Single #18: Finger on the Trigger Makes a Man Feel Bigger

Finger on the Trigger Makes a Man Feel Bigger

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#18

Downloadable MP3

Released: 2007

Words and Music: Chance
©2007 Upside Down Left Handed Music (BMI)

Also available as part of “Famous Words & Alibis”

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VIDEO

Lip Dub created by Monty PyThong (all-female troupe)

SONG DETAILS

Little girl, hair with curls
Catches me in a cup
Gets in close, starts to smile
And with nothing to say

just for fun, starts to run
shakes me down, shakes me up
I can hop, I can walk
But I can’t fly away

Cause nobody says a thing ‘til you say so
And nobody makes a move ‘til you say go
Nobody makes a move so…go…

Shoulda known, takes me home
Holds me down in the sand
Goes to grab, starts to pull
I’m a green legged man

On the fly, don’t know why
But my wings start to fan
So she freaks, then she shrieks
Squashes me with her hand

Cause nobody says a thing ‘til you say so
And nobody makes a move ‘til you say go
Cause she knows that truth that nobody knows

–Finger on the trigger makes a man feel bigger–

Nobody says a thing til you say so
Nobody makes a move til you say go
It hurts when she knows the truth and it
hurts when she splatters you with it

Words & Music by Chance

©2007 Upside Down Left Handed Music (BMI)

Hmmm, what is the phrase I’m looking for…”balls to the wall?” Ok, it’s a bit coarse, but who cares, right?

Sometimes, when you’re a songwriter, you just have to go for it. I don’t mean spiritually, i mean just say f*ck it to all the epic natured, transcendant songs and write a freaking rock song.

This song was written on a bass (perhaps obviously, perhaps not.) The music of the chorus, and main riff verse came out quickly; probably 5 minutes. The melody of the verse and the chorus came out literally at the same time.

The lyrics “nobody says a thing ’til you say so, oh woah woah
etc” came out immediately too! Hey, maybe there’s my title: “not until you say so.” It became my working title for a few months.

And then…

Nothing.

Sigh. Those pesky lyrics!

So, I tracked a demo of the music: drums, bass, guitars through the solo section. A few days maybe weeks later, I sang the following words into my mini-recorder (my most trusted device): “finger on the trigger makes a man feel bigger.”

Plot thickens. It felt it should be sung over the verse section, and man it had a catchy ring to it, but it wouldn’t last as a chorus (just too limiting, I felt). But maybe a chant of some type? Still, the lyrics had nothing to do with this phrase (or vice versa). So, the song sat some more.

I swear I probably went through 4 or 5 drafts of words for this song. And not just iterations of one draft: full on different vibes, different rhyme schemes, different subject matters. Ugh! It was driving me crazy. I’d put the music on repeat on the way into and from work for days; sometimes I’d have a mix of “just the chorus.” Anything to trigger it.

This kind of OCD pressure means I had to walk away from it, and I did just that (for about 2 months). This song was so much fun, I didn’t want the lyrics to weigh me down anymore. So, I came back to it fresh, and the words “little girl, hair with curls” came out. Ah. I got something.

I thought of the days as a kid when I used to catch grasshoppers in this little lantern looking thing my parents gave me (it was clear plastic, with holes on the top and bottom, and the top was this ugly neon fuscia vibe.) Anyway, this just sparked memories of “just what do you do with a grasshopper once you’ve caught him. He’d always stare at me with an impenetrable stare. What if the main character of the song was the little girl? What if I was the grasshopper?

The new path for the lyrics became:
Little girl hair with curls+ no one says a thing til you say so+ finger on the trigger=my new synopsis:

For me, the song is an rather light-hearted, tongue in check analogy for why women have (or should have) complete control over us men; and the only thing we got going for us is we have the all the money and all the guns.

Now, go back and read the lyrics again. 🙂

Sincerely,
The Green-legged Man

Recorded & mixed in Pro Tools LE Digi 002 on a Creation Station Pro DAW

Microphones:
All Vocals-Peluso 2247LE

Guitars: Fender ’57 Strat, Steve’s Les Paul through a Mesa Boogie
Mark III

Bass: Bob’s ESP ltd 8-String through an Ampeg SVT
Trombone: Reason 4.0

Written, performed, recorded & mixed by Chance
Additional performances:
Bass:
 Bob Vaughan
Guitar Solo: Steve Nicholas
Hihats: Adam Flanders
Finger on the Trigger…Chant by “The Choir Kids”: Dezzi, Damien, Julia & Jacob

Cool Geekout Notes

aha! Where…. Do….I…Begin???

First of all, if you’re a musician, your favorite part will be the trombone/guitar solo. Hell, even Steve fully acknowledges it’s not a guitar/trombone solo, it’s a trombone/guitar solo.

Well, I wish it was a trombone. It’s a synth trombone emulation. Anyone in LA play a Trombone? Learn the part, and you can play it live with us anytime you want. I’ll get you in… front row! Seriously: Contact me if you do and can.

Yes, those are real kids singing along during the chant, and not voices pitched up. Two girls, two boys, and two of them are twins. Great kids, actually, but please, Steve and I beat them like 10-0 in soccer a month ago. They really need to get better if they want to play us again.

Yes, Bob played an 8-string bass. It also has a wee bit of distortion on it. The WOW factor is an envelope filter set to “destroy.”

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