So we're still alive after our hard times when we thought tomorrow would never come
But now tomorrow's here, so what should we do? What should we do?
CHORUS
Put down that cigarette and lay to rest all those demons that called us before because depression can be such a bore. This is our last cigarette.
So we're still alive when we thought we'd never, ever last so let's have another dance
And let's sing, let's sing another song while we can, while we can
CHORUS
There once was a time when a thought like this could make me sick, but I have found that nothing lasts, Nothing lasts, even those hard times that I thought would never, ever end, so let's breathe in fresh air.
This is our last cigarette.
Although all of my songs are personally important to me, of course, this one is particularly so for several reasons -
1 - Before writing this song, my grandmother (mommom) passed away, sadly. When I bought the baritone ukulele that I wrote this song on, I was reminded that my great Aunt, Aunt Judy (my mommom's sister), majored in "Hawaiian Guitar", though I never got to hear her play, unfortunately. Anyway, a couple weeks later, I went to nearby coffee shop that had an open mic to try it out. I told the audience that it was the first time I had played the uke live, as I had just bought it, and proceeded to play this song and a Death Cab For Cutie cover (I Will Follow You Into The Dark). A bit later, as I was leaving, there was an old lady sitting by herself in the dark, but dimly lit light on the patio of the coffee shop. She was speaking on a cellphone, but stopped to speak to me. She asked me how I got so good on the uke after only playing it for a couple weeks, which was quite a nice compliment (though probably undeserved!). She also told me that she was on the phone with her grandson and was trying to encourage him to come to this open mic to play his songs too. I told her that it was fun and that I would recommend that he comes to a future open mic, as well. We then said "goodbye" to each other and I went on my way. As I got to my car, it hit me that this nice old lady looked a lot like my mommom. It felt very strange. It felt as if she and my great aunt were looking down and communicating with me, even though I don't really believe in those sort of things....it was quite strange, but comforting.
2 - Before writing this song, someone I loved very much was hurting themselves with far too much smoking and alcohol. I was constantly trying to encourage this person to live a healthier lifestyle, but it was to no avail, which completely broke my heart. These lyrics are about choosing to be happy and healthy, which is something that is easy to say, but difficult to do.
3 - I recorded the song at Hello Telescope in Charleston, SC with Josh Kaler. I'm a fan of his band, Slow Runner, which is how I met him. He's a great producer and musician and I had a lot of fun there. At the time, he shared the studio with Jay Clifford, the lead singer of Jump, Little Children (I'm a HUGE fan) and I got to sing into the same mic as he does and pick up his guitars, so....I was geeking out a bit and it was fun.
4 - The cool artwork was done by Charlie Brand, the lead singer of another band that I'm a big fan of - The Miniature Tigers.
5. The live version of "Tug of War" was done at the famous Sun Studio in Memphis, TN where Elvis, Johnny Cash, and countless others recorded. In fact, I laid my guitar cases on the very desk that Elvis walked up to as a teen to record in that studio and later signed his record deal. I've played in that studio a couple times before (see the picture on the back of my "Life From Generation XS" cd) and each time was such an amazing experience. Matt Ross-Spang was the recording engineer. He couldn't have been nicer and he told me a very interesting story about Steve Jobs and Sun Studio.
Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy it!
Love,
Brett
So we're still alive after our hard times when we thought tomorrow would never come
But now tomorrow's here, so what should we do? What should we do?
CHORUS
Put down that cigarette and lay to rest all those demons that called us before because depression can be such a bore. This is our last cigarette.
So we're still alive when we thought we'd never, ever last so let's have another dance
And let's sing, let's sing another song while we can, while we can
CHORUS
There once was a time when a thought like this could make me sick, but I have found that nothing lasts, Nothing lasts, even those hard times that I thought would never, ever end, so let's breathe in fresh air.
This is our last cigarette.
credits
released June 12, 2012
Written by Brett Schieber. Produced by Josh Kaler.
On this Bandcamp page, you can purchase music from Brett Schieber, including his solo music, Arcanum (Brett & Tree), &
Prankster. You'll find a couple albums he produced for others, as well. Brett's music for Mark D. Pencil & Friends can also be found on Bandcamp by searching for that name. Thank you for your time, ears, & hearts!...more
Kishi Bashi channels the pain of a difficult year into his latest release, resulting in sumptuous songs tinged with heartbreak. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 15, 2016
