Chained and Bound

I know you make a little money—but you owe it faster than you can
‘Cause you’ll buy anything if it fits into your little plan

You like and tell me that I’m better than anyone you’ve found
You’re gonna have to do it all yourself as soon as I’m not around

I know that you only want to keep me where I am
You don’t even notice you’re chained and bound

I know you’ve got expectations ‘cause you think there’s some things that you know
And you want me to shut up and agree there’s just one way to go

I can’t hear the words ‘cause I don’t like the way that they sound
When you tell me that I’ve crashed before my feet have stopped touching the ground

All you can talk about is money and what makes it grow
You forgot what it was like before you were chained and bound

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If one of these 11 songs is the “single,” it’s got to be “Chained and Bound”—concise, punchy and accessible, it’s even got a couple of hooks! If I ever describe myself as something like an “experimental singer-songwriter,” it’s not because I think I’m creating something that’s never been done before, but more that most songs are experiments—attempts to do something specifically musically, lyrically or both that I haven’t done before. When composing the guitar parts for this song, the idea was that the song would combine more aggressive proto-punk-style (out of my comfort zone) power chords with some more progressive elements (right up my alley). The moody, faux Graham/Frith (80%/20%) intro gives way to power chords with additive rhythms and between the verses is a loopier instrumental section. I’ve never played this song live—I probably can, but it’ll be a challenge to keep the wonky changing riff lengths straight with the vocals. It was pretty fun to finally hear the ideas come to life when I assembled everything together in one day of recording—probably some of the most efficient work I did during this whole project. I’m pretty happy with this one, although the progressive elements aren’t quite as noticeable audibly as they were in my brain.

The lyrics are pretty aren’t meant to be too poetic on this one—more economical and attitude-oriented, not to mention extremely personal. This song is an aggressive “fuck-you” to the forces within and without that try to break concerted resolve. The first verse addresses the issue of imposed inertia and the second addresses the sort of reasoning used to talk people out of pursuing more important priorities in favor of safer, more mundane comforts—a kind of sneering affront thinly disguising a desperate plea for acceptance. See you tomorrow.