FAWM: "A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese"

A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese

Skirmish: A Truly Impressive Pile o... (@ajna1960)

Liner Notes

Damn, skirmishing is fun, and hard, and kinda amazing!

This prompt reminded me of an old Jethro Tull song, One Brown Mouse. So I took that direction.

#skirmish #folk #cheese

Lyrics

A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese
February 1, 2025
https://johnstaplesmusic.com/FAWM2025/JohnStaples-ATrulyImpressivePileOfCheese3.mp3

I'm tiny and a wee bit scared
I hide inside this house we share
I scavenge for my food each day
there's no time left for me to play

if we could just trade places
swap our bodies and our faces
I'd never have to freeze
and I would have
A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese

I make a life between the walls
I listen to your phone calls
they make no sense to me
did I mention I love cheese?

if we could just trade places
swap our bodies and our faces
I'd never have to freeze
and I would have
A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese

one day I'll make a journey
and I'll come back learned and dirty
we'll have a conversation
'bout our living situation

if we could just trade places
swap our bodies and our faces
I'd never have to freeze
and I would have
A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese

© 2025 John Staples
JohnStaplesMusic.com

Comments

@sycophant 1w

E-dam that was good. Great job capturing the trepidation of mouse life. Your voice sounds so emotional…BTW: I missed this skirmish, and hadn’t clocked that the two previous cheese songs I’ve heard were part of a skirmish…. I was starting to think this was a weird FAWM culture thing that all the cool kids did.. however now I know!

@artie 2w

Beautifully done, as I’ve come to expect from you! Great performance and I love what you did with the prompt. Maybe it’s a song from the perspective of a mouse, but it actually made me think of the movie, Trading Places, where cheese = 💰 …imagining what it would be like to live life as a wealthy person.

@katestantonsings 2w

John, the guitar sounds so good!! I loved the lyric and the delivery reminds me of another John — Prine. 🧀

@mikeb 2w

Such a clever write. There are many stories of 'little people' living in people's walls, but never heard a song from a mouse's perspective.

@texmachine_mk2021 3w

I enjoyed this little tune. Funny how even a wacky skirmish prompt can spark a good song, isn't it? Well done.

@chill4matt 3w

I hope you enjoyed the skirmish. And I love hearing your song from the perspective of a mouse (or other small creature). Nice work, John.

@littlespiral 3w

I never would have thought a song called A Truly Impressive Pile of Cheese could be so pretty. Excellent work as always!

@brisk 3w

That delicate arpeggio is so nice, and makes for a wonderful backing for your tail of rodentine yearning. I don’t know why the freeze cheese rhyme is so satisfying but it is. Love your vocal delivery too, fits the song to a T.

@coolparadisoMod 3w

Love where you took this! You have bought being a mouse to life in a really cool well. No pun it could have been cheesy but it’s not, a bit cute but really nice.

@overflow 3w

Such a cute spin on your pile of cheese! I love it!

@ccsfrogpond 3w

Such a cute and catchy song. Delightful!

@briggs 3w

Well, given the avatar that FAWM assigned me, this song really resonates. So clever and catchy!

@jaxmuzak 3w

This is lovely. A great mix of tenderness and levity.

@ajna1960 3w

Aww John this is so sweet ! I adore it 😄

@raspberry33 3w

What a great tune. I admire your ability to trade places with a mouse so convincingly. (Don't try that with my Hemingway cat in the room, though). I might learn this one to sing to the kids!

@writeandwrong 3w

Ohhh this is ADORABLE!!! I think you stepped inside the mind of a wee mousy during the skirmish! Superb use of the prompt!! You made us all empathize with mice!!

@janeg 3w

So you were a mouse in a former life? You sure understand how a mouse would think. Love the “did I mention I love cheese” line.

@brocolio0000 3w

I like cheese too, nice one

@odilongreen 3w

It's remarkable how you managed, in the time of a skirmish and wiht such a "silly" prompt, to write a genuinely touching, tender, meaningful song like this. So impressive, and quite lovely!

@rosiebans 3w

What a wonderful piece John! Those wee timorous beasties need representing 🐁

@newukenewyork 3w

You're so clearly NOT a mouse singing (I mean, obviously) that it gives this a tenderness even deeper than the one you've created with your vocals and fingerpicking. The title line comes in with a little humor but the overall effect is sweet. It's not silly or throwaway, as songs sometimes go. I really enjoyed listening!

@paul_pedersen 3w

In our songs, we often take on the persona of a hero, a lover, a vagrant, or whatever character will advance our story. But I never imagined having a mouse as the narrator. Inventive, indeed. Set to good music, it's even better. Great way to launch FAWM, John.

@john_p 3w

Great tune John! Enjoyed listening to it with my morning coffee!

@berni1954 3w

Delightful, John.

@p3t3h4rv3y 3w

Excellent John

@erbaer 3w

Truly inspired. I really like this.

@debs 3w

I love the higher register on the strings, such a great choice that immediately captured my attention. The lyrics deep/complete, for a skirmish and I'm impressed at how "not rushed" the whole thing feels and sounds. I think it cuts off a bit early?

@max 3w

This is a great take on the Skrimish. An earworm it is. A pitty it stops at 1:57 :(

@grayland 3w

I love love love these lyrics!!! Your softened vocal is very mousey!!! In my mind I can see you scurrying around the house looking for that cheese!! But wait!! Did someone MOVE it? If my cat Pongo could read it/listen to it, he'd also really appreciate it...though in a preditory kinda way!! Damn good skirmish song,

@jeff9 3w

This is so good! Especially given the quick write. The fingerpicking is deft and the guitar tone is beautiful. And the vocal performance is charming. But the lyrics are the star--really cool idea and executed perfectly. That chorus might be stuck in my head all day. BTW, the file cuts off abruptly at the very end--sounded like it might be a glitch.