When Randon was in his 20s, long before I met him, he fell off a cliff in Montana. He broke his jaw, chipped a vertebra in his neck, and tore the skin off his face. His doctors did such a wonderful job of fixing him up that the scars aren't noticeable at all. One day, we were talking about something I don't remember, and my daughter was walking through the room, and someone said “You're not the you they thought they knew.” “Hey, that'd be a good song lyric,” someone else said. I wrote it down and it became this song. Again, I only gave Randon the vocals with piano melody and a click track. “Put some musical interludes between the verses,” I suggested. “And include a saxophone solo. Something like this, but do whatever you want.” I gave him a melody, which I may have written but fear I may have borrowed from one of his other pieces as it sounded vaguely familiar to me. He took that free rein, and I love what he did! The saxophone plays variations on the melody I suggested, and the guitars play other variations in harmony. It sounds amazing.
lyrics
Humpty Dumpty climbed up a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the Sky's horses and all the Sky's men
Put Humpty Dumpty together again
You're not the you
They thought they knew
You're more than everything
That you've been through
Your shattered heart
So torn apart
Bet you never thought
That it could restart
You see right past
The me I know
You see inside the me
I'm willing to show
My shattered heart
So torn apart
You grabbed on tight to me
Oh you sure are smart
Amazing man
Amazing soul
I love to listen to you
And your rock and roll
The way you play
That saxophone
The things that you've accomplished
All on your own
You only made
One promise true
You said that I would grow
If I got involved with you
Our shattered hearts
So torn apart
The illusion of separation
Now departs
Life can be hard
Life can be fun
We're lucky to have found
What we've begun
Adventure now
See what unfolds
You never know
What the future holds
Humpty Dumpty, do what you can
Humpty Dumpty, you're a great man
All the queen's horses and all the queen's men
Can never compare to you, boyfriend
Can never compare to you, boyfriend
If you have a fondness for expertly wrought roots-rock with sharp lyrics and aching vocals, look no further—“Strangers” is for you. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 8, 2022
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