Lyrics

ONE LAST LIE

Somewhere down in Arkansas in a doleful dusty field
Where all my dirty secrets, save one, will be revealed
His Honor and the Preacher Man say my wretched fate is sealed
Would you pray for me? … Won’t you pray for me?

While being as me as I can be I ask you but for you
Let the stars bear witness to our fateful rendezvous
Swear how much you love me even if it isn’t true
Would you lie to me? … Will you lie with me?

Cuz I know of ripe Elysian Fields where passion’s seeds are sown
Where lovers’ breath clings to the neck and sweat drips off the bone
Where we can go together, thy devil’s will be done
Could you come for me? … Will you come with me?

With good intentions in my heart, I ask you for your hand
I promise you from this day forth I’ll be the perfect man
The reasons I do what I do, you’ll never understand
Will you sleep with me? … Go to sleep for me?

Well, my Momma was a sorceress, my Daddy is a ghost
Anger was my childhood friend and I the perfect host
A regime of drunken uncles, first propped up, then soon deposed
Will you play with me? … He said, “Play with me!”

Violence is like my Great Granddad’s Swiss Army knife
Handed down through generations, my pocket device
Suspicion is my bastard child with Fear, my devoted wife
Will you marry me? … Oh, come on and marry me

I’ve had a little slice of Heaven and a thicker slab of Hell
Fileted the soul of innocents and I tipped the waiter well
Aggression is my royal suite at the Volatile Hotel
Won't you stay with me? Forever stay with me?

WRITING: I started writing this in August 2014 as a parody of a songwriter I knew, who did this kind of talking thing, often sounding like he lives on the prairies of Rhode Island, drinks too much, and his girl's always leaving. I wrote the first verse in a 5-minutes drive. It’s another song that started as a joke. I sang it for my girlfriend the next day, making up the chord progression on the fly. And it stuck. It just worked. The rest seemed to write itself.

She thinks it's because I watch too much true crime on TV. A song like this was inevitable. It’s also strongly influenced by the Gary Gilmore* saga from 1976; and the women who fall in love with broken, twisted, and dangerous men on death row and allow themselves to be manipulated by these masters of deceit. Fun song to write. It came very quickly. (TWSS)

*Gary Gilmore was a career criminal/death-row inmate in Utah who, in 1976, pled guilty and wanted to be executed, and right away. The state wanted him dead, too, but the ACLU kept saving him. Eventually, he and the state got their wish and a firing squad shot him through the heart on January 17, 1977. He was only 36, and one hot mess of a human being. He is a desperado folk hero to some. But the truth is he murdered two innocent kids while robbing a gas station and a motel on consecutive nights in July ‘76 in Provo. His victims complied with his orders, and he proceeded to shoot them both in the back of the head. Execution style.

Except for one month in 1972, he had been incarcerated since 1964. After persistent lobbying on the part of a family member, he was given early parole in April ‘76 while serving a 15-year sentence. Three months later, he killed these two young men in cold blood. He had a 19-year-old girlfriend, named Nicole, with whom he tried and failed to simultaneously overdose using Seconal. That informs this story, as well.

Interesting Factoids:
•Gary Gilmore was executed only six months after his crimes. That is unheard of today.
•Gary Gilmore’s execution ended a 10-year moratorium on capital punishment in the U.S.
•Gary Gilmore is also famously known for his penultimate utterance, “Let’s do it.”, oddly enough, inspiring Nike for their motto, "Just Do it."

RECORDING: I started recording this right away, 08/06/14. I think most guitar tracks were played through my brand new little Black Star Stereo 40 guitar amp (2x 6” speakers). It gets a nasty little sound. And I also played doubled-tracked, muted, arpeggio guitar through the Leslie speaker in the 4th verse. That came out well. I like the guitar solo. I worked on this song for about 2 weeks, then let it sit until August 2018. I’ve redone the Lead Vocal at least 30 time since then. He’s a character in a story and I haven’t got the right voice for him. Tommy Diehl added the jungle beat idea throughout first half of the song in December2023.

RECORDING
08/06/14 - Nylon String Guitar, Rough Drum Beat
08/07/14 - Lead Vocal 1, Bass
08/08/14 - Electric Guitar
08/11/14 - Organ, Electric Guitar 2, Shaker
08/13/14 - Leslie Guitar, Tambourine
08/15/14 - Electric Guitar 3
08/02/23 - Lead Vocal (Final)
12/14/23 - Drums (Tommy Diehl)
01/11/24 - Drums II (Tommy Diehl), Mixing (Danny Bernini)

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