Private Eddie Unwinds

[Sailor55]

He's been gone 15 years, but still visits some nights. Breaks my heart, he does.

http://www.taggerband.com/Music/DBH/PrivateEddieUnwinds.html

This was produced entirely with two ancient synths (TTS-1 and Dimension Pro) plus a vocal track.... long intro, vocal starts at 1:04)

 

 

[amiller]

I like it...thought provoking 

[Lynn Wilson]

Short and sweet, just the way I like them.  The subject is interesting and makes me want to listen again.  Kudos!

[Dream Art Scientists]

Interesting sound The style reminds me of some early 60's music. Nice job!  

[bjornpdx]

One of those songs you can't figure out but you listen to it over and over because it's so engaging.
Seemed like such a happy tune for maybe a somber subject, but not sure about that.   Lyrics are great!
"stationed at the end of the dial"  Love it.

[Sailor55]

I though this tune was so odd it would probably slide off the ‘songs’ forum after a few days.  Now that there are positive responses (for which I am humbled) I’m inclined to explain what I can. It’s partly for my own benefit because, admittedly, I’m not entirely certain what it’s about, but I know very well how it feels.

Private Eddie himself is a universal stand-in for anyone who's faced war, whether 76 years ago in the mud of Belgium, 15 years ago in the oncology ward, or yesterday on the fentanyl laced streets of Vancouver.

I lack the courage to face any brand of war. I stand in awe of those that have, or are in the process. I draw my strength from them vicariously. I knew several Eddies. All are now ghosts. One was a dyslexic childhood friend unjustly shunted into the role of dunce, who was anything but. With bottomless courage, he was my fearless protector in a world rife with bullies. Cancer took him early. He fought valiantly to the last day. I thanked him at his deathbed. (Now he’s waiting for me outside)

Another Eddie was my father, who was in the Normandy invasion of June, 1944. Over the following year he fought across Europe returning home with a leg full of shrapnel and trunk full of psychological damage.  Yet he held a job, raised a family and became an asset to his community until his death by suicide in 1982. He was a difficult man with whom I had many conflicts. As an adult I learned to forgive him. Finally, I realized it was I who needed forgiveness for failing to recognize a hero in my midst.

The song was originally inspired after seeing what was once a very pretty young girl covered in scabs and soaking in methamphetamine on a down town street. I went home and wrote these words:

Someone led your angel astray… I saw her spitting on the sidewalk… She had nothing to say…

Those phrases were abandoned before the ‘Private Eddie’ theme evolved but the girl remains referenced as a disposable stray.

I created a nylon guitar part then painstakingly transposed it to midi. By accident, I ran it through the ‘ooh’ voices in the TTS-1 synth. I liked the result so much I decide to let that introduce the song. The rest was put together a bit at a time and the lyric evolved during production. The vocal was sung eight years ago. I tried hard to improve upon it for the current remix but I simply could not. It’s not that it’s so great, only that I probably now lack the necessary pathos to do it justice.

I thank you for listening. Eddie thanks you too.  - Dan

[PhonoBrainer]

Nice one. Lyrics are nifty, and pleasantly oblique. The unusual chord changes and patterns keep the interest. I'd vote for shortening the intro.

 

I appreciated reading your explanation - wow, this song has a lot of Eddies in it! I would have had no idea. Thanks for that!

cheers,

-Tom

[Sailor55]

Thanks Tom. You are right as rain!

Those intro synth voices are now gone leaving a tidy three minutes which I think is just enough to make the point.

I've always suspected I should do that but never had the... the what?... courage?  Anyway, thanks for your appreciation and input.

[Douglas Kirby]

This gives me a 60's vibe as well - it was an enjoyable listen.  I still use Dim Pro, so don't count out the ancient synths?

[freddy j]

This was a very enjoyable song and I enjoyed listening to it.  The melody was not what I expected but once I listened to it and heard the lyrics,  it all made perfectly good sense.  Thanks for your explanation -- it really drove it all home for me.  So much so, that I had to listen again. 

Thanks for posting this.

[thegaltieribrothers]

Hi Sailor55,

Great song + thought provoking lyrics which I enjoyed very much.

Thanks for sharing.

Good Job!

regards

paul