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A blues number that I wrote just to get the feel of my new guitar. It's kinda nonsensical really - just based on some corny old jokes and I sign I saw while out driving

Beans and Dirty Rice is here:

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9158435

Lyric is below. Any comments on any aspect are welcomed. Personally, I'm not happy with the harp part....

Thanks!
Scott


Beans and Dirty Rice
(c) 2010 by S.W. Campbell

Well I woke up to a buzzing
My head was in a jar
Last night some boys they rolled me
Guess they rolled me pretty far
I stumbled to the kitchen
To wrap me a towel ‘round some ice
But there was nothing in the freezer
‘Cept some beans and dirty rice

I ordered coffee with no cream
At the diner up the hill
Waitress said, “Ain’t got no cream
You want that coffee with no milk?”
Well that wasn’t what I wanted
But I told myself that I’d be nice
Until I ordered soup and crackers
And she brought me beans and dirty rice

I got a one eyed cat with hairballs,
A missing tail and gimpy leg
Goes by the name of Lucky
And she just showed up one day
Well that cat ain’t good for nothing
Least of all at catching mice
She eats Chicken of the Sea
And I eat beans and dirty rice

My baby left me for a bad egg
Stabbed me with a tent peg
Now I got a peg leg
And goose-egged nest egg
Lordy
I always pay the price
You want finger licking chicken
You get beans and dirty rice

I hit the lottery on Friday
By Sunday it was spent
Monday came a’knockin’
And I couldn’t pay the rent
I walked up to the diner
Ordered pie and ate the biggest slice
Now I’ll have something to remember
When I’m eating beans and dirty rice

Great Scott. I get to be the first on this one. I was gonna quote my favorite lines of the song but there were too many good parts. Love the story about the cream/no cream. Actually each verse is a complete story within a story. Funny as heck and fun musically. One of your best I think but that's hard to say cause everyone of your's is a jewel. Very very clever lyric. I can't say enough. Reminds me with your gruff voice and the up tempo, humorous blues of Dylan's recent work the last few years that have given him rave reviews again.

Once again I'm jealous Buddy.

Steve

PS. I was gonna use this somg as an excuse to finally call you on the phone but accidentally erased the PM that had your number, hint hint.

Congrats on the new guitar. I love nonsensical songs. This one sounds great. Perfect for your new raspy voice. I think the harp sounds fine. Glad to see you posting a new one. Louis will be disappointed you didn't use his thread.

Rick

ITS PERFECT SCOTT what a great song my gosh
it is now one of my favorites from you. i love it

WoW

Big BUMP!!!

Hi Scott

What can I say, you got this girl rockin' before I go to bed, absolutely love the lyrics, and you sing it so cool, back tomorrow to have another listen, goodnight.

Hugs Michele

BEANS AND DIRTY RICE IS NOW MY NEW FAVORITE SCOTT CAMPBELL SONG!!!

Scott,

This is soooo good. First I read the lyrics and thought they were so clever and well written, no way I couldn't listen right away. When I listened, I just loved that blues shuffle on this one...and loved the harp....and where the percussion came in.

Perfect for your voice too, Scott. Just a great song....nonsensical?? Well,it's a whole lot more than that.

So glad I read and listened to this one.

Jan

This is very cool Scott. I think the harp sounds good.....nice and smooth. The lyrics are great. Not nonsensical to me!

I agree with Stevie that it is very Dylan-like. Makes me think of Bob doing Leopard-Skin Pillbox hat.

Excellent.

Scott...outstanding....Jimmy Durante would loved this tune...the harp is great....what you talking about....lol....love the music and the vocal....a terrific write........this is very cool.....could listen to this one...on and on..........no way for me to tell you what needs to be improved....it's all there as far as I'm concerned.....really good work....T-Bob

Thanks Steve!

Those lines about the coffee with no cream are from a joke my wife likes to tell - it's consistent with her looney brand of humor

I probably shouldn't have used the word nonsensical - most of my songs are story songs but this one came to me pretty much like you heard it - a bunch of separate vignettes that kind of all contribute to the overall feel. Wasn't sure it was going to work but I've heard other blues songs (yes, including Dylan's) that use that same approach - so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks again - glad you liked it. No reason at all for you to be jealous though...

Sent you a pm

Scott

LOL - I have a plan for that thread

Thanks Rick - just got a Fender resonator guitar and this was my first crack at something with it. It's only the second or third song I think I've played in open tuning. Amazing how much easier that shuffle riff is to play in open tuning

Thanks!
Scott

Thanks Dan! I'm kind of surprised at the reaction this has gotten so far. It's one of the easier songs to play that I've composed and the lyric came pretty quickly too. Maybe I'm working too hard at it!

Have to admit that it was loads of fun though

Scott

Thanks Pal

Scott

Thanks so much, Michele - glad that it made you want to listen again!

Scott

Cool! If it's a new favorite, then maybe I'm still improving

Was the new guitar that provided the inspiration - hope I can get a couple more from it - at least until I get my money's worth

Thanks Jan!

Scott

Hi Colin:

That's funny because Leapard-Skin Pill-Box Hat used to be one of my least favorite songs on "Blonde on Blonde". But I've come to appreciate it more over the years and now I really like it.

I would have liked to get a bit more "bend" in the harp part but that hole on the harmonica is just one to the left of the one that has the most bendable note

Glad you liked it!

Scott

Thanks Bob!

Maybe I have been working too hard - this is one of the easiest writes I've ever had. Guess I have to lose that notion that the harder something is to write, the better it is.

Glad it worked for you!

Scott

Dang, you got a resonator guitar??? I am envious. Well I love that slide sound in there and all the instrumentation sounds mighty fine.

I also thought that no cream/no milk line was quite cool. All around good job and I am always ready for a good blues song. Really like that slide stuff. I also like beans and dirty rice.

Super cool tune.

Kevin

Hey this is great, almost didn't see it.. Love that new guitar.. resonator? New sounds...

Now I happen to like very much, beans and dirty rice. Especially dirty rice. But I put aside my food preferences just for you, Scott.

This is very cute. The guitar sounds great! Love the bridge. Instead of the lotto would like to suggest that you say "I won a jackpot on Friday". This song is especially well suited for your voice.

Hi Kevin:

Yeah, a used Fender f48 - it was just hanging there waiting to be scooped up. Was lucky on the timing

Used it to play the rhythm part throughout this and then the lead during the second breal. Glad you liked

Scott

Yeah, see response to Kevin right above. Its a full-metal version though - weighs a ton!

Always liked the sound of those things. Yes, new sounds can be inspiring

Thanks Louis!

Scott

Hah - you got me thinking I lured you in from the sidebar by making you think it was in the cooking section. Wish I was that clever!

I like beans and dirty rice too, Jean

That's a great suggestion with jackpot - it's a much more visual word. I'll use it!

Thanks Jean!

Scott

You're startin' to sound like Louis Armstrong

Clever endeavor as ever

Liked it, loved it
Can't get enough of it

Toe tappin and I love the harp

two things that are tweakable..vocals more upfront cos you don't wanna miss a word and the outro kind of ends too soon, maybe you could go out with a bigger bang and repeat beans and dirty rice 3 times or somethin'

that's all, but it's all good

Best,
Lynn

This is a great tune Scott. Had me smilin' all the way!

If you pursue this song (which I think you should), I'd suggest eliminating V5. V4 is your climax - and all those internal rhymes really pack a punch. V5 is kind of a letdown.... You could definitely stretch this out with instrumental stuff or repeating one of the previous verses if you need length.

But this is a really cool tune.

Peace,

Ian

Scott,
you got so many comments on this mine isn't needed. I just want to say it's really fun.

John

Thanks Lynn

In addition to the harp part (which might be starting to grow on me), there were two other things I was questioning about this song. You hit on one of them (how quickly the outro fades) and Ian hit on the other.

I'll give it some more thought - I faded it at the end like I've heard other songs being faded but it does seem a little quick.

Appreciate the suggestion!

Scott

Thanks Ian

As I mentioned to Lynn, you hit on one of the two things that was still bothering me a bit. I had the same sense as you that the last verse is a bit anticlimactic. I like the last couple of lines to it - maybe I'll try to think of something a little more outrageous for the first few lines.

Scott

Thanks John! Appreciate it that you let me know that. Glad you enjoyed it

Scott

Ah geez man, where you been ?

What the heck have you done to your voice ? It's like, one carton of bourbon, and one carton of cigarettes down to lonely street.

I like it .

Just remember, it's all pretend right ?

Crit ? The harp solo is way loud over the rest. Run the harp solo, and your lead vocal through a side ompressor. It will even out the volume.

Time for another cigarette.....

cheers, niteshift

Scott, I really did think your title was a recipe, lol. Then when I saw that it was a song, I wondered if it was one of my song challenges which was to write a recipe with real directions in a song. When I saw the lyrics, I realized that it wasn't but I listened anyway and enjoyed my visit.

Hi Scott -- well I listened the other day and I smiled all the way through.... and I was gonna Dash off a comment like -- I loved everything about it ! -- but then I thought, you Always offer up some kind of helpful thought on my work .... so I thought that I could listen again and try Harder to help..........

well I got it !! there's a cymbal crash at about 2.07 that I feel is -A Decible- too loud --- if you can fix That then I think that you will be good to go !

I Really enjoy the writing on this - jm

LOL - that belongs in a lyric somewhere, Nite

Just having fun - hell, everything I do in music is pretend

Thanks for the tips - yeah that harp isn't sitting right in the mix. I'll play around with the mix according to your suggestions.

Appreciate it!

Scott

LOL - so that really happened?

Will keep that in mind for the future, Jean - always good to have a trick up one's sleeve

Scott

Thanks Joice!

Funny thing about that cymbal hit - I was playing "finger drums" on my keyboard and that, given my spastic nature, was a stray hit. Then I listened to it and thought - that sounds kinda cool. But then sometimes I listen and it doesn't.

In any case I'll either fix it or play around with lowering the volume on it

Thanks!
Scott

Scott, your voice really fits the lyrics of the song! :-)
And I like the humor in it.
Very good production too.

Hi Scott,

What fun! I love this song (as well as beans and dirty rice). Very clever word play all the way through and the slide and harp suit this so well.
When I saw the title, I thought of that song about "t-bone intentions and dirty red bean ways."

Ricki

Get out of town! You just keep getting better and better. Amazing lyrics. I would't change nothing. It is art. Don't mess with the art.

Hell;o.. Scott...Whoa..I'm blowned away dude..''A Blues Rock..
Piece..This is a very catchy..Piece ''Beans and Dirty Rice..''
What A hook..I can move to this and dance..
...This Reminds me of A New Orleans kind of Persona..
Dude you sound like''Louis Armstrong..What A Beautiful
voice.. good stigma I simply Luv it..Scott;o;o;

**** Excellent~~/Production/vocals/write..~~~~;o

****** please leave The harp adds..nice flavor
to the Piece..:)
It's pleasure to finally meet you..Scott..;o


Shirl;o

Thanks Danny! Glad it worked for you!

Scott

That's funny, Ricki - I'm not familiar with that song. But I almost called this Red Beans and Rice. And the soup and crackers was almost a Delmonico

Glad you thought it was fun!

Scott

Thanks Kevin - we'll see

Appreciate that!

Scott

Back attcha, Shirl

And thanks for adding this to your Soundclick station - very cool of you!

Scott

How cool is this .... You got my foot tapping , my face smiling... I really enjoyed the listen and performance .
All the best
Jan

Scott this is very cool. The title drew me in then the song delivered.

Had a strong "Thunder On The Mountain' feel to it.
Good job.

Very entertaining, Scott. And the resonator is bright!

Scott,

This is great, I know you heard it all before, but thank you for making me laugh and smile, that is a great gift to give.

Tammy

For a nonsensical lyric this is pretty darn good I had my toes tapping from start to finish.
Nice job all the way around.

Cheers

Ken

I thought it was great!

This friend of mine has been trying to get me more into blues and I'm fighting all the way but I enjoyed this.

Thanks Jan - Don't have many toe-tappers so glad to see this one had the intended effect. Appreciate it

Scott