And now for something completely different. This week, I am going to take a brief pause from sharing my sketches from Brian Eno’s School of Song course. Instead, I am going to share a song that I wrote over five years ago. The song is called ‘Idiot Son.’ I’m releasing it under the name of my project, Orange Peel.
These Orange Peel songs were recorded in collaboration with the producer Patrick James Fitzroy, who was a co-songwriter, guitarist, and producer in my previous band, Heavy Heart. I like to think of Orange Peel as the adventurous, nocturnal twin to my more introverted solo project (currently called James C Vincent, which also happens to be my name).
‘Idiot Son’ was recorded across several sessions and (due to the pandemic) over several years. The first session, which was to record the baritone tenor guitar and bass guitar, took place in London in March 2020, just a few days before much of the world went into lockdown due to the rapid spreading of the coronavirus. As we waited out the virus—Patrick in London and me in Barcelona—I wondered if the song would ever be finished. Thankfully for me, while I was worrying, Patrick was working. Over the ensuing months, he added the Cajon drums, synths, and later a wonderful free-flowing saxophone part, courtesy of Morgan Wallace.
We cut the vocals in June 2022 during Primavera Sound music festival in Barcelona, then spent the next 18 months tinkering on and off with the mixes, adding and subtracting overdubs. The track was mastered at Abbey Road by Christian Wright in October 2023. And now, finally, here it is.
And here are the lyrics:
Up till dawn
drinking Canada dry
Hangover
to last the rest of your life.
History repeats:
first time as a farce,
second time’s the same
but with fewer laughs.
Backwards speak
telling porky pies
lipstick on a pig
losing the will to die.
Turn around
thinking: Where’s the court jester?
Look at the throne
Oh, shit.
The idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son…
Someone on high said,
‘He’s the one.
He’s the one.
He’s the one.’
The devil is
in the lack of detail.
Away with words
and a skill for betrayal.
Double Dutch,
speaking Esperanto,
Pig Latin.
You’re mumbling like Marlon Brando.
But you’re not Marlon Brando.
You’re the idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
Etc.
It’s like the Midas Touch
but the opposite
everything he touches
turns into shit.
The ears of an ass
hear the strings of a lyre
drink the blood of an ox
climb on the funeral pyre.
Let’s all jump on the fire.
For the idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
of an idiot son
Etc.
Up till dawn
drinking Canada dry
Hangover
to last the rest of your life.
History repeats:
first time as a farce,
second time’s
the same.
‘Idiot Son’ is out this Friday. You can save the track here on everyone’s favourite/least favourite streaming service.
I’ll be back to my Brian Eno homework assignments next week.
Until then,
JCV
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