This track is about my self-perception, specifically how skewed toward the negative it is. I also wanted to experiment with the classic soft-loud-soft dynamic. I had originally written a little lead guitar line that served as an intro, but couldn’t get it to gel with the rest of the song, so I replaced that with a simpler, 4-bar little ringing chord thing.

For this recording, I think I found a good balance between capturing the idea simply and getting something that sounds decent. I worked under the self-imposed limitation that I wouldn’t do more than would be possible on 4-track tape recorder. This allowed me to flesh things out a bit more, while still limiting the amount of time devoted to the recording itself. The basis of the track is the Hohner half-sized guitar with vocals recorded at the same time, with a ukulele providing some oomph in the choruses (and some mandolin-esque chopping on the verses). The other two tracks are devoted to some vocal doubling and harmony on the chorus, with a little ukulele lead part sharing that space. All the recording itself was done on my laptop’s mono microphone again.

Lyrics

I can show you how to fake it
I can show you how to get through anything
I can show you how I make it
’Cause I know how to be king

I’m the king of the imposters
I’ve been faking it for so very long now
I’m the king of the imposters
Take my hand, take my hand and I will show you how

I’ve been dreading when I’ll get caught
Such a reckoning’s been coming for years
It’s my prime motivation
Gave the keys to all my fears

I’m the king of the imposters…

Don’t tell me, don’t tell me
Don’t tell me it’s all in my head
I can’t see, I’d rather be
Driven by anxiety instead

I’m the king of the imposters…