Birthday Boy
On the LP this track opens side two and, like “All You Get” which begins side one, it is both autobiographical and a personal pinnacle of songwriting I am unlikely to achieve again, if only because I am unlikely to work this hard for so long and with so much focus, or with that much belief in the work.
When I hired Ford Pier to produce the record I told him I wanted the tracks to be ornate and cinematic while retaining the intimacy of my acoustic performances. I’d had too many experiences where a song would be one thing in my room but once a rhythm section had their way with it, the song became something else. It might even be better, and often was, but for this album I didn’t want that to happen.
Lyrics
Birthday Boy
Check out the kid with a face like a Russian
novel
long and hard
to read
Looks like he’s got a brief case of the ennuis
The ho-hum doledrums
and the why me’s
Yeah but
it’s
your
birthday boy
hope
you
enjoy
the present
tense more than you dug the past
‘cause that day’s gone
and this one’s fadin’ fast yeah
Nothin’ here was built to last
forever
You seem so clever
Oh but…
If
you could be a good little pigeon
you’d get more crumbs
but you eschew
the kingly sums
and say
that
you can get by on a pinch and smidgen
Yeah ya…
ya take it as it comes
as you
walk through
the chateau d’slums
And you
nurse
your
reservoir
of
je’ ne sais quoi
and
you’ve
been
buyin’ all the buskers drink
tellin’ big shots what you think
Yeah,
you might swim
and you might sink
but you never
wanna sever
your ties to your history
It’s always the one you never see
that’s unraveling
the mystery
Yeah but
it’s
your
birthday boy
hope
you
enjoy
the present
tense more than you dug the past
‘cause that day’s gone
and this one’s fadin’ fast
Aw it could all be such a blast
but if you never
pull that lever
on the
slot machine and wait
for it to determine your fate
the chances are good
it won’t be great
Oh I wonder if does him good
to mope around his neighborhood just
feelin’ bad
but lookin’ good
like a movie
within a
movie
It’s always the one that you never see
that’s unraveling…
Credits
Written by Andras Jones
Andras Jones – Vocal & Acoustic Guitar
Ford Pier – Vibraphone & Vocals
Marc L’esperance – Violin & Vocals
Marshall Thompson – Mellotron
R. Walt Vincent – Bass
Barry Mirochnik – Drums
Arranged by Ford Pier
Recorded by Marc L’esperance
Mixed by Sheldon Gomberg
Production assistance by Marshall Thompson
Purchase
$1.50