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This is an odd break-up song. No commercial potential for this, but it was fun. My friend Faith provided harmony vocal on this for me.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6432800

Sweet Release
by Wendy DuMond
(c) 2007

1.
I wasn't sad
At the end of our affair
Cause there were bats in the belfry
And signs in the air
We came together
Like toothpaste and dirt
One of us got gritty
And the other just got hurt

(Chorus 1)

There are lines on the highway
And lines on my face
There's a map on the dashboard
Ghosts in my suitcase
We're past all redeeming
Past the point of peace
But out here on this highway
I'm driving to my sweet release

2.
I know you think
I was cold and mean
That I cast you to the wastelands
When I cut the apron strings
Cause we came together
Like a snake and a Dodo bird
One of us just disappeared
And the other hissed mean words

(Chorus 2)

Out here in my chrome pony
Galloping at full speed
It's not want you wanted
But it is what I need
We're past all redeeming
Past the point of peace
And out here on this highway
I'm driving to my sweet release

3.
I'm not sure
How I feel about you
Cause there was lead in my goblet
And a tack in my shoe
But we came together
Like wine and acid rain
One of us got burned
And the other just got stained

(Chorus 3)

There are tears to be cried
But there's wind in my hair
Rain's pounding from the sky
Smell of freedom everywhere
Cause we're past all redeeming
Past the point of peace
And out here on this highway
I'm driving to my sweet release

Hi Wendy

I really like this lyric, great images and metaphors throughout (especially the toothpaste and dirt line) I unfortunaly can't listen as I am at work and soundclick is not accessible. I'll try to get a listen in as soon as I can!
Derek

Interesting take on breaking up, Wendy. Some good lines. I think it could be made more commercial with some slight tweaking. My favorite part.

Out here in my chrome pony
Galloping at full speed
It's not want you wanted
But it is what I need
We're past all redeeming
Past the point of peace
And out here on this highway
I'm driving to my sweet release

Just figured out what I like about your writing, Wendy - you use words and images in such unexpected ways - always keeping the listeners on their toes

I found myself smiling while listening - hope that's OK

Scott

Hey Derek,

Give it a listen when you can. Thanks for dropping by to read the lyric.

Tricia,

Thanks for listening. Yes, it is a bit quirky. I suppose everything I do is in need of tweaking. I had fun with this one. The "chrome pony" part was Tampa Stan's favorite down in the Lyric 3 forum too.

Scott,

I hope it's not too quirky and odd. I'm glad it made you smile. I was driving to work one day and started hearing this in my head. I almost crashed trying to write it down while driving! It's evolved a bit since then. (It's gone from monkey to caveman..)

You know, Wendy, you have one of my favorite country voices. "About Mermaids" really blew me away, and this one again...your voice has a certain pure tone to it that just does the trick for me. And your friend, by the way, has a bit of Emmylou in her...a nice blend the two of you.

You're just learning guitar and recording, but you write great songs, and you sing them very well. I hope you keep on going for life.

All that said, this one cracks me up too. I love the three comparisons. It's a very sad, funny and intelligent song...in the end, the viewpoint is very strong, strong enough to make good comedic sense of the absurdity of certain love affairs.

Nice work, Wendy!

-Mark

Hi Wendy,

First off, you never know what might have commercial appeal. One of the very first songs I wrote, a real shitkicker just for fun, my studio guy says should make a bluegrass hit. You paint some nice pictures here. You know I like your voice. To me, the harmonies were a bit distracting. She has a nice voice, but a lot of times they came in late and it took me out of the song. I'd like to hear it again without them.

Loved this line "One of us got gritty
And the other just got hurt" You got a great sound out of that guitar, and a lovely voice too

Hi Wendy

I really like the song and cannot for the life of me think why it could not have commercial appeal. Love the vocals and melody. I like where you put the harmonies. Surely you could sinc them up with a bit more practice and focus on it. The thing that bugs me a bit is the distortion on the guitar. I'd like less compression or what ever the effect you have on there, but I could be alone in that. Anywa, I really enjoy it. Keep going. jm

Wendy,

really strong, great potential on this one. think you need to focus on making the melody flow more smoothly by cutting out unnecessary syllables.

examples/suggestions:

Cause there were bats in the belfry - change "cause there were" to "with"

Like a snake and a Dodo bird - change to "a snake and dodo bird"

I'm driving to my sweet release - change to "i'll drive" or "i drive"

or change

But out here on this highway
I'm driving to my sweet release

to

I'm driving on this highway
To my sweet release

also, the s's on this are a bit distracting - i know snakes and s's go together but still seemed like a hard to sing line

And the other hissed mean words


the harmonies are pretty good just not in sync and not well balanced between singers. i'm sure this can be cleaned up with an updated recording.


I've been listening to Robert Plant and Alison Kraus' album - fantastic. I could see this song done up with a real tight production and rock solid harmonies.

this song is a good example of where yours could go..
Robert Plant & Alison Kraus - Killing The Blues
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dtpeLia33PY

..ant

Mark,

Thanks so much for your kind words. Faith has a wonderful voice. I could not have made the harmony sound this good if I tried to do it myself. Hopefully, some day I will evolve a bit with the audio and the guitar playing. I hope you keep writing songs too.

John,

Thanks for commenting on it. Faith lives in Wyoming, so this was an internet collaboration. She was doing a delayed harmony to give it a gospel feel. Probably most of the church singers, especially the Southerners who sing parts would recognize this style. I really liked it, but if you're not used to hearing it, I guess you might think that the track is just out of sync or something.

Thanks for listening Louis,

I like the "gritty" line too. I was trying to pick the words so there would be a bit of double meaning and still make comparisons between things that do not belong together. It was a bit of a challenge to do this and not make it come across as hokey.

Joice,

This is one of the first songs where I did a guitar track and then recorded audio over it. Then I sent it to Faith via e-mail and she added her harmonies. This recording sounds better to me than some of the others I've done, but it could be that with the layering of tracks, maybe there is some distortion. I did compress the guitar track a bit. I'm still using Audacity and there's probably some magic, secret squirrel setting on Audacity to do this that I'm not aware of.

Thanks for commenting. Glad you liked the harmonies. I thought Faith really did a good job with this.

Ant,

My guitar teacher has been all over the Kraus/Plant CD. He keeps telling me I should by it, and plays a selection from it each time I go for my lesson. It is awesome. They are touring too. He told me he has tickets. Lucky dog!

OK - I don't quite follow what you are saying here about these lyric changes. I'm thinking if I eliminate the extra words, the lyric won't make any sense? Are you saying "I wasn't sad, at the end of our affair, with bats in the belfry?" I just don't think that flows very well.

I'll have to look into the extra "s" thing. What else can a snake do? Hmmmm..now you have me wondering. I think I'm walking a fine line with this song and the comparisons. I think if I slip too much one way or the other, I land in the hokey novelty arena. But I will consider what you're saying.

By the way, Faith did the harmonies that way on purpose. It's supposed to be a bit delayed, to capture a kind of Southern Baptist flavor.

Thanks so much for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

Good harmony, sounds bluegrassy to me. Maybe something Dolly, Emmylou and Linda would sing. Ben

My first thought Emmylou and Linda singing together also (forgot about Dolly!). That slightly "off" harmony is very cool. The voices worked very, very well together.

Gritty and hurt don't seem to go with toothpaste and dirt, while the other 2 comparisons made perfect sense.


I don't think "Cause there were bats in the belfry" seem to fit in mood-wise.

I enjoyed the song a lot.

Kevin

Kevin,

I just realized that the structure of that simile is off. Dirt is gritty but toothpaste can't hurt you..hmmm. That's a good point. I will have to think on that.

The "bats in the belfry" refers to the other person in the relationship perhaps being not all there. That was how I heard it when I was driving down the road on my way to work one morning. I always kind of liked it. I guess I meant that it should have been a warning to the other person that things were not going to work out.

Thanks for the feedback on the audio and lyrics.

Wendy: THere's so much good stuff packed into this song. Lots of pretty harmonies and I like the looseness of it. It just flows and it isn't forced. Very honest and great on the ears.

I wanted to to show you an option to possibly consider for the chorus:

Riding my chrome pony
Galloping at full speed
It's not quite want I wanted
But Its exactly what I need
We're past all redeeming
Past the point of peace
But Driving down this highway
I Found my sweet release

Just an idea inspired by the song....Paul

Hi Wendy

What a beautiful voice you have, absolutely loved listening. This Aussie girl thinks its beautifully done, and well worth your efforts. Faith also has done a fab job for you with the harmony, well done Wendy & Faith.

Michele
Aussie girl from down under

Hey Paul,

Thanks for dropping by to listen to this. This is an interesting suggestion for the lyric. There's perhaps has a bit of remorse or at least apology in what you wrote. I guess my lyric is more focused on the escape than the aftermath, but maybe there should be an element of this in the song.

I will think on this a bit.

Michele,

Thanks for dropping by to listen. Faith made me sound good. My voice is OK but I wish it were nicer! It's funny, because I can still hear Don't Push My Button in my head. Hopefully it won't be long until we get to hear another one of yours.

Hi Wendy

I have an interview in Melbourne soon, with some one who can help me produce more of my songs, so hopefully the current CD I am working on will get out there, that would be so cool, I am very excited.

So hopefully soon you will get to hear my other songs. Good luck with your song, cause this Aussie girl thinks it's great, and I think you have a beautiful voice. It's true, we are our own worse critics.

I am very pleased you liked "Don't push my button". Thanks!


Michele
Aussie Fan from down under

Hi Wendy,

just wanted to say that I listened to your song and don't think I could add anymore to what has already been mentioned. I will say that as soundclick was playing and I was listening to the song I was reading your lyrics and the comments that have been left here on this thread. Anywho, the song ended and the next one started "B Movie"...WOW! I'm now listening to more of your stuff. Nice job!

Hey Wendy,

How are things in Hotlanta? I have relatives in Griffin. Dropped by soundclick and gave a listen. You show a lot of potential as a songwriter and I hope you plan to do a lot more. If you're not already, I would suggest you get involved with a local songwriters group such as NSAI or any other group that meets on a regular basis in your area.

You have a nice voice and some very good ideas (Burning churches & the mermaid) so please keep writing. I think it just comes down to learning how to focus your ideas. You're on a good path.

Wayne

Hey Terill,

Thanks for listening to this and B-Movie! I'm going to revise B-Movie, but have not been able to figure out what to do with it yet. I would like to revise the audio on all the songs I have out Soundclick, so someday there will be a better version of B-Movie. I work full time and have kids, church, etc..so sometimes it takes me a while to even get something recorded..let alone redo it. When I get home, I'll give that Mexico song a listen. I'm trapped at work right now.

Thanks again!

Wayne,

HotLanta's been kind of cool this spring. We had snow in March and it looked like we could get some snow yesterday. Of course, everyone goes around howling like cut cats when the weather is less than perfect. I think the we're all a bit spoiled by the mild winters here.

One of the ladies I work with grew up in Griffin. I think her family still lives there..in good old Spalding County.

Thanks for the tip on NSAI and for your kind words about my humble little tunes. I will look into NSAI. There probably are great writer's groups all over Atlanta. I should look into participating. It could not hurt, that's for sure.

I will have a new version of Mermaids up on Soundclick soon. My guitar teacher and I did a Hank Williams type arrangement for it. I need to redo all of my audio at some point. It's always a challenge to find the time though.

Also, I wrote a couple of songs that Letha Allen did. If you check out her Soundclick (and she is awesome by the way) she did a song of mine called "Die Pretty" and another one called "In Summertime."

Thanks again for the tip and your kind words of encouragement.