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Fly in the Ointment, Pts. 1 & 2

by Waldo Picasso

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Don Bassey
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1.
Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 1 03:00
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Lyrics: It’s an ancient proposition: You can’t win for losing Ever since the world began People started making plans Working hard to try to see them through But in the end, they all got screwed Fly in the ointment And it’s stinkin’ up the joint Can’t conceal my disappointment There’s just no end to the bad news It’s the wisdom of the ages Premonition from the sages Whenever something right goes wrong It never seems to take too long Before the whole damn thing just goes to shit Just like the lyrics of this song Fly in the ointment And it’s stinkin’ up the joint Can’t conceal my disappointment There’s just no end to the bad news Say it! Fly in the ointment and I hope you understand The purge of the nations is upon the common man The whole situation is beyond your command A turn of events is going to do you in I said yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-huh, oh yeah
2.
Long Distance Runner 04:10 video
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Like a long-distance runner Back to the wind Not sure where you’re going but you know where you’ve been And when you go down You go down to the ground Like a long-distance runner Like a long-distance runner Out on your own Years going by like milestones And when you go down You go down to the ground Like a long-distance runner And if I had my way I’d be out there today Like a long-distance runner Like a long-distance runner The path never ends You just get up tomorrow and do it again And when you go down You go down to the ground Like a long-distance runner
3.
Hang Up the Broken Hearts 04:41
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We took to each other like sister and brother Then we seemed to fall into loving each other So, it's time to hang up our broken hearts And get together for a brand-new start Yeah All the trouble we've been through And I find myself loving you So, it's time to hang up our broken hearts Girl, I never told you how much I want to hold you (It's hard to hide a broken heart) Without really knowing my love for you was growing (It's hard to live with too) Now it's time to hang up our broken hearts And get together for a brand-new start Yeah All the trouble we've been through And I find myself loving you So, it's time to hang up our broken hearts Now it's time that we hang up our broken hearts And get together for a brand-new start Girl, I never told you how much I want to hold you Without really knowing my love for you was growing Picking up the pieces of a broken heart Putting them together, trying to make a start Trying to tell you girl just how I feel for you What else in the world can a poor boy do? There’s nowhere else on Earth I’d rather go I really don't want to be left alone Trying to tell you girl what I want to do I want to take you home and then I'll stay with you Hang up the broken hearts Hang up the broken hearts We're picking up the pieces of a broken heart Putting them together, trying to make a start Trying to tell you girl just how I feel for you What else in the world can a poor boy do? What can I do? Hang up the broken hearts Hang up the broken hearts We're picking up the pieces of a broken heart Nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-hey Nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-hey Nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-hey
4.
Broke Down in Chi-Town 03:49
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We met in an alley She wore lingerie It seemed some excitement might get in our way I never rubbed up beside such a bad kind of love Under cover of darkness She took the form of a widow-maker Too close to home I never rubbed up beside such a bad kind of love Bad Love, bad love It’s all around in Chi-Town It holds me down And turns me on myself You know, I broke down in Chi-Town Now I know Chicago Will always hold me down But still, it’s my hometown again
5.
Reaction Time 03:46
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You go to school to get a trade All your buddies think you’ve got it made But deep down inside you wonder if you made the grade You can’t cut out the voices in your head Your spirit’s alive but you’re better off dead than alive It’s reaction time It’s time to find some action in this city tonight There’s no alcoholic thrill Or multi-colored pill To ease the pain of having too much time to kill You can’t cut out the voices in your head Your spirit’s alive but you’re better off dead than alive It’s reaction time It’s time to find some action in this city tonight Hit the streets and run the lights Your destiny’s in sight Get away from all your problems in the city tonight You can’t cut out the voices in your head Your spirit’s alive but you’re better off dead than alive It’s reaction time It’s time to find some action in this city tonight It’s reaction time
6.
The Answer in Your Heart 03:21
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I want to know you, love you and hold you I look for the answer in your heart So, we’ll both know the reason why we are apart If you are thinking what I am hoping Then I’ll find the answer in your heart So, we’ll both know the reason why we are apart I acted thoughtlessly Convinced myself that I was free If only then I knew As I fell you flew Into the nearest passing wind I can’t believe the bad shape that my head was in And though I really hurt you so I still ask you gracelessly Do I see an answer in your heart? Give me your answer Even a gesture Give me a glance into your heart So, we’ll both know the reason why we are apart
7.
Full Speed Ahead 02:03
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You can’t slow down for me There’s too many places you’ve got to be And too much inside your head There’s no time to lose, you’re going full speed ahead Your phone’s ringing off the hook There’s no space in your appointment book Just throw it away instead There’s no time to lose, you’re going full speed ahead Are you misunderstood just ’cause life started treating you good? Take the alternative route You go in, you do it, and get out Forget what those cynics said ’Cause there’s no time to lose, you’re going full speed ahead You spin like a spinning top You can’t slow down if you never stop At least not until you’re dead There’s no time to lose, you’re going full speed ahead Are you misunderstood just ’cause life started treating you good? Take the alternative route You go in, you do it, and get out Forget what those cynics said ’Cause there’s no time to lose, you’re going full speed ahead
8.
Die Like a Hero 02:34
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You’re going to die like a hero Die like the hero you are You were a superstar Now you’re one of us How right you are to die like the hero you are You caved to temptation But prayed for salvation in the end No time to make amends You’re on your own without a friend You’ll die like the hero you are Get away You can’t get away Burned some lives and you earned some karma You can’t pray while there are debts yet to pay They’re all yours They won’t go away You’re going to die like a hero Die like the hero you are You can run but won’t get far You’ve got it coming How right you are to die like a hero Cave to temptation Die like the hero you are Make a pact with the devil then pray for salvation Die like the hero you are Laugh at the homeless Build a moat ’round your castle Die like the hero you are Starve all the hungry Binge on indulgence Die like the hero you are Just keep on smiling You’re still going to die Die like the hero that you are
9.
Showtime/Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 2 09:28
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SHOWTIME The party’s over It was sublime Now the lights all dim for showtime Affairs in order We paid some dues There’s only one thing left to lose Do you remember 1975? Just clueless vagabonds who barely survived Do you remember the soundtrack we played? Behind a worn four-piece at the back of the stage As we tried to keep ourselves alive For all our lives Now it’s showtime You won’t remember the day you die Or all the people left behind without saying goodbye Do you wonder what they’ll do the next day? They’ll just do it without you They’ll just live their own lives without you I think I get it All of mankind pulls back the curtain for showtime Heed the advice of the antitype when a song of death becomes an ode to life If it’s a riddle, we can’t comprehend Caught in the middle with no sight of the end An arcane issue, fundamental to life, is: What might be waiting on the other side? As we tried to keep ourselves alive For all our lives It’s showtime As we tried to keep ourselves alive For all our lives It’s showtime It’s my life, oh yeah Stay with me Stay with me I need somebody near me tonight It’s my life, oh yeah FLY IN THE OINTMENT, PT. 2 I’ve been up I’ve been down I’ve been twisted all around I’m not invincible I’m just a human, y’all I've been treated like less than a man I hope that some of you would understand I'm not an animal I'm just a human, y’all There's a fly in the ointment It’s a bitter disappointment You can’t possibly avoid it There’s just no end to the bad news I can laugh I can cry I can give up I can try It’s unpredictable I'm just a human, y’all I’ve said things I would finally regret Made big mistakes that I will never forget I'm not a criminal I'm just a human, y’all There's a fly in the ointment It’s a bitter disappointment You can’t possibly avoid it There’s just no end to the bad news I’ve been up I’ve been down I’ve been twisted all around I’m not invincible I’m just a human, y’all It’s not unusual It’s quite predictable I’m only human I’m just a human, y’all

about

Back when Waldo was better known as Andy (a.k.a. “me”), my job as a drummer typically led to gigs with bandleaders who feverishly defended songwriting royalties like nervous hens guarding eggs. I got the message, loud and clear: Honor the pecking order or else you might not get to peck at all. That didn’t stop me from writing songs, though.

Out of necessity, as well as a smidgeon of self-doubt, songwriting became an intermittent avocation I pursued only through the confluence of two conveniences: 1) when inspiration struck, and 2) when I had access to a piano. And those two commodities only occasionally found themselves in the same place at the same time. Looking back now, my output resembles more of a trickle than a torrent, measured by occasional bursts of productivity dotting long barren stretches. Nonetheless, as the years turned to decades, I accumulated a catalog of originals with no particular way to use them.

I was living in Nashville when the worldwide pandemic locked everybody in their homes. A year passed and, like everybody else, I was still quarantined and bored stiff by the suffocating monotony. Yet that very same crushing boredom led me to the realization that, for the first time in my life, I might finally have the time and resources to record some of the songs that had been rattling around in my cranium for so long. A pandemic project began to take shape.

But how would I pull it off?

Over the years, I’d gotten to know a neighbor named Ben who lives directly across the street from me. He obviously was a working musician. I frequently spotted him carrying guitar cases out to his car and jumping into waiting vans to head out of town with a band. It dawned on me that he might be able to suggest a nearby studio.

One day, in the summer of 2021, I caught up with him as he hauled garbage bins out to the street. I asked if he could recommend a studio close by. He said, “Sure. My house.” The commute couldn’t have been more convenient — about 20 steps from my front door. It was meant to be. We began working on these tracks about a week later.

Then one thing led to another, and before you knew it, this happened.

credits

released October 5, 2022

Andy Doerschuk: Vocals, keyboards, programming, Kat KTMP1

Ben Garrett: Guitars, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, vocals

Waldo: Drums on “Broke Down in Chi-Town”

Jeffrey “The Houseman” Clemens: Drums on “Long Distance Runner”

Joe Morin: Drums on “Hang Up the Broken Hearts”/“Reaction Time”/“Die Like a Hero”

Darrell Leonard: Trumpets, EWI, horn arrangement on “Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 1”

Paulie Cerra: Baritone sax solo on “Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 1”

Bob Doerschuk: Hammond solo on “Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 2”

Michael Ross: Guitar solo on “Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 2”

Peter Chase: Harp solo on “Fly in the Ointment, Pt. 2”

Jim Aikin: Cello on “Hang Up the Broken Hearts”

Peter Nicholas Hyrka: Violin on “Hang Up the Broken Hearts”

Gary Bergman: Wah-wah drone guitar on “Broke Down in Chi-Town”

Sandy Smolen & Linda Davis: Ba-ba-background vocals on “Full Speed Ahead”


Songs by Andy Doerschuk, Squid Kid Music/BMI

Produced by Ben Garrett with Andy Doerschuk at Le Bon Recorders, Nashville

Thanks to Rick Campbell for engineering Pete’s harp overdub

Cover design by Paul Haggard

Photos: alphaspirit.it (front cover) Rick Malkin (back cover)

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Waldo Picasso Nashville, Tennessee

Waldo Picasso is an alias used by Andy Doerschuk, who in real life played drums with Steppenwolf, Rick Derringer, Chet Atkins, The Pop, Debbie Davies, The Naughty Sweeties, Leslie West, Pat Travers, Brenton Wood, Billy Vera & the Beaters & The Kingsmen.

During his remaining waking hours he was also the founding editor of Drum!, Traps, Drums & Drumming, How to Play Drums & Bass Player magazines. ... more

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