The Process #7 — With Impunity

Posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 // 0 Responses.

Name: With Impunity
Date Written: 1/24/09
Date Recorded: 2/16/09
Written for: funsies!

I’m on my Alkaline Trio game with this one… or H.I.M. or something. Maybe the new Sister City logo will be a heartogram and we’ll find a tertiary member of the Jackass crew to tat it on, and have him talk about us nonstop. Actually, let’s talk about Alkaline Trio for a bit. As someone who writes a fair amount of songs per year, I’m constantly asking myself “have I done this before?” “Have I already said this?” Sister City doesn’t have a gimmick in the same way that Alkaline Trio does, but is Matt Skiba seriously proud of “This Addiction?” Does he really think it’s not just lyrically a rehash of basically everything since 2003? I get it, it’s about how love and heroin addiction are similar. But more generally, it’s just about darkness. And the guy keeps announcing more solo projects. Guess what, they’re dark! I’m just saying. Ain’t trying to hate. Just understand.

You could make the point that every song is the same in most bands’ catalogues. Maybe you’re right. The Hold Steady pretty much just finds different ways to talk about lapsed Catholics partying. Rick Ross just put out a 19-song mixtape called Rich Forever entirely about how rich he is. My stuff isn’t as diverse as it could be. I’ve got tropes I keep coming back to. Maybe that’s what compels songwriters to write. Each one of us is in a lifelong struggle to write the perfect song about our pet cause. Rick Ross just hasn’t phrased it the right way yet. One day he’s going to sit back with his shirt off, weed smoke in the air and just say “I did it.” Maybe one day we do it the best we’re ever going to do it, and from that day on we start writing worse songs. (I’m glaring in your direction, Stay Positive and Heaven is Whenever). I just hope if I ever write “Calling All Skeletons,” I know it.

Sometimes you need to step away from your M.O. Two years ago I took a class on the Short Story and decided to write a song about each short story. I lasted four stories before I was like “let’s talk about Judaism and depression instead!” So this is the song based on “The Cask of Amontillado.” It’s dark. Get it?

Lyrics:

I sleep like a child
I thought you should know
I sometimes wonder.. how did you go?
Did you suffocate, was it vengeful, sweet, and slow?
Is your flesh still rotting or are you just a pile of bones?

I laid every brick
With only my hands
I gave you every chance
But I am a man — you shall not wound me, mortal sin be damned
You sobered up and pleaded
The time had come and passed for that song and dance

You who so well know
The nature of my soul
Would never suppose
That i’d let revenge go cold

In fact it’s like a wine
Sophisticated, perfected over time
A respite for the mind
One of the finer things in life