New Album Behind the Lyrics Blog #2: The Man Who Went Up The Mountain

This next tune was started years ago, back in 2006 or 2007, but it wasn't finished until 2009.  I started out writing it one day while I was watching that old Hank Jr. biopic on CMT that was made back in the 80's.  I am continually fascinated how he was hassled and abused with his father's legacy until he fell 600 ft. off a mountain.  The fall damn near killed him and tore his face clean off.  Before the fall he was this clean cut, clean shaven guy in rhinestone suits, just dying under the weight of his father's memory.  After the fall he was this bearded, long haired, hippie/mountain man wearing pearl snap shirts and jamming on blues and southern rock.  He totally changed and said kiss my ass to anyone who didn't like it.  It was like he didn't need to answer to anyone anymore.  He had died and come back and the only one he was playing for was himself.  He got booed off stage, but he didn't back down.  The folks who didn't like it left and were replaced by those who did.  He chipped away at it song by song, tour by tour.  So, as the song says, "The man who went up the mountain, ain't the man who came back down."

That got me the chorus and some verse lyrics, but nothing was finished.  It wasn't finished until I went over to Afghanistan and played for the troops over there.  We saw first hand how they lived and what they had to deal with over there.  For the most part they were 18 and 19 year old kids and they were being asked to be responsible for peoples lives under the harshest of conditions.  I had friends my age over there who'd been in the military for years and they were telling me about the pace of operations and how much they push themselves.  I was just astounded and endlessly impressed with these people.  How could you NOT be changed by an experience like that.  So, then I saw this commercial for the Marines on the flight home and it was this young man climbing a mountain and by the time he had reached the top he was a Marine.  I thought that fit perfectly into my song and so I finished it then and there.  It took me all of 10 minutes.

The word I kept going back to, the keystone, was "gauntlet".  I heard it used several times while I was over there describing patrol routes and transportation routes.  So once I had that line "my best friends called me crazy, but nothing else could save me.  And after running through that gauntlet, Lord, there ain't too much left to phase me."  I was off to the races.  That was the crux of the whole story.  How could you go through being blown up and watching your friends being blown up for a solid year and not be changed?  I've had week long vacations that completely changed my life (the USO tour point of fact), so I have a really hard time imagining a whole year.  For that matter, how could you go through bootcamp without being changed.  It would be impossible.  Now, for the record, this isn't necessarily a negative song.  I think because of the music, most folks assume it's a heavy song, and in many ways it is.  But, I'm not saying that the individual has been changed in a negative or positive way.  (Most likely it's both.)  All I'm saying is that they have changed and their home is not going to be the same place that it was for them as they return.  Their eyes have changed.   

So what started out about Hank Jr. ended up being about our military men and women.  I suppose it could still work for Hank, but every night we play it we raise a glass for the troops. 

The Man Who Went Up The Mountain:

I COME A ROLLIN, BACK THROUGH MY HOMETOWN

PAST THE REDBRICK CHURCH THAT SAVED MY SOUL

AND THE JOINTS THAT BURNED IT DOWN

BUT THERE’S GHOSTS ON THE HIGHWAY NOW

TO WELCOME ME BACK HOME

THE OLD VETS SAY YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK

THE WORDS CUT ME TO THE BONE

CAUSE NOW I SEE, YEAH NOW I UNDERSTAND

LORD I BEEN UP THAT MOUNTAIN

AND NOW I’M BACK AGAIN

I BEAR THE WEIGHT, OF A TRUTH THAT I HAVE FOUND

THE MAN WHO WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN

AIN’T THE MAN WHO CAME BACK DOWN

MY BEST FRIEND CALLED ME CRAZY

BUT NOTHIN ELSE COULD SAVE ME

AND AFTER RUNNING THROUGH THAT GAUNTLET LORD

THERE AIN’T TOO MUCH LEFT TO PHASE ME

THEY DON’T KNOW THE SACRIFICES

ALL THEY SEE ARE VICES

BUT IF THAT’S ALL YOU GOT THEN HOLD YOUR TONGUE SON

CAUSE I KNOW WHAT YOUR ADVICE IS

SO WE KEEP A RAMBLIN, YEAH LIVING LIKE A COUNTRY SONG

OH WE HIT, GET WITH IT, THEN WE CHASE IT ALL NIGHT LONG

THERE’S A HUNGER THAT DRIVES YOU ON

IT TAKES THE MEASURE OF A MAN

THOSE WHO KNOW CAN’T EXPLAIN

AND THOSE WHO DON’T WON’T UNDERSTAND

You can listen to the full version of the song at http://www.mattposs.com/.  Look to the bottom of the page for the Juke Box.  It's song #3.  Let me know what you think...thanks!

Yearly Blog! (just kidding) But seriously, a new blog!

Well, it's been a year since my last blog, so I figure it's about time to write another one.  hoho.  My new years resolution was to write an entry at least once a week.  I didn't even make once a month, or quarter!  Oh well...I guess I didn't have much to say, and as the great Willie Nelson sings in "Shotgun Willie" - You can't make a record if you ain't got nothin to say.  Well, I have shitloads to say now, so we'll see what happens. 

The biggest news I have to share as of right now is that we have a new album coming out this fall!  I've been in Nashville off and on over the past year recording and I'm all but finished.  We've recorded about 16 songs, but only 11 or so will make the final cut.  The release date looks to be towards the end of November (just in time for Christmas!)  Does anyone listen to albums anymore anyway?  So, for the next few weeks I'll be highlighting a specific song and it's lyrics, and talk about the story behind the lyrics. 

So let's jump right in with what could be the lead off tune we will push to radio, Pickup Truck.  I know if you're a fan then it seems like that song has been around forever, but it's really only a year old, and it was one of the first songs from the new batch I decided to record.  It's one of the poppiest songs I've ever written, and certainly one of the most radio friendly.  More importantly, it took me out of my comfort zone.  By that I mean that I'm naturally a story song writer.  I really excel at writing novels, or sections of novels, scrunched down into a 3 to 4 minute tune.  Pickup Truck is just a song with a moral about getting back to a simpler way of life.  There is no plot line, just a statement.  That might sound simple but it was really hard for me. 

Anyway, I've always been behind the times technologically speaking.  If it weren't for my job and family I wouldn't own a cell phone.  I'm the guy who scoffed at the internet the first time I saw it.  I think I said something like "yeah, like that'll last...now where'd I set my beer."  Nowadays I make my bread and butter here on the internets, but at least you get the picture of where I'm coming from. 

In coming up with background material for fleshing out the song I simply looked around me.  Money is what couples I know seem to fight about the most, us included.  I was so tired of fighting about money, hearing about money or the lack thereof, how bad the real estate market is, blah blah blah.  I just want to get into my old truck and drive off into the sunset and not think about it for a good little while.  That's the premise and that's all I say in the song.  The underlying message is "let's not forget about what got us here in the first place...love."  Back when we were first starting out we lived in a 600 sq ft. house and didn't have a pot to piss in, but we had fun and we were in love, and that's all we really needed...most of the time:)  That's it. 

The original draft includes a 3rd verse that I chose not to record, but I left it in the lyrics here so you can read it.  It's just a fun little tune about getting back to the basics.  Whats more basic than a pickup truck, a bottle of sweet lucy and your baby riding shotgun? 

Once you've read the lyrics please go to http://www.mattposs.com/ and click play on the jukebox down at the bottom of each screen and listen to Pickup Truck for yourself.  Let me know what you think! 

So here it is:  Pickup Truck

Chorus:

Roll on with me now baby

Roll on tonight

I wanna go do something with you mama now

Even if’n it ain’t right

I wanna hear you call my old nickname

Let’s ride until we run outta luck

I wanna take a ride with you tonight

Oh baby in my pickup truck

V1:

There’s hard times no matter where you go

Don’t wanna fight about money anymore

All i need is you by my side

You sweet lovin under the moonlight

No gps just a radio

No cell phone, leave that at home

Just you and me and sweet lucy makes three

Getting lost in love out in the boondocks

(Chorus:)

V2:

The future's just a mystery

The Past is gone so let it be

All we got is tonight honey

Yeah but that's enough

It’s been so long since we just took time

To kick back, relax and let it all unwind

So hop on in, we’ll leave our troubles behind

And get back to the basics of love…

Bonus V3:

No bailout for the workin man

So i came up with my own damn plan

I stimulate you, you stimulate me

We’ll be doing just fine baby wait and see