"BOOGIE WOOGIE THERAPY" (Back-story, Lyrics, and Link to Song on YouTube)

 

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.