
The demo for this is the exact same arrangement, save for a few shifts that were implemented once we got down to cutting the final tracks. Criss really brought a cool feel to the verses with the floor tom groove, where the demo had been kinda stiff, the way most demos that employ programmed drums tend to be. Luckily we were able to salvage all my original string parts and keys, because I would’ve lost my mind if I’d had to go back and figure out what the hell nonsense I’d put together a year and a half earlier.
The only real ad-lib in the whole mess, aside from the massive improvements and humanity Dave & Criss brought to the rhythm section, would be the little outro guitar figure. That was a noodle that just happened and managed to stick…a ’62 Fender Strat through a Micro POG, into a Marshall JCM800…it felt like maybe a quick sendoff melody was in order.
Most of the other guitar on this is my Schecter Robin Zander model hollow body, some Gibson SG for muscle here & there, and the aforementioned Strat through my VOX AC30 for all the clean parts, because that’s just Rock N’ Roll 101. I mean, come on?
What’s it about? You tell me. I don’t like unpacking that business. That’s why I write songs instead of books, I guess. Here are the lyrics, if you really want try getting to the bottom of the thing.
Cheers,
Denny
TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART
I THOUGHT I KNEW THE WORDS TO MAKE YOU SMILE
AND BRING BACK THE FIRE
BUT TAKING YOU HIGHER, IS GETTING ME DOWN
I GUESS I DON’T HOLD THE ANSWER TO YOUR PRAYERS
OR MAKE YOU BURN WITH DESIRE
NOT LIKE THE LIARS, WHO’D SCREW YOU AROUND
I’M JUST A MAN WHO’S ON A MISSION
NOT SOME CRIMINAL AT LARGE
THERE’S NO NEED FOR SUPERSTITION IN THIS DARK
IT’S NOT ALONE IF WE’RE TOGETHER
ONLY PIECES WHEN WE PART
IT’S JUST TONIGHT, IT’S NOT FOREVER
IT’S NO FLAME, IT’S JUST A SPARK
BUT I’VE BEEN DYING TO CHANGE YOUR WEATHER
I JUST DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START
‘CAUSE YOU WON’T NOTICE ME
TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART
I THOUGHT IF I COULD CHIP AWAY THE STONE
AND TRIP THROUGH YOUR WIRES
BUT FAIL TO EXPIRE, I COULD TURN YOU AROUND
BUT YOU DENY EVERY PETITION
YOU’RE STOIC LIKE A GUARD
IT KEEPS ME TIED TO THIS POSITION IN THE DARK
IT’S NOT ALONE IF WE’RE TOGETHER
ONLY PIECES WHEN WE PART
IT’S JUST TONIGHT, IT’S NOT FOREVER
IT’S NO FLAME, IT’S JUST A SPARK
BUT I’VE BEEN DYING TO CHANGE YOUR WEATHER
I JUST DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START
‘CAUSE YOU WON’T NOTICE ME
TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART
IS IT FEAR, IT IT SUSPICION
YOU’RE A RUNNER ON THE MARK
AND I CAN FEEL YOUR INDECISION IN THE DARK