I struggled with an idea, trying in vain to find something in a “brainstorming session” (this is what I call taking a nap and thinking of ideas). I eventually decided to use a constraint to kick-start creativity, and in this case, that constraint was to limit myself to just the 3 major chords in the key (B, E, and F#). This is standard pop-punk fare; it’s probably at least partially inspired by the Mr. T Experience album I was listening to this morning while dropping off my kid at school.

This is back to the 4-track format, with the acoustic elements (Hohner mini guitar, soprano ukulele, vocals) recorded as usual with the laptop mic in mono. The electric lead line was recorded using a guitar simulation pedal via its USB interface. Technically there’s a tiny bit of overlap between the backing vocals and the guitar line — and technically the guitar line is in stereo — but rules were made to be broken… right?

Lyrics

So you and your lover broke up
It really wasn’t anyone’s fault
Now you’re hiding in your apartment
And it’s locked up like a bank vault
What’re you gonna do now?
And how will you prevail?
You’ve got a skewed perception
You can do so much more than fail

When you sit, and pout, and bleed your heart out
Then you never know what you’re gonna do
You can sigh, and cry, till you’ve dried out both your eyes
But there’s only so far that gets you
Come on … I know you’ll make it through

So think of what makes you happy
And set aside time to work on yourself
What you want is what’s important
Don’t be concerned with anything else
Think of the things you’ve learned since
And think of how you’ve grown
You’ll emerge even stronger
And remember, you’re not on your own