Sweet Kara (revised)
Minneapolis to Tomah,
She had a sparkle in her eye.
But it wasn’t her Kara twinkle,
She was trying hard not to cry.
Madison to Milwaukee,
Working to let it go.
The sun was already setting,
On her twilight hours show.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
She had saved up all her money,
She had saved up all her time,
She dragged along her brother Eddie,
Her partner in crime.
They had just two days to fly out west,
To see her cherished band.
But a fateful call ruined it all,
So the bus was all they had.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
Chicago to Toledo,
Dark night on that greyhound,
She tried to rock herself to sleep,
Singing “Will You Be Found?”
Cleveland to Youngstown,
She drifted back to 91,
Eddie took his little sister along,
The obsession had begun.
Trip Shakespeare changed sweet Kara,
They stole her heart in just one night.
Then they broke their band to bits,
Sending Kara in flight.
She’s been chasing every piece of that band,
No matter how far apart they get.
Between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia,
She knew she wasn’t done chasing yet.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
~~~~~~~~~~~
More liner notes:
SYLLABLES.
Syllables, syllables, syllables… when it comes to singing, it seems it’s all about the syllables. Too many. So i pulled out my most harsh editing sword and hacked away. I was able to eliminate 13 syllables, all in the verses, but I put back 4 because they are essential to the narrative. I also changed a couple words, and switched a few around. I could chop one more syllable if I swap out “Philadelphia” for “Philly P.A.”, but not sure about that.
The syllables I kept are important because of the style: it’s a story song. So it has a strong narrative, rather than an association of ideas. And there are tricks when singing to squeeze syllables in, but the cost is the sound, the flow. I thought about hacking syllables in the chorus too, but I put them back in. I like the phrasing where it is.
It’s purposely corny-country, but more of an homage to those songs rather than a ridicule. Kind of like Tarantino’s homage to pulp and grindhouse flicks. Obviously stylized, but with a fond reverence. The sound is slightly Neil Diamond-ish, but still heavy toward the Mason Jennings singing style.
Speaking of story song, and Tarantino, this song has three story levels, slightly out of sequence. Starts with the literal story of the tragic bus ride, but then reveals this is only one leg of a much larger journey that’s been going on for 20 years, and the third journey is the metaphorical from youth idealism to mature contentment, which is told solely in the chorus, which is why I can’t hack it.
I’ve got a clear vision for the sound, but no access to a full orchestra. What I really need are some harmonizing backing vocals for the chorus.
Like I had when I sang “Over the Rainbow”.
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