This is one of those songs that I wrote at 2 in the morning...I watched the movie Crazy Heart. In the movie, Jeff Bridges plays a washed up honky tonk singer. He is stuck playing in dive bars and bowling alleys...a far cry from the peak of his career as a super star. Everywhere the character Bad Blake travels, people just want to hear the hits. Like Ray Wylie Hubbard says, when you write a song, make sure you can sing it for the next 20 years. In the movie, the character battles with a song idea that almost haunts him - however every show he plays, people just want the biggies. The chorus is the crowd asking for more, but only if they know it cause "we want to sing along".
Its a battle that I am sure a lot of singers go through. I was at a commercial event the other day, and the guy says "I'd love to say play one of your tunes, but you gotta play something they know. Like Jonny Cash". I had 1 song to play. I played Folsom Prison, then I quickly changed the tuning of my guitar and played Blues Man...it was the essence of my song happening to me before my own eyes... Funny Stuff.
Anyways, this is one of my favorite tunes that I have written because it has a dual personality. I wrote it down tempo and slow, and my producer and good friend Adam Young came up with a cool up tempo version so that we can play it with the full band and really jam out. I was conflicted as I loved both versions...so I put them both on the record.
QB