Story Behind The Song

I love this song more for a guide to looking at my song writing process than for anything else. This is the first song that I recorded in its entirety on the voice recorder of my mobile phone. I listen back to it and hear a very tentative whisper laid over what would eventually be the main horn riff. A couple of weeks later, track four, "Easy to Say". This track frustrates me immensely as well because it's the closest I have ever come to creating a song by numbers. First the beat, then horns, then some very "stream of conscious" lyric writing on the choice between corporate life versus a life lived on my own terms. There were no second thoughts about refining the lyrics or tune, just a one take wonder so to speak. Risky. Even as Frieda's Boss started running through it at rehearsal, it felt underdone. Enter Dman, Cisco and Stanwah on bass, giant jazzy guitar and trumpets: problem solved. Bouncy staccato bass clef notes launched sporadic bursts of horn harmony with a persistent call and response guitar riff. Bo! Add Vstylee with yet more harmonies and by the time we hit the studio it seemed as if we may have gotten away with something. Easy to say, not easy to do!

Song Description

What to do about having to face work in a corporate environment with my Island roots, with whims and perceptions of what life could/should be filling my head?

Lyrics

Chorus
Easy to say not easy to do
Easy to say not easy to do

Verse 1
Head off to the office in mi corporate disguise
Do what I gotta do never asking why
Take a cup of joe to the meeting room
Off to lunch but I'll be back soon
Likkle overtime from time to time. Yeah if I tek

Pre-chorus
Half de money get to double di fun yeah aah
Bein' true to myself feelin like someone but it's

Chorus

Verse 2
Two sides to the coin to coin a phrase
Providin' for mi loved ones in a number of ways
Mi suit and tie pays much betta
Than roots and culture behaviour
Tryna serve two masters hardly ever pays

Pre-chorus

Chorus