Let Me Go came about, conceptually, as a song about being trapped by a past betrayal, loosely based on events in my own life.
It grew out of Phil playing a funky rhythm with some staccato triplet hits while I found a melody.
This turned out somehow sounding like that feeling when you wake up with a hangover after a night of binging, so we followed that thread and played around with it, thinking of the singer as hitting rock bottom.
Lyrics came easy once we decided that it should build up to a high point but not quite break, matching the singer whom never quite manages to get free.
In studio I added a really weird, invasive kalimba melody that you can still hear some of on the final recording.
It was way too much, but sometimes my creative style is to throw a bunch of shit at the wall and see what sticks.
The muted guitar sets the perfect tone on a special song for me because it and the title match everything exactly the way I'm feeling.
This is the final song on the album and it's a bittersweet moment.
I've been building this project for years, starting with a best friend, through weed smoking sessions in the garage, through playing live shows, through campfires at Kenhaven, through first experiences in a studio environment, through a complete mental breakdown, through mountains and chasms of emotion, and it's finally complete.
The past, my brain, the album, the songs, and my friend are all screaming it at me.
Let Me Go
lyrics
Sittin' here wonderin' where the hell I am.
The clock on that floor says its four A.M..
I gotta get out, I gotta get out.
Hand on my head all soaked in sweat.
The look of my face says I should be dead.
It's time to wake up, oh, it's time to get out.
Let me go, I'm down on my knees.
Let me go, before it's too late.
Let me go, I can't take it anymore.
Let me go, before I break.
Sittin' here wonderin' what the fuck I did
To have my love ripped out and your pain shoved in from betrayal.
Your bitter betrayal.
Screaming at the light from the dark within,
Fighting through a life I've been forced to live in so much sadness.
Ooh, I'm in a shell of madness.
Let me go, I'm down on my knees.
Let me go, before it's too late.
Let me go, I can't take it anymore.
Let me go, before I break.
Sittin' here wonderin' who in the hell I am.
A broken down soul, an empty man.
You took my self out.
Yeah, you took my self out.
It's been a long, hard road, but I'm coming back.
You sent me on a trip but I jumped the track and found a way out.
Ooh, I found a way out.
I'm sick and I'm tired of living your sin.
Nothing left to say, nothing left to give.
I'm gonna take back me and give it all I've got.
Rip out your hooks and fire one last shot.
One. Last. Shot.
Let me go, I'm clutching my knees.
Let me go, It can't be too late.
Let me go, you can't have me anymore.
You can't have me anymore.
No, you can't have me anymore.
Let me go, I'm up off my knees.
Let me go, it's never too late.
Let me go, you can't have me anymore.
You let me go, and I'll never break.
I'll never break.
I'll never break.
No, I'll never break.
credits
from Let Me Go,
released March 19, 2024
Written by Jean-Pierre Larda & Phil Short
Vocals/Percussion - Jean-Pierre K. Larda
Drums - Aaron Spink
Guitars - Sean Roberts
Bass - Alex Paris
Produced by Jean-Pierre K. Larda
Recorded at Artist Development Studio, Courtice
Engineered and mixed by Alex Paris
Mastered by John MacLeod at Sweet Daddy Sound, Ajax
Rising Philadelphia band balance oversized pop punk hooks with vivid, intimate lyrics, presenting a raw, honest vision of guitar music. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2022
