Dane Cobain's Blog, page 17

Music News: I Bought a New Guitar!

Hi, folks! Today I’ve just got a little bit of news to share – I bought a new guitar!

It’s a Fender electro-acoustic and it’s beautiful – it sounds great, way better than the cheap ones I’ve been using for years, and I’ve got a decent case for it and a quality strap, which means I’m pretty much ready to hit up some of the local open mics!

 

The New Guitar

 

I haven’t been to many open mic nights of late because I’ve been working so hard, but I’ve been looking forward to getting back to it. I’ll be jamming with my friend Dave at a few of them, so I might end up playing bass guitar anyway. But when I’m playing my own stuff, it’ll be nice to have a good guitar. And I can use it to record with, too!

As always, thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for further updates. You can also stop by my SoundCloud page and my YouTube channel to hear more. I’ll see you soon!

Probably Not Drinking

This poem was written on a Friday while on my cigarette breaks at work, and it’s a forward–looking piece that focuses on the weeks ahead. You can probably tell. Enjoy!

 

because the long weekend

and bank holiday Monday

mean it’s finally time

for writing.

I got bored

of the booze blues

and buying beer

to take the edge off.

I have thousands of pounds

in my bank account

and the council

still owes me

a refund.

I’m going to spend the money

on a Fender electro-acoustic

with a hard shell case

so when I go

to open mic nights,

Dave can take his keyboard

and I can take

my own instrument,

although I’ll still play bass

if he asks me to.

Now we need

a drummer.

Still,

I’ll spend the weekend

not drinking

and maybe finishing

my novel,

although I’m not going to make

any promises.

I’m probably not drinking

but I probably might,

and I might not probably

sleep sometime.

There’s too much to do

and no time to do it in.

Day Two with Biggie

Another new poem about my cat. I guess I’ve turned into some crazy hermit who writes poems about his cats. I didn’t see that one coming.

 

My cat meows

like a champion,

or maybe more like

a car alarm

in the middle of the night

that nobody wants

to take ownership of.

Like last night,

at 2:45 in the morning,

when he came into the bedroom,

paddling along on his little feet,

walked up to the end of the bed,

threw back his head

and shouted

MAOWWWW.

Fuck’s sake,

Biggie,

I can’t let you

go outside.

I mean,

I love you and all

and I, myself,

am high-maintenance,

but it might be nice

to have some quiet time.

Fear not,

little kitty cat,

I will have my revenge.

You will be placed

on Instagram

with little signs

I’ll write

to share your bad behaviour

with the world.

Really,

though,

you’re just a cat,

doing cat tings.

I can’t really blame you

For the noises you make.

Biggie

As you probably already know if you follow me on social networking sites, I  got myself a cat! His name is Biggie, he’s absolutely gorgeous, and you can follow him on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to. This is a poem that I wrote for him the day after I got him.

 

Biggie,

you are beautiful,

and I know you’re scared

but we all are.

You’re a big, black cat

and you purr when you rap,

relaxed,

at the back of the books

in a catnap.

And I know you kinda like me;

you came when I called

and nuzzled

your soft, warm neck

against my knuckles,

then hid yourself away

when I went for a cigarette.

Perhaps you don’t like cars

‘cause you were shot

in the back of a Chevvy Suburban,

or maybe it’s

my girlfriend

and her driving.

It’s funny

because your voice

is like an engine,

especially when you settle down

to sleep the stress off,

which is also like me

when I fall asleep

and start snoring.

Biggie,

I will look after you.

I already prefer you

to other humans.

Not Enough (Chords/Lyrics)

This song’s another of my more recent efforts, inspired by bands like the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. It’s simple, fun and easy to play, and you can check out the chords and lyrics below. Enjoy!

 

G A E, G A E (high E), G A E (G E), G A E

I never needed your money,

I never needed your love.

I ain’t got time for your games,

a word’s not enough.

 

INTERLUDE

 

So I’m taking my talent

and I’m making it last.

Ain’t got no superstitions,

you’re my heart attack.

 

E G A (G)

I’m taking it slow now, baby, let’s have us some fun,

I haven’t done enough, woah oh.

And all I ever wanted was to feel alive.

Wherever I’m going now, baby, I haven’t seen it all,

but I’ve seen it all before, hey hey,

ain’t no telling what I’ll do with myself tonight.

 

I never learned from your wisdom

or tried to broaden my mind.

I fall in love with myself…

…all the time.

 

CHORUS x2

Up in the Country (Chords/Lyrics)

This is the most recent song that I wrote, on an old guitar at a cabin – on holiday in the country with my mum and my girlfriend. I thought it was catchy so I ended up recording it, and now it’s one of my favourite songs to play. You can listen to it in the player below or you can click here to check it out on Soundcloud.

 

 

VERSE: E G A B, E G D A (G)

 

CHORUS: E G D A (G)

 

 

INTRO

 

VERSE ONE:

Catch me if you can with a book in my hand,

Stephen’s feeling evil so he’s taking a stand.

I don’t know where I’m coming from or where I’m going to.

You talk in your sleep like a lucid dream,

it’s easy to believe me when I’m greedy and mean,

I can’t recall the meaning of the seasons,

and so it’s…

 

CHORUS:

Up in the country, down by the river.

Up in the country, down by the border.

Up in the country, somewhere in the country,

and it’s up in the country, down by the riverside with you.

Down by the riverside with you.

 

VERSE TWO:

You try to get away on a rainy day,

you’ve got somewhere to live but you’ve got nowhere to stay.

I don’t know where you’re coming from or where you’re going to.

You’re cooking up a storm while the summertime’s born,

there’s magic in your eyes like a unicorn’s horn,

I’ve got to find some way to get away.

 

CHORUS

 

VERSE THREE/BRIDGE (palm-muted):

Take it easy baby.

Don’t go outside when it’s raining.

Take it easy baby.

Don’t go outside when it’s raining.

Oh please take it easy baby,

I don’t know what I’m saying.

Oh please take it easy baby,

I don’t know what I’m saying.

 

CHORUS x2

My Friend Katie

Note: This is a piece that I wrote for something else that I was playing around with. I didn’t end up using it, and so I figured I might as well post it here instead. It’s semi-fictional, I guess.

 

Katie Sherwood was struggling. Last year, her husband passed away after battling leukaemia, leaving her behind with no children and just a handful of well-meaning friends and acquaintances. She knew they were trying to look after her, but they reminded her of John – her husband – and the pain was too fresh for her to deal with it.

So Katie became a recluse. This was on the run up to Christmas, and she spent Christmas Day at home alone because she didn’t want to impose on other people. She said it was supposed to be a happy time, and she didn’t want her sadness to catch on and spread to other people. People were worried, of course, but they respected her decision.

It was a brutal winter, much colder than usual. And for Katie, it was lonelier than usual, too. The one ray of light was a dog called Juneau, which she adopted from a shelter and began a new life with. Juneau was someone to talk to, a reason to leave the house, another living thing to nurture, to care for and to grow older with.

As the winter rolled into spring and then the summer, she became a common sight around the neighbourhood. She spent less time at home and more time outside. She got to know everybody all over again, and she took Juneau along with her to her pottery class and her Pilates, and later on to her meetings with local organisations and the city council.

Most people knew her for her fundraising work, most notably for a leukaemia charity that she worked for in her husband’s name. But the truth is that Katie kept herself as busy as possible, making new friends while making a difference in the community. She picked up trash and packed it into big black bags, cleaned up the banks of the river, fed the homeless at the shelter and volunteered her time to sort through books at the local charity shops.

She still thought about John – she thought about him every night – but she knew her husband, and she knew what he would have wanted. He wouldn’t have wanted her to mope around or to withdraw from society. He wanted her to go out and to live her life, to go on without him and to make up for lost time by living her life for the both of them. He’d told her as much before he passed.

In the autumn, the local paper ran a ‘person of the year’ award, and Katie’s name was put forward by one of the old folks at the home. She went in every Tuesday to play the piano, which might not seem like much but which was the highlight of the week at Sunnyvale. The paper didn’t know that she was involved elsewhere in the community until the votes started rolling in.

She received 86% of them.

At the ceremony, she was presented with the award by the mayor, who was dressed up in his finery and who gave a speech in Katie’s honour before taking the ribbon from the box and placing it around her neck. The place erupted with light as the photographers captured the moment. Then the journalists took over and opened up with a volley of questions.

“Where do you get your inspiration?” they asked.

“From my husband,” Katie replied. “And from myself. The world can be a cruel place. It’s our job to try to change that.”

Her quote made the front page of the paper.

Introducing Biggie Cobain!

Hi, folks! I have something fun for you today. Basically, I’ve wanted to own a cat for years now, but I’ve never quite been in the right place in my life to be able to look after one. But now that I’m going full-time freelance, that’ll change – and I’m a mature, responsible adult now. Right?

So, because of that, I’ve been looking into adopting a cat and I’m pleased to say that I found one. His name’s Biggie – Biggie Cobain – and I’ve shared a couple of photos of him below. Say hi to Biggie! But be calm and quiet because he can be a little shy, especially around new people.

 

 

Of course, me being me, I set him up on Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to give Biggie a follow if you want to see what he’s up to. He’s incredibly cute, you’ll like him. I love him. He’s beautiful. I’ve even written a few poems about him, so keep your eyes peeled for those – coming soon!

Waterfall (Chords)

This is another song that’s pretty much a throwaway but which I recorded anyway because I liked it. It’s kind of a snapshot into my head at a specific time of my life. Enjoy!

 

CAPO ON FOURTH

INTRO: G D A7

VERSE: G D A7 C, G D A7 x2

CHORUS: C A7 G D x2, A7 C G D x2

INTRO

VERSE ONE:

You seem to think that I can’t think and I can’t sing tonight,

and I can’t decide why I am hiding.

So I try to find my life in lines that I can’t seem to memorise

inside, every time I try to write them.

CHORUS:

You can see yourself in everyone you want to meet.

She said that talking helped, but it’s just like pulling teeth.

I can’t stand it anymore, I can’t stand it at all,

she said she’s going with the flow just like a waterfall.

INTERLUDE

VERSE TWO:

You seem to see that I don’t mean to disbelieve,

it seems so easy to believe in what you’re dreaming.

But beneath the streets you reach your feet are easily achievable

and I really mean I need it when I need you.

CHORUS x2

INTERLUDE

Your Life (Chords/Lyrics)

This song is one of more recent efforts and it’s about how sometimes, you just have to keep on keeping on. It’s kind of optimistic and bleak at the same time, like most of my songs. You can listen to it in the player below or click here to check it out on Soundcloud.

 

 

A C#

Hey, just keep fighting,

because the night’s so dark and uninviting.

You’ve got to try so hard to leave your mark

that you find yourself realising

 

D Dm

baby your life’s meant for better things than these.

 

INTERLUDE

 

Hey, just keep on trying,

in a world so cold you can’t survive it.

You’ve got to grow old quick and deal with it,

until you start to slowly realise it,

baby uout life’s meant for better things than these.

 

C#m D A

Baby your life, is your life, and it’s my life.

And my life, was decided on a knife edge

G#m A Em C#m

Sometimes I can’t go on until they play my favourite song, baby

D Dm

your life’s meant for better things than these

 

Hey, just keep on eating, in a night so dark you can’t deceive it,

you’ve gotta jump ship quick just to get a quick fix

until you somehow mix up shit you used to wish for.

Baby, your life’s meant for better things than these.