Why It Kills Us To Compromise
from This Perfect Day by Bill Gable
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Buy the Full Digital Album
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital AlbumSigned copy of the "This Perfect Day" CD by Bill Gable, which includes an attached 8-page booklet with song lyrics and images.
Includes unlimited streaming of This Perfect Day via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 5 daysPurchasable with gift card$15 USD or more
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album"This Perfect Day" CD by Bill Gable, which includes an attached 8-page booklet with song lyrics and images.
Includes unlimited streaming of This Perfect Day via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 5 daysPurchasable with gift card$10 USD or more
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about
Steve Rodby and I cut this track as a duo, acoustic guitar with acoustic bass. All of the vocals and percussion tracks were overdubbed later, as was my accordion part. This basic track was cut in the big Westlake Studio D room in LA, later made famous for being where the Thriller album was recorded. For some reason, Steve and I were set up in iso rooms where we couldn't see each other, but it really didn't seem to hinder us at all. For years I have played this cheap Giannini guitar from Brazil, which I bought for $175 and used on this song.
On this day, I remember that, of all the mics in the studio, a simple SM57 sounded the best, so we used it. Steve consented to my recording him with a transducer on the head of the bass, a technique I began toying with during the recording of "There Were Signs" and still use. A touch of this signal was then mixed with his pickup and a vintage Neumann 67 tube mic in the final mix to add grit to the edge of his tone. We had a lot of fun working on this project. We drank a lot of espresso and mate. Alex Acuna came in at the very end to overdub cajon, back when the instrument was still primarily used in Peru.
On this day, I remember that, of all the mics in the studio, a simple SM57 sounded the best, so we used it. Steve consented to my recording him with a transducer on the head of the bass, a technique I began toying with during the recording of "There Were Signs" and still use. A touch of this signal was then mixed with his pickup and a vintage Neumann 67 tube mic in the final mix to add grit to the edge of his tone. We had a lot of fun working on this project. We drank a lot of espresso and mate. Alex Acuna came in at the very end to overdub cajon, back when the instrument was still primarily used in Peru.
lyrics
there was no word of warning
it hit him one morning
he was still in the prime of his life
he took to his bed
with a terrible feeling
while the doctors were rushed to his side
some kind of voodoo curse
some dark aboriginal spell
too malignant to ever reverse
too abstract for the power of science to quell
they huddled around him
with pills and prescriptions
they filled up his head with advice
but they left him no cure
for the things he was seeing
that kept him awake every night
there isn’t a medicine made
to put back the fire in your eyes
nobody knows why it kills us to compromise
is it chemical, spiritual
emotional, material
the dye that we use on our hair
the creamer in coffee
that lowers our resistance
to something unseen in the air
how can the soul stand up
subjected to all this disease
from the day we drop dead on the street
to the prickly rash we develop
on the soles of our feet
no talking in tongues
no laying on of hands
no soaking the body in ice
can ever replenish
the vitamins lacking
that keeps us on edge all our lives
there isn’t a medicine made
to put back the fire in your eyes
nobody knows why it kills us to compromise
it hit him one morning
he was still in the prime of his life
he took to his bed
with a terrible feeling
while the doctors were rushed to his side
some kind of voodoo curse
some dark aboriginal spell
too malignant to ever reverse
too abstract for the power of science to quell
they huddled around him
with pills and prescriptions
they filled up his head with advice
but they left him no cure
for the things he was seeing
that kept him awake every night
there isn’t a medicine made
to put back the fire in your eyes
nobody knows why it kills us to compromise
is it chemical, spiritual
emotional, material
the dye that we use on our hair
the creamer in coffee
that lowers our resistance
to something unseen in the air
how can the soul stand up
subjected to all this disease
from the day we drop dead on the street
to the prickly rash we develop
on the soles of our feet
no talking in tongues
no laying on of hands
no soaking the body in ice
can ever replenish
the vitamins lacking
that keeps us on edge all our lives
there isn’t a medicine made
to put back the fire in your eyes
nobody knows why it kills us to compromise
credits
from This Perfect Day,
released December 8, 2003
Bill Gable: guitar, synths, accordion and vocals
Steve Rodby: acoustic bass
Alex Acuna: cajon
Lenny Castro: caxixi and triangle
Bill Gable: guitar, synths, accordion and vocals
Steve Rodby: acoustic bass
Alex Acuna: cajon
Lenny Castro: caxixi and triangle
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Bill Gable Los Angeles, California
BILL GABLE is an uncompromisingly original American singer-songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist whose music spans the boundaries between pop, jazz and world music.
discography
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date unknown -
Jul 2015 -
Apr 2015 -
date unknown -
Dec 2003
contact / help
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