Exit Wounds
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Lyrics - Exit Wounds - Pal Sheldon
Well you took positon on the balcony
and any man around could see you were beautiful
from your head down to your boots
And Like any seasoned soldier,
when taken by the enemy
I layed down my gun and called a truce
Well you told me of your battles
the men you'd spent like cattle
on the road to your present attitude
And I offered my best salvation
through the months of conversation
and tried to heal your exit wounds
Just one touch from your lips
was the only sin I wished for
Still you shot me with a bullet
and there was nothing I could do with it
but to hold it in my heart a moment or two.
But it wasn't long before it left
a hole the size of Brunswick West
now I'm bleeding from these exit wounds
So if you can hear me screaming
from the night watch while you're dreaming
Then compassion is the gift I ask from you.
And I wont take up my weapon
Because revenge is not an option
when you're bleeding from exit wounds.
Download the lyric and chords to the song on a pdf here,
Story
This song the title track Exit Wounds had an interesting way of coming about. First I was driving to Adelaide to do the beds. As I drove I was thinking about leaving Australia and moving to Nashville in a few months time. There were many exits on the freeway and the song title came to me in one of those solitude moments that happen so often on long drives. So as I drove down that hill to Adelaide all I had was a title.
After a day or so I had coffee in Glenelg with an old friend Le Roy, as I drove a melody percolated up into my head no lyrics just this little melody. I went back to the studio and sat down at that 10 ft grand and worked out the chords, it was Exit Wounds, but I still had no idea what the song was about.
After the recording and saying goodbye to all those people I knew in Adelaide, I drove to Melbourne, an 8 hour drive. I had a few people to see. One was a freind overcoming cancer, another was a composer just starting out. As I drove back to Sydney with the weight of leaving and all those emotions from all the people I'd said goodbye to on the trip, I felt I had lost something very dear to me. So the lyrics slowley came on the drive home and consolidated over the next few weeks.
The song is a personal one for sure, but it also has a universal feeling and message around it.
The Recording
The interesting thing about this last song on the EP is that it did not want to be restricted by a metronome. I tried a few times and it was always wooden. So the version on the record is first a free guitar, then a vocal. The piano player and upright bassists were a little troubled at first but they soon realized the organic nature of the timing was something that could be felt. I like the way it pushes and pulls and upright and piano solos work nicely together. At the end you hear those sweet harmonies from Zelda, sending you off into the future.
Personnel
Jimmy Sullivan - Upright Bass
David Le Grande - Piano
Zelda Sheldon - Backing Vocals
Pal Sheldon - Vocals, Guitar