FAWM: "Come To California"

Come To California

3 weeks ago by @jeff9

Skirmish: Hunger, thirst, desire, c... (@robinleaf)

Liner Notes

#singersongwriter #acousticguitar #americana
Guess it's not strictly kosher to take all day to crank out the demo for a skirmish. I had the lyrics and chords and melody idea done within the hour, but just barely, so I didn't record it until just now. And since I was already technically out of bounds, figured I might as well take my time and polish it up at least a little bit. Used two guitars (one is a really pretty sounding Goodall RGC tuned to DADGAD) and a bass track and then decided to put in some light BG vocals, too. What the heck.

Lyrics

Come To California

Started East of Eden for a book club
The painting of that California valley took my breath
The redwoods underground
The lupins so impossibly blue…
Makes me think of you
And ache with desire
To travel west

CH
Whoa, California
Can I blame you for taking her away
Oh, California
Beauty and sunshine every day
I need a taste of that
I wish you would say
Come to California

We married way too young they all told us
Pretty soon it fell apart just like they said
You moved to Santa Cruz
I bet you’re not far from the beach
So far out of my reach
But I ache with desire
In my head

Repeat CH

I guess no one knows what true love is
Even if they’ve felt the pain

Repeat CH

Comments

@gm7 3d

I am enjoying this slower style Jeff. Very reflective and sad. The lyrics are one of your best for imagery...creates a great sentimental picture! Some fine geetar playing my friend!

@crisp1 5d

What's better than one Jeff? Three! I love those choruses with the added vocals -- really nice. I'm not the woman of your dreams, but, hey, come to California! The first line captured me immediately because for years I'd tell people East of Eden was my favorite book of all time. It might be hard for me to say that still, as I've read so many books since then, but Steinbeck really worked some magic into that novel. This is very sadly sweet.

@lbrewington 1w

Masterful usage of the hook here , especially setup by the line "i need a taste of that". What truly got me was the bridge (?). "I guess no one knows what true love is / even if they've felt the pain.". I had no idea what that meant at first, but man, what a hard hitting deep line. Well done on that. Also, digging all the production you've been doing on the song. Was not expecting three parts on that second chorus. I also really liked the line "impossibly blue". Great job on this one. Hoping this one isn't a true story, the theme is pretty heart wrenching.

@texmachine_mk2021 2w

As others have said, great conversational pace to the lyrics and lovely arrangement which is open and just brings out the longing, melancholy message even more.

@raspberry33 2w

Beautiful vocals - great baritone resonance reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot but with a bit of Elvis in there too. And maybe some Johnny Cash. What a great tune! Nice harmonies on the end chorus.

@paulhenry 2w

Haunting and nicely arranged. Simple and true. The best kind of song.

@danvaillancourt 2w

Beautiful singing and love the two intertwining guitars. Nice heartbreak story. 👏🎶📝

@sheslin 2w

I love playing in DADGAD. The guitars sound gorgeous. Your compelling vocals are just stunning - I could listen to you sing all day. Pretty backing vocals too. I can relate to this song - my husband had a big California dream - but I went with him. The chorus really hits hard - California is the kind of place that calls people - and the way you sing it is so heartfelt. I am glad you spent the time to record this song the way you want to - I really enjoyed listening to it!

@greengrassgirl 2w

Lovely, Jeff. You're so good at these heart-wrenching stories. As a California girl, I especially liked this one.

@tan482 2w

Oh this is just lovely. The spacious guitar and your relaxed, conversational vocal really set the scene for this song. So much beauty and yearning in here.

@mikeb 2w

Love to hear that baritone and this song, in its simplicity, really accents it's timbre. One of my favorites of yours already! Forget the full production thing, you don't need more than this!

@billwhite51 2w

why does melancholia sound so beautiful? i really like your structural expansions here. the unconventionality of the verse structure and the brief section between the final two choruses help rivet the listener to the song, as we are never quite sure where we are in the song. this is always a good thing in my opinion because when you know exactly where you are at all times, a complacency can set in sometimes that takes you out of the world of the song. listening to this, i never know exactly where i am in the structure because i am always enthralled with my surroundings.

@sbs 3w

Ah, yes, so lovely! Thanks for letting me know the music was finished. Music and vocals bring out the beauty of the lyrics - making me miss my Redwoods even more.

Not out of bounds at all, I think, to take however long it takes to get the music together. You wrote the lyrics during the skirmish, right? Works for me - lol!

Beautifully done! Worth the wait!