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The Stories Behind the Songs on Our New Single
Fri., Feb. 26. 2021 12:13am EST
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind both sides of our new single:
SHE GOT AWAY
The subject of this song is the accused adulterous in the eighth chapter of John's Gospel. We've sung about her before —way back in 1992 — remember "Rocky Day Woman #8 & 3-11" on our Rare Not Well Done downloads? "She Got Away," however, takes a much more serious approach.
ApX has released a number of Billy Joel parodies over the years, and I have lyrics for others in various stages of completion, but I had never considered "She's Got a Way" until October 10, 2020. Here's how it happened:
Rich Mannion and I were brainstorming to see if we could find a song to spoof that only had keyboards and vocals. Jimmy was in the midst of moving his studio, so we wanted something that didn't need drums. Rich suggested a ton of tunes by assorted artists, but this was the very first one he brought up, and the most feasible.
Once we decided to do it, my initial idea for a title was "We've Gotta Pray" — about the scary world we're living in today — but I wasn't getting too far with the lyrics. Then I thought of "She Got Away," which seemed like a stronger spoof. Even so, I went back and forth between the two for a very long time before making a final decision.
With that part settled, I knew it would be about the aforementioned adulteress, but I still had no idea where the rest of the song would take us. I was really amazed and pleased with the ending God provided. However, I don't want to spoil things for those of you who haven't heard it yet.
I finished the lyrics on January 22, 2021 — the first new parody I'd completed in over three months. Holy writer's block, Batman! But several others would follow soon after, including this one:
LEARNING LOVE
Jimmy and his wife, Eve, were the ones who suggested we do "Burning Love," back in February 2020, I think. They had Tom Milnes and a specific guitar they owned in mind. I've always liked that song, so I was game.
I got the title for "Learning Love" in June 2020 but wasn't sure what it would be about. I definitely didn't want to cover 1 Corinthians 13 again! Don't get me wrong; it's a great chapter. I was just hoping to discuss some part of the Bible we hadn't previously delved into.
So I put this parody on the back burner for a while to let things marinate. Months later, I got the opening line about feeling my temper rising, and that eventually led me to the topic of turning the other cheek.
Rich Mannion did a stellar job on the backing vocals. Those high-pitched "Hey!" parts at the end are him, too, and they crack me up. In addition to that, he also played the keyboards and some of the guitars.
This was the second spoof I finished writing in a week, after three months of nothing. The first was "She Got Away," so considering the topics of those two tunes, I found myself in the midst of a real forgiveness fest!
It didn't dawn on me until recently that we were releasing "Learning Love" just two singles after "Lonesome Leper." I'm sure it wouldn't have escaped Superman's notice, since he had to deal with Lex Luther, Lois Lane, and Lana Lang. Then again, there probably aren't too many things that escape the notice of a man with x-ray vision and telescopic vision.
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