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The Stories Behind the Songs on Single #15
Fri., Aug. 19. 2022 1:29am EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our 15th single of 2022:
SOMEONE SHAVED MY LOCKS TONIGHT
I got the title for "Someone Shaved My Locks Tonight" on November 11, 2014, although I didn't do anything with the lyrics until June 7, 2022. However, God quickly made up for lost time.
On June 5, I started thinking about that parody and felt like its moment had finally come, so I texted Rich, Jimmy, and Tom Milnes. Each of them was very excited at the possibility of spoofing "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," which we all fondly remembered from our youth. Now the pressure was on me to come up with the rest of the words.
I spent the first half of June 7 in the studio with Jimmy, recording vocals for another song. Once I got home, I had to cut the grass, and while I was mowing, I got the lyrics for the first verse and part of the chorus for this one. I finally finished everything on July 1.
Rich and Tom M. had both agreed to do backing vocals, and Rich mapped out all the parts in advance and recorded the basic ones in his home studio. Then we had a massive recording session with Jimmy on July 20, during which I did the lead vocals and Rich and Tom M. did all of those stellar harmonies.
Of course, by then Rich had already done the keyboards, too, and Jimmy had done the drums. Meanwhile, Tom Tincha had provided the guitars and George Elliott the bass. I really like the way the somber tone of Elton's original matches the state of Samson's life at the time, even though Elton was celebrating his newfound freedom and Samson was lamenting his sudden imprisonment.
GOD AND I KNOW
The first line of this parody is certainly true for me ... and reminiscent of David's words in Psalm 124:1-5. The next two lines —"Where did we come from? Where we will we go?" — are the big eternal questions, aren't they? God knows the answers. And so does anybody who reads His Word and trusts in His Son.
I first became aware of "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex when the video came on TV at some place I was visiting sometime between 1995 and 2000. I couldn't tell exactly what the singers were saying (nothing really bad, actually), but the tune stuck in mind.
I had no idea how popular the song had become till years later when I started hearing it played at sporting events and getting a huge crowd reaction. I eventually bought the digital version. My kids liked it so much I had to start writing parody lyrics to preserve my sanity during repeated plays. A similar thing happened to me in 2014 with "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" by Herman's Hermits.
Anyway, I got the chorus for "God and I Know" in April 2019 and the verses in July 2022. I knew my second daughter, Heather, would do a great job on the vocals, because she loved the original and had a voice that could hit the notes.
When I first asked Rich about playing it, early in his tenure with ApX, he wasn't sure he'd be able to get all the sounds right. By 2022, the guy had become so adept at electronic-instrumentation replication that he gladly accepted the challenge. In fact, he even did all the hootin' and hollerin' in the backing vocals.
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