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The Shirt
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A song being considered for the new CD.
singersongwriter fingerstyle guitar acoustic guitar songs fingerstyle guitar songs
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Triangular songs of unrequited lust on gatling-gun fingerstyle acoustic guitar...
Dave Keir picked up the guitar at a very early age - too early, in fact, to learn any extant songs or tunes so he became accustomed to picking out his own tunes from the very start. The habit become so deeply and irrevocably ingrained that even a concentrated effort to mend his ways during an interregum in the 80s and 90s had little effect - a relapse was always just around the corner. Dave's pedigree includes many years playing and recording in London and touring the UK and Europe before he retired from the professional scene in 1981 for family and personal reasons. But he always kept a finger on the pulse. And the songs just kept popping up. With the advent of project studios, Dave equipped himself accordingly for the purpose of recording the now substantial back catalogue of songs that had accrued during these years and also to record local musicians who happened by. One late example of these collaborations resulted in the release of a CD of fiddle tunes for some local musicians. Not suprisingly, this marked the beginning of the end of the hiatus. Dave's songs have been described as "quirky", "wry", "sly", "wiry", "muscular", "poignant", "scurrilous", "sleazy", "philosophical" (huh?), and "tuneful" - it depends on the song, he says (duh!). But always, they are "about" something. They range from being almost journalistic about his experiences to wild extrapolations from a single glance or passing smile. Tax worries and mountaineering play a big part in some of the songs - but a higher proportion yet appear to be about unrequited lust. Dave's guitar playing has been described at "gatling-gun", "complicated", "fast", "slow", "simple", "bright", "dark", "dense", "spare", "percussive", "songfull", (yes, I know - it depends on the song). It happens that he's a left-handed guy who plays guitar right-handed. There is no space here to muse on the net effect of that. As for so many independent artists, the coming of the internet has given Dave a new window of opportunity to reach an audience whom, some would say, may be called "niche", and difficult to reach by traditional means. All this has enabled the production release in 2006, of this CD, "Interim Reports", which has been thoroughly welcomed wherever it has been heard. Dave's public performances are, at the time of writing, limited in number and scale, however wherever he does play, the performances are enthusiastically received without exception. So he is now embarked upon a path of recording and issuing songs that are either freshly composed or have been accumulated through the years. However, nothing will get released on a CD that hasn't served time in front of an audience, so the recording and performing sides of the work are closely connected. Plans for the future are centred around not only playing regularly throughout the UK and Europe again, but also to open up new horizons by way of performances in the US. That's it. Thanks for taking the time to read these few lines and if you have been listening to a few of the songs from "Interim Reports", we hope you have enjoyed them!
Song Info
Charts
Peak #197
Peak in subgenre #32
Author
Dave Keir
Rights
Dave Keir
Uploaded
April 09, 2011
Track Files
MP3
MP3 4.8 MB 192 kbps 3:27
Story behind the song
Years ago when I was a folk-singer (ha!ha!, guffaw, oh-my-sides) I got hold of a banjo with the earnest attempt to learn to play the banjo. These days I’m not sure I can recall the imperitive to do so, but there we are; it’s a matter of historical fact. Nothing good came of it – and considering the sound I must of made I’m glad that many of the social behavioural laws we have now in the UK didn’t exist then otherwise I would no doubt have been in deep doo-doo. One tangential effect when I could tear myself away from my banjo was that I wasn’t skillfull enough not to transfer the technique I was trying to master to the guitar when I next picked it up, unless there was a pause in between of about two weeks. Rashly at one of these times, whithout carrying out a proper risk assessment, I tuned the guitar to a banjo tuning (the banjo itself recovering from my most recent exertions in another corner of the room) and picked away. The tune which underpins The Shirt is the result. I suspect it’s because the tune is so unfitting to a guitar that my audiences during these fevered evenings wanted to hear it again just to make sure such reckless practices were for real. Anyroad, for a while it became a bit of signature song in the way that a limp becomes the trademark of a one-eyed sailor. Anyhoo… It found its way onto my first LP (circa 1976) and only after being trawled around Europe for a few years was it quietly retired. Here it is again, though, freshly recorded but with a reprised verse omitted from the end. Just to get it over with sooner. Why record a 35 year old song again? I owe it something. It didn’t deserve to be slung in the corner in such an off-hand manner after it’s prime was past. Because many fond memories orbit around performances of The Shirt. Many fine people I got to meet because of these performances. And I consider these people my friends but I don’t hear from them now and I miss them.
Lyrics
There is no shirt upon my back That has not lost its’ style And I could buy a new shirt tomorrow And not be back for a while There is no tooth inside my head That will not soon decay And though I will sing and shout as I pull them out I’ll soon be on my way There are no clothes in my laundry bag That I could not throw out But I could buy some new clothes tomorrow Woman you’d better watch out I’m about to throw some out I’m going down to Union Street And in some trendy store I’m going to by me a brand new suit And I won’t be back no more
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