SOMETHING IN COMMON
One of those big fat ballads that really can do some damage.
So there I was. Sitting on one song in 10 months for our 3rd album. A song about airplanes that I wasn’t even sure was right for our band. So I knew the next one had to take a different kind of swing. One of those big fat ballads that really can do some damage.
I stared at the phrase “something in common” in my notebook for a long time before I knew how to write the song. This is exactly how I had the idea jotted down:
The man you choose to remember is not exactly the man that I am
But I hope that they have something in common
It would have to undergo some changes to feel like a lyric but I felt like there was something there. And it definitely felt true to an impression I may or may not have been leaving in someone’s life at that moment. I wasn’t quite a scoundrel, but I was young enough to be irresponsible and old enough to start feeling the consequences (ANYWAY - back to the song!).
I knew a few things from the outset - I knew I wanted the music to feel a little richer than the colors I normally worked with, I knew the phrase didn’t lend itself to an easy landing on a one chord (I ended up ending the refrain on the 4 - for all you music nerds out there), and I knew “Something in Common” was the title.
Otherwise I had to wait for the first line and then I knew I’d be off and running. That’s how it often is for me - I wait for the first line to just appear out of thin air and then the job becomes figuring out how to guide the thought into the title somehow. And once the first verse/chorus (or refrain or whatever you wanna call it) establishes itself I have a clear blueprint for how it works and the rest of the song tends to be easier. That’s how it went for this number. The ‘alarm’ line showed up without me really looking for it and then I was able to get cracking.
I love it when chorus lyrics change to give a new dimension to the title line. Anyone familiar enough with Dawes songs won’t be surprised by that. But I always felt like it gives a song depth and yet maintains regard for the craft of songwriting, whatever that might be worth. Don’t get me wrong - I love a giant Tom Petty chorus but when Willie Nelson or Joni Mitchell lead me to the main concept through a different door, it feels like magic every time. And if I’m allowed to say here in the Substack cosmos - I’m really proud of how that device worked out with this song. I’m typically more of a modesty-bordering-on-downright-self-loathing kind of guy, but I’ve often thought that this song is my proudest moment as a writer. Even to this day.
I don’t even wanna feel that way.
I’d prefer always loving my most recent composition more than anything else. But Something In Common remains a high bar for me, at least according to my own arbitrary criteria.
For all you Stories Don’t End 10 year anniversary vinyl listeners - the bonus version of this song you’ll find on there was recorded w Blake Mills producing and Shawn Everett engineering. Blake is my oldest musical compatriot and everything I know is basically learned from him and this was our first creative endeavor together since our band Simon Dawes had broken up. He even plays that slide guitar you’re hearing. I love where this recording got and we leaned on it a lot when we were working on our final version with producer Jacquire King. Schedules and life (and a natural progression toward working with Jacquire at the time) led the Blake world and Dawes world away from each other at this juncture (at least until We’re All Gonna Die) but I’m so grateful for these alternate full band recordings.
But here’s the demo that even came before that. Not included on the vinyl. Only for you crazy substackers.
Again, recorded within hours of having finished writing it.
Never totally serious.
Never quite joking.
Never ever proofread.
- TG