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Song Challenge: The Howling of the Dog


nat whilk II

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Ok, I tossed this out, fresh out of the brainpan, quickly made, needs what?

Musically, something simple and ominous-folky like Eve of Destruction but not so melodramatic..

 

The Howling of the Dog

 

the end of pain

they smilingly explain

he'll be at rest

it's all for the best

once it was done

(they'd brought a gun)

I felt like I was falling in fog

and only thing I clearly recall at all is the

howling of the dog

 

we all stand by

and duly sigh

so many lost

the heavy cost

what can be done

against their reasons and guns

and we reel as we're falling in fog

and again the thing that I recall is the

howling of the dog

 

to the one

who has the gun

there's always reason

it's the season for action

so take control,

put a stop

it's the principle of the thing

and a second shot tore through the fog

and stopped the howling of the dog

 

 

nat whilk ii

 

 

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Good lyric, but I'm not sure about folky / ominous.

Maybe forget Eve of Destruction which is an inyerface protest howl.

Think Universal Soldier which is a gentle appeal to reason or

The Green Fields of France (No Man's Land) by Eric Bogle which is pure pathos.

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the end of pain

they smilingly explain

he'll be at rest

it's all for the best

once it was done

(they'd brought a gun)

I felt like I was falling in fog

and only thing I clearly recall at all is the

howling of the dog

 

Nice. A couple lines feel a tad lacking in conversational tone that the rest enjoys. Strictly concentrating on V1 to make my input clear.

 

 

they smilingly explain

 

Kind of a clunky word. With an odd smile, he explained?

 

The fog line as well. The 'falling in fog' syntax implies a universal, recognizable sensation, but the image is unique. I love it but it doesn't give me the nad kick you're going for in its present state. I'd make the fog part of the actual scene.

 

felt like I was falling through this "Divisadero/Louisiana/pick-yer-locale" fog

 

Or not. My digs a plenty. Nice.

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I like songs this one, the ones that force your imagination to complete the story. "Ode To Billy Joe" is like that. Your first shot happens before your song begins, and the song builds up to the second shot. So we have to ask ourselves questions: Who fired the first shot. Why? Was it the dog that got shot or its owner?

 

We create a story in our heads. Even if you sprinkled a clue or two into it, it would still have that effect.

 

"Eve of Destruction" always sounded kind of perky to me, more scolding than grim or dire. You might go for something more slow and ominous. I'd make it swampy, but that's just me. "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" gets there.

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Thanks for the input - greatly appreciated

 

>>OGP - I looked up the songs you referenced. Found Buffy Saint-Marie singing The Universal Soldier - nice tune, that. Couldn't find Eric Bogle's Green Fields of France, but found a bunch of other people covering it - even Dropkick Murphys singing it straight up without yelling (!!) and a version with Joss Stone (channeling Gladys Knight) backed up by Jeff Beck (sounding more like Clapton than Beck oddly enough).

 

Will there ever be protest songs again? That are not nostalgic reheats or punk flip-offs meant to simply offend?

 

>>Lee - as the musical side is slowly evolving, I have started repeating the "falling in fog" line, so each time it appears, it gets said twice. I'm thinking the simple repetition will help people form their own image, link their own mood, fill in the blanks.

 

"Smilingly" - my lyrics get sort of literary-sounding at times, people tell me and I already knew it. The word comes out with a bit of a lilt when I sing it, so I'm ok with the sheer sound and singability of it. My worry is that it's just a bit out of use, a bit of Lit Anthology about it. But it's such a good word - it's such a compact way to say "with an insincere, patronizing smile". I have to stick with it.

 

>>Delmont - yes, that's my idea exactly, to hint at a larger story - I make the quick sketch, listeners shade and color it in. The trick is how to evoke with minimal clues ('tho the music itself will set a mood) - there's a W H Auden poem about a secret agent with the line:

 

The bridges were unbuilt and trouble coming.

 

Obviously there's some story behind the situation in the poem, but the details are not the point, you get the unease and grimness right off.

 

I've been tweaking at numerous points - I'll post up a soundclip and the revised lyrics in a day or three -

 

nat whilk ii

 

 

 

 

 

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