5090 by FAWM: "Hard Ship to Sail"

Hard Ship to Sail

Liner Notes

This is the first of two songs I wrote in a session with Damian Cowell, the lead singer of TISM (This is Serious Mum). TISM are one of my favourite Australian bands, so of course it was very exciting to work with him.

At the time of writing this, Damian was my mentor at my course Wild at Heart Community Arts. In May and June 2024 he was coming in to do songwriting workshops with them, since he was looking for work. There were no full-time positions offered, but he enjoyed helping out nevertheless.

This song came about during one of the workshops that Damian held. He gave out sheets of paper with various phrases to spur creativity ("Here's the thing", "jumbo shrimp", "side hustle", "I could care less"), and instructed the class to write lines that rhymed and made sense.

While reading out my piece, the line that stuck out to him was "hard ship to sail".

We worked on this idea in our ongoing sessions. I tried to write from the perspective of someone in TISM, an anonymous band. Damian wrote the lyrics to the 3rd verse and bridge, injecting some of the self-deprecation that he's known for within TISM.

The song was completed on the 19th of June. I recorded this on my phone in the bandroom at Sol Green Community Centre in South Melbourne (where the Wild at Heart classes are held).
While I played piano throughout, Damian played a high-note riff on the piano in the instrumental sections (in the intro and before the final verse).
The spoken voice at the start of the recording is Damian's, trying to find a place to rest the phone on.

Edward Roussac - lead vocals, electric piano
Damian Cowell - harmony vocals, additional electric piano, footsteps

#piano #collab #rock #pop #alternative #duet #tism #favourite

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I've got a side hustle
It brings in the darkness
You remain anonymous
My pen could care less

[Verse 2]
My other band is invisible
The devil's in the detail
Listen closely/keep them guessing

[Chorus]
Ahh
Got a hard ship to sail
Oh man I'm feeling frail
Got a hard ship to sail

[Bridge]
Moving forward? Or circle back?
Moving forward? Or circle back?
Moving forward? Or circle back?
Winning the game? Or losing track?

[Verse 3]
Am I the greatest of all time?
If I'm honest I'll give you the mail
Here's the thing: maybe I'm the goat

[Chorus]
Ahh
Got a hard ship to sail
Oh man I'm feeling frail
Got a hard ship to sail

[Outro]
At the end of the day
I have nothing to say