Thirteen - by Orange Peel

I’ve been away for a while. A month to be precise. This was not my intention. A combination of illness, technical meltdowns, more illness, the loss of my main source of income, and more illness has made it a challenging few weeks. I lost about a month’s worth of music that I hadn’t backed up on my old laptop when it finally decided to give up the ghost. I still hope to be able to retrieve these recordings, but in the meantime, I am relying on my archive and on new recordings to continue with the Demoitis project. Which brings me to ‘Thirteen’…

‘Thirteen’ is a ridiculous seven-and-a-half-minute epic that is essentially three songs in one (see you wait for a month, but then get a 3-for-1 deal). This song, which is from 2019, was going to be some kind of centre-piece or closing track on an Orange Peel album that I long ago ceased to be making.

The main line in this is a baritone ukulele, augmented by a ludicrous arrangement of guitars, synths, percussion (programmed) and what were going to be violins, cellos, piano, etc., if I ever got a chance to record it properly.

To be honest, I doubt if I will re-record this song, though it has its qualities. I imagine it would be difficult to remember all of the parts (not that I’ve tried). Believe it or not, I’ve actually played this song live a few times (minus the strange guitar/ukulele/synth wig out at the end). Perhaps I’ll work out a stripped-down arrangement of it for some future recording.

Right now, I am stripping things right back to basics and working on songs with the limitation of two guitars, one bass, and vocals. No, crazy arrangements. That said, I do like some of the guitar sounds on this recording, though it’s the bass guitar that takes a star turn in this one (perhaps a little overplayed).

All the mistakes and off-mic sounds are left in here, as this demo (like the others) was never meant for public consumption. You can even hear the click track at the end of the ukulele part. Also, what might sound like a mistake (or two) in the workout section towards the end was an intentional decision to throw in an irregular number of bars for a couple of rotations. I can’t remember why now.

Anyway, here are the lyrics…

All I want to do

is start my prime years again

Probably seems dumb to you

but that’s what I want to do.

“Regrets I’ve had a few…”

Fuck it, I’ll list them.

I always stood on the sidelines,

never really got involved.

Never learned to skateboard,

I just bought the clothes.

And those years when I was

completely out of my mind,

when I was thirteen,

when I was twenty-nine.

And those years in between

always overthinking everything

All those years in between

always overthinking everything.

Six weeks used to be a whole summer,

now it’s just a month and a half.

Time moves so fast

try to look forward

hindsight is just past.

Times I lied to seem smart.

Times I got caught pretending.

Like when I said I’d read Das Kapital

and moments later got found out.

And those two girls in that Berlin nightclub,

I should have gone back with them

instead of fighting in the street

with those drunk businessmen

Giving it the big’un again.

And those years in the desert

overthinking everything

All those years in the desert

always overthinking everything.

Six weeks used to be a whole summer

Now it’s just a month and a half

Time moves so fast

Try to look forward

Hindsight is just past.

We were spanning time

Don’t tell me

Don’t tell me.

I really don’t mind

Don’t tell me

Don’t tell me.

In another life

Don’t tell me

Don’t tell me.

You could have been mine

Don’t tell me.

—-

Thanks for bearing with me for the last few weeks. Hoping we’ll get the show back on the road from here.

JCV