BOOGIE WOOGIE THERAPY (Back-story, Lyrics, and Link to song on
YouTube)
Back-story:
I believe songs come out of the air. They come into your soul and form from the
ideas, feelings, and emotions you are experiencing. Most of the time, the creation that takes
shape is temporary. However, when the
concept will not go away, you are on your way to scoring a new song. “Boogie Woogie Therapy” emerged when two
unrelated ideas came together. The
first, my belief that action plays a major role in getting rid of the blues,
merged with the thought of Siobhan and me wanting to create a new sound with
her bass. When these two notions would
not leave me alone, I knew I was off and running with a new song.
We all encounter the blues, and here is what I
quite often experience when it pays a visit to me. I usually wake up with a real empty feeling
inside of me. Everything seems hopeless,
and struggling with the daily activities of life seems futile. All the negative aspects of my life bombard
my spirit, and they take over. I feel
like I am in a boxing match with the world champion, Mr. Negativity, and he is
kicking my butt all over the ring. Each
punch he throws at me reminds me of what I haven’t done, what I can’t do, or
what a failure I am, and the only solace I get from this experience is I
realize it is temporary. Just like the
weather, these emotional Thunderheads clear, and the sun comes out again. I have discovered you can wait for these
clouds to move on when they are ready, or you can precipitate their
disappearance with action. Since I am a
person who does not like to wallow in negativity, I usually just start moving,
and within a short time, my emotional lows start to drift away.
When I start moving, I usually begin by choosing
rather simple activities. For example,
I’ll start cooking or cleaning, and after my head clears a little, I’ll put on
my headsets and listen to some music or a podcast on my phone while I am
working. The actions of cooking, cleaning,
and listening slowly begin to erase whatever grip negativity has had on me, and
I start to feel better. Walking in our
neighborhood or on our treadmill, cycling on our tandem bike, playing the
guitar, and going out to listen to music are just a few other simple activities
I use to trigger the evaporation of my pessimism. Occasionally, when I am out listening to
music, I’ll get up and dance, but it is not one of my favorite actions for
getting rid of the blues; I have gotten myself into too many bar fights by
accidentally drifting into dancing with someone else’s partner. Nevertheless, I have observed the tremendous
positive impact dancing has on those who love to do it.
One day
while Siobhan and I were in the midst of a rehearsal, I thought about how
dancing helps to shake off the blues. We
had just finished playing “Shotgun Boogie,” an old boogie tune by Tennessee
Ernie Ford. This was the first boogie
tune we ever learned, and we were psyched because it gave Siobhan an
opportunity to create an awesome new sound with her bass. Unfortunately, while we were ecstatic about
the sound of the bass, we were not very thrilled with the content of the song. Learning a song is somewhat similar to
writing one. You learn it, rehearse it,
and try it out on your audience. If it doesn’t
feel right to you, you scrap it from the playlist. Unfortunately, “Shotgun Boogie” did not feel
right, and we got rid of it. However,
learning the song was not a total waste of time because it gave birth to
“Boogie Woogie Therapy.”
Unwilling
to give up this great new sound we were getting with Siobhan’s bass, I
spontaneously broke into the first verse and chorus of “Boogie Woogie Therapy.” We played it over and over again, and it felt
right. I then added a harmonica break,
and we played the verse, chorus, and harmonica break until we were exhausted. Being so juiced from the new song we created,
I went to my computer, and within a few hours, I had the remaining verses to
the song.
“Boogie Woogie Therapy” is pure Americana. It is an upbeat tune depicting a philosophy
you can use when the blues gets its grip on you. The philosophy is simple. Whether you are eighteen or eighty, you will
always encounter emotional lows. You can
either wait until these lows move on of their own accord, or you can trigger
their disappearance with action. Of
course, the song suggests you get up and get going. By the request of many, Siobhan and I
recorded this song without the help of any studio musicians. In addition to our basic sound of the guitar,
harmonica, vocals, and bass, I gave the recording some depth by dubbing in some
additional harmonies, an electric guitar, and blending harmonicas. Pay attention to Siobhan’s bass in this one! It’s exquisite! I guarantee it will jumpstart your day! Hope you have
time to check it out! I like it,
and I hope you do, too!
Big thanks to Rich Cooley, a great
singer/songwriter, for letting us record this one in his home studio. Rich, a great neighbor who lives around the
corner from us, showed Siobhan the ins and outs of recording and mixing, and
started her down the road to creating her own home studio, where we now do all
of our own recording.
Lyrics:
Verse 1
Well, I got something
you can do
When you’re feeling sad
and blue
It’s so simple, it’s
nothing new
Well, get up and boogie
woogie, it’ll get you through
Chorus
Boogie woogie,
...Boogie woogie,
Get up and dance around
...Get up and dance
around
Boogie woogie,
...Boogie woogie,
You just can’t stay down
...You just can’t stay
down
Boogie woogie,
...Boogie woogie,
It’ll free your mind
...It’ll free your mind
Well, it’s the best damn
therapy you’ll ever find
Verse 2
When you’re feeling sad
and low
And you’ve got no place
to go
And time seems to move
so slow
Well, get up and boogie
woogie, and just let it flow
Chorus
Instrumental
Verse 3
Now, when your heart’s
about to break
And there’s no more you
can take
Here’s a move that you
can make
Well, get up and boogie
woogie, it’ll ease the ache
Chorus
Verse 4
Now, when the world has
you on trial
And you feel you’ve lost
your style
And each step feels like
a mile
Well, get up and boogie
woogie, it’ll make you smile
Chorus
Instrumental
Verse 5
When you meet folks who
are blue
And they don’t know what
to do
Tell them just what
works for you
That Boogie Woogie
Therapy’ll get them through
Chorus
Here is a link to the song on YouTube. It’s an auto generated video created by CD
Baby, our distributor. If an ad appears
when the link opens, click to dismiss it, and the song will start. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nonYzAdW9g&list=PLmaM3h4AoHN-pRSCzG9xMGkJuCeDDLaf4&index=20
If you Prefer, you can stream this song on all the major
platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Prime, etc.
