Stories Behind the Songs: “Nobody But You”

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People ask us all the time about our song writing process:  Who writes the music and lyrics?  Is it a group effort or an individual bringing a song to rehearsal?  One of the great things about making this record was that songs came together in about every way possible.  Some were products of “jam sessions”, some were collaborations between 2 or 3 members of the band, some started as just a riff or groove that someone came up with and a song was built around it, and some were well on their way to being finished by one of the members before the rest of the group even heard the idea.  It’s great to be a part of a team that is so talented that everyone has a significant role in the creative process.  And it’s cool that everyone owns every great idea on this record.  More on that in a minute.

Enter “Nobody But You.”  It’s a pretty self-explanatory track.  We’ve all had a friends that get tripped up in life and head down a destructive path.  It’s tricky because we all make mistakes, and part of being a good friend is loving each other through thick or thin.  But then there are the times that mistakes become habits and habits become lifestyles, and before you know it they’re in a downward spiral and need help.  It’s here that good friends have to take action (and saying nothing would be not loving them well), but sometimes that’s not well-received.  You never want to see a friend’s life come apart.  Sometimes, however, that rocks the boat and the friend becomes distant and withdrawn.  And sometimes, as they say, if you really love someone, you have to let them go.  It’s tough to get to a place where you realize you can’t control the situation and you just have to let go and pray for the best.

In many of the songs I have a hand in writing, the bridge serves as a place to sum up the message of the song, and the same is true here:

You only think about yourself, friend, I just don’t understand why you do what you’re doing and
I hate to think I’d have to let go and say “I told you so,” but I guess that’s how it’s got to go

This song really reflects a couple different relationships I’ve had on different levels, and I’ve tragically seen some really great people hurt and seen some incredibly gifted people throw a lot away.  Friends that I really cared for but had to let them learn hard lessons because they shut everyone out and wouldn’t heed warnings and advice from the ones that love them.  That’s basically the heart of this song.

But one of the most interesting points about this song for me goes back to my first paragraph, and that’s how the song came together.  Our drummer, Luke (also an extremely talented guitar player) came up some guitar riffs, threw them down in his home studio, and built some grooves around them.  He shot me an mp3 and asked me to take a listen and see if it inspired any ideas.  It actually inspired a lot of them.  I dropped it in my iPod for days and would drive around town singing in my car, spitting out all sorts of ideas.  At the time I was working a part time job working in a stock room, and one morning driving to work, Guatemalan coffee in hand, it hit me.  The words just kinda came out as I was singing in morning traffic, and as I got to the parking lot I realized I couldn’t stop.  I hummed and “freestyled” a few lines into my phone so I’d remember them later and went in to work.  But I couldn’t get it out of my head.  It just so happened that no one else was scheduled to work with me that day.  Perfect.  I threw a pencil and a scrap piece of paper in my back pocket and clocked in.  There I was, processing shipments and unpacking boxes, all the while freestyling and singing in the back stock room, occasionally stopping long enough to jot down a line or two.  By the end of my shift the song was done.  All in a days work.  Literally.  I went home, sang it back into my computer and emailed it back to Luke.  Later we put it together with the band, tweaked some parts and arrangements, and the rest is history.

A handful of our newer tunes have come together that way… someone gets a great idea, throws down some really cheesy loops and ideas on Garage Band, and emails it around for the guys to shoot ideas at it.  At this moment my iPod and iTunes are full of really funny demos of songs waiting for the perfect idea to strike during a traffic jam.  Sounds like a concept album in the making.  Thank you, technology.