Give an Inch (more new/old)

[Lee Knight]

So if you followed the threads on my Kiss of Death you know the story. 31 year old tunes. Old band reunited to record what should have been recorded back then. And we have these songs... in varying degrees of youthful vigor and ineptitude, displayed all at once. Fun music.

This one's all over the place. You know when you're starting out as a writer and you feel you need to go someplace different for each verse? Different scenarios that still point to the chorus's intent. Hopefully. That's Give an Inch. It is all over the place.

So, with your permission, I'm going to post the lyrics as is. See if you can follow the logic. Point out the obvious warts. What's too silly? What just doesn't make a damn bit of sense? Then I'll post the skeletal track in a week or so. Picture Elvis Costello's Oliver's Army and Accidents Will Happen. That's the musical terrain for this one.

So, if you're inclined.... HELP!

Give an Inch

My, my, my, you don’t give an inch
You’re selfish and you’re taking all the time 2x (reoccurring backup part)

V1
In a minute we might just be good friends again
Or in that minute it just might be the end
Two lovers learning, that what we felt just wasn’t good enough Oh no…
I won’t let go

C
Just give an inch, that’s all I want from you
One little inch, it can’t be that hard to do

V2
So they tell me…
You got to pay if you wanna live in the land of the free
Yeah they tell me but I never listen
And now the taxman, he’s holding out his hand for me
I can feel the squeeze

C
Just give an inch, that’s all I want from you
One little inch, it can’t be that hard to do

Bridge
You don’t need a reason to change your mind
You don’t need a reason but you just draw the line
You’re gonna just draw the line, draw the line

Solo on verse. Modulate up a step then back down on the V?

V3
On a Sunday drive, fast enough to feel alive
The sight of black and white, it makes my heart freeze
All I get from him’s an icy stare with a Cheshire grin
They never bend

C
Just give an inch, that’s all I want from you
One little inch, it can’t be that hard to do
My, my, my, you don’t give an inch
You’re selfish and you’re taking all the time x4(superimposed under final choruses).

[Lee Knight]

I see that may have been asking too much. Yes, I am aware it is weak, you won't offend me. I guess, what I'm trying to achieve is a means of seeing what needs the most work. My perception is shot 'cause this song has rattled around in my head for 30 years.

So my thinking was, print the lyrics and put it out there to the wolves. Let them tear it apart and I might find the most likely suspects to remove, refine or polish.

And maybe that's tough to do. So perhaps I'll work up a vocal on the basic track to let you hear it in context and then react. That seemed to be the most effective on Kiss of Death. Great help on that thread. Seriously.

However...

If anyone wants to speak up about these lyrics, please do. Anything from, "Trash them, they're idiotic", to "Change "us" to "them".

I'm not easily offended and am quite adept at not following advice I ultimately disagree with. But I find most of the advice I get to be of high value to me. Eye opening.

[rsadasiv]

Hey Lee - forum has been a little slow lately.

The verses are really scattered - even with the explanation in the OP I still don't quite follow how the verses relate to each other. Continuity of plot is not necessarily a deal breaker - I certainly don't expect Elvis Costello lyrics to make literal sense for more than a line or two - but continuity of POV can compensate. The lyric for "Accidents Will Happen" doesn't really have a plot but the POV wobbles pretty consistently between accusatory and self-justifying (I guess that applies to most of EC's stuff as well). The verses in "Give An Inch" move from denial to acceptance to passive observation (and the bridge moves entirely into the second person).

But the bottom line is that if the sound is good the sense will take care of itself, and these lyrics do scan well. I can easily see them fitting in nicely on top of a New Wave/poppy groove.

[Lee Knight]

Originally Posted by rsadasiv

Hey Lee - forum has been a little slow lately.

The verses are really scattered - even with the explanation in the OP I still don't quite follow how the verses relate to each other. Continuity of plot is not necessarily a deal breaker - I certainly don't expect Elvis Costello lyrics to make literal sense for more than a line or two - but continuity of POV can compensate. The lyric for "Accidents Will Happen" doesn't really have a plot but the POV wobbles pretty consistently between accusatory and self-justifying (I guess that applies to most of EC's stuff as well). The verses in "Give An Inch" move from denial to acceptance to passive observation (and the bridge moves entirely into the second person).

But the bottom line is that if the sound is good the sense will take care of itself, and these lyrics do scan well. I can easily see them fitting in nicely on top of a New Wave/poppy groove.

Thank You!!!!!

That makes a lot of sense and gives me something to work on. I'm not trying to re-write 30 years ago but last minute touches. Great observations. Thanks again.

[Lee Knight]

Originally Posted by rsadasiv

Hey Lee - forum has been a little slow lately.

The verses are really scattered - even with the explanation in the OP I still don't quite follow how the verses relate to each other. Continuity of plot is not necessarily a deal breaker - I certainly don't expect Elvis Costello lyrics to make literal sense for more than a line or two - but continuity of POV can compensate. The lyric for "Accidents Will Happen" doesn't really have a plot but the POV wobbles pretty consistently between accusatory and self-justifying (I guess that applies to most of EC's stuff as well). The verses in "Give An Inch" move from denial to acceptance to passive observation (and the bridge moves entirely into the second person).

But the bottom line is that if the sound is good the sense will take care of itself, and these lyrics do scan well. I can easily see them fitting in nicely on top of a New Wave/poppy groove.

The unifying thread between the verses, weak as it may be, is that all these instances (different verses) are situations that the singer wishes they would just "give an inch". Give in a little.

The girlfriend in a fight with him
The taxman asking for money from him
The cop pulling him over for speeding and not letting him off

Just give an inch. That's the idea... it is scattered. Maybe music will salvage it, the music's good. And maybe I can do something to help make more sense out of it. Maybe.

[rsadasiv]

High concept edition:

Protagonist is in the midst of a solo climb up a cliff face. He's an idealist, disillusioned with his treatment in society, his human interactions ending badly due to what he perceives as an unwillingness on the part of others to "give in a little". He retreats to the more absolutist realm of nature - the rock is solid, easily grasped and understood, unyeilding but supportive. Intercut flashbacks to his life in society with descriptions of him searching for handholds - "just another inch" in the rock. He reaches the top, embraces the enormity of the view and the tinyness of human-scaled elements in park below, looks down at the crack he has just followed and realizes that every winter and spring, for thousands of years, this crack has been "giving in", hundredths of an inch at a time, to become the path he has just been able to follow.

[Lee Knight]

That is indeed the high concept edition!

I'm going to need to digest that... whoa.

[LeonardScaper]

I think you should stick with the low concept that you have already established.......sorry, Ram.

Seriously, though, this tune was written thirty years ago and it has a few of the same motifs that many of us fell back on repeatedly back then.....taxman's squeeze, cop's icy stare. Lyrically, it's light on its feet.....it jumps around, closing with the listener sporadically to jab its message home.

I'll bet it'll work pretty well just like it is, especially judging from how you handled Kiss Of Death.

And if you remain worried about it all making any sense, just heed these wise words.......

Originally Posted by rsadasiv

But the bottom line is that if the sound is good the sense will take care of itself

[Lee Knight]

Originally Posted by LeonardScaper

I think you should stick with the low concept that you have already established.......sorry, Ram.

Seriously, though, this tune was written thirty years ago and it has a few of the same motifs that many of us fell back on repeatedly back then.....taxman's squeeze, cop's icy stare. Lyrically, it's light on its feet.....it jumps around, closing with the listener sporadically to jab its message home.

I'll bet it'll work pretty well just like it is, especially judging from how you handled Kiss Of Death.

And if you remain worried about it all making any sense, just heed these wise words.......

Got it. I think you guys are right. No more sweating it. Thanks.

[rsadasiv]

Originally Posted by LeonardScaper

I think you should stick with the low concept that you have already established.......sorry, Ram.

I knew there was a reason I never made it as a screenwriter....