Sneeze in the Dark
Strange song title you say? Well, yes, it certainly is strange : ) To me, a sneeze in the dark is never as satisfying as a “daylight” sneeze. I feel it is rather anti-climactic in its nature, or a wasted effort of sorts.
I started to think of situations where a person is left feeling that they expended a lot of effort, but that nothing much came of it, that it was in effect, a wasted effort, similar to that sneeze in the dark.
From that I formed my song lyrics, threw in a really quirky bridge (connects the main body of the song to the last part of the song) and a solo for good measure (no pun intended... “measure” is a musical term). What I think results, is a fun, somewhat philosophical romp through something that I’m sure we have all experienced at least a few times in our lives.
I hope you enjoy it!
A Sneeze in the Dark :
Music & Lyrics by Daphne Kalfon © 2005
missed my bus again
had to call a cab this morning
can’t be late for work
I’ve already had two warnings
feeling less than well
I really look like hell
I’ve got to hang on one more day
but just as I arrive
I realize I’m off today
it’s like a sneeze in the dark
feels like a sneeze in the dark
it’s like a sneeze in the dark
feels like a sneeze in the dark
lost my keys again
had to break my kitchen window
I have a date tonight
I really shouldn’t go
sweep the broken glass
I’ll put it in the past
I’ve been through so much worse before
I go around the back
and find the keys still in the door
it’s like a sneeze in the dark
feels like a sneeze in the dark
it’s like a sneeze in the dark
feels like a sneeze in the dark
I know these aren’t life threatening situations
but they are still very upsetting, wouldn’t you
agree
and I just have to wonder, would do they keep
happening to me?
life feels like it’s just a giant boardgame
and depending on your moves
sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose
chorus
No Feet
Common expressions can really inspire songwriters, and this one was the result of that inspiration. It also tells a little story along the way, creating a fun rockin’ song. I would love to hear a cover of this one!
No Feet : Music & Lyrics by Daphne Kalfon © 2004
got a girlfriend, uh-huh
she’s so lovely, so fine
then one day she calls to tell me
she’s met somebody else
she said she’s really really sorry
and she said, she said,
she’d really like to still be
yeah she really wants to still be
that she’d really like to still be friends
yeah yeah yeah yeah
I once had the blues
cuz I didn’t have no shoes
not a single pair!
I once had the blues
cuz I didn’t have no shoes
‘til I met a man on the street
who didn’t have no feet
got a new car, uh-huh
she’s a beauty, a real good find
then one day they call to tell me
it belongs to somebody else
they said they’re really really sorry
and they said, they said,
you really should have checked it
yes I really should have checked it out
I should have checked its history
yeah yeah yeah yeah
I once had the blues
cuz I didn’t have no shoes
not a single pair!
I once had the blues
cuz I didn’t have no shoes
‘til I met a man on the street
who didn’t have no feet
Dissatisfied
At the time I wrote this song, I was a TAXI member (an A & R company) and one of the listings was looking for an Alanis Morissette style song. After studying her musical stylings, this is what I wrote for that listing. Many thanks to James Bouchard for playing live guitar and drums (using Drums on Demand) and also for his remixing work on this song.
Dissatisfied: Music & Lyrics by Daphne Kalfon ©
2004
I feel, alone, living in my little hell
why can’t, I just, be like everybody else
my life, my world, is no more than an empty shell
I spend, my time, trying to ignore myself
I just can’t seem to love
who it is I really am
I keep running away
the grass was always greener, on the other side
I always felt dissatisfied
the grass was always greener, on the other side
my anger was so justified
I thought, I knew, everything there was to know
I’d feel your voice, talking on the telephone
you played so well, never did you let it show
your wounded soul, bleeding from so long ago
I just wanted to see
what was easy to believe
life was slipping away
the grass was always greener, on the other side
I always felt dissatisfied
the grass was always greener, on the other side
my anger was so justified
restless questions
tearing at the edges of my mind
shadowed answers
only make me want to cry
and I ask why, I can ask why
the grass was always greener, on the other side
I always felt dissatisfied
the grass was always greener, on the other side
my anger was so justified
Not My Fault
As I’ve said before, everyone has to have at least one angst-ridden song, and here is my installment! Thank you to Bryan Baker for playing live drums and for his remixing work on this song.
Not My Fault : Music
& Lyrics by Daphne Kalfon © 2004
it’s not my fault
that you drink too much
not my fault
that your childhood was a life insane
such a source of pain, and despair
no it’s not my fault
starts out fun and games
soft sweet exchange of names (I’ve needed loving
for so long)
good bye sweet caress
the sweetness turned to bitterness
the bitterness to misery
and all that I can think of next
is how to end this toxic mess
my spirit’s in distress
it’s not my fault
that you drink too much
not my fault
that your childhood was a life insane
such a source of pain, and despair
no it’s not my fault
no it’s not my fault
deep, dark, drunken night
come, home, you turn on the light (look in the
mirror look at you)
you hate what you see
you don’t know who you wanna be
don’t recognize yourself at all
you wanna take it out on me
but baby we are history
fate has set me free
it’s not my fault
that you drink too much
not my fault
that your childhood was a life insane
such a source of pain, and despair
no it’s not my fault
it’s not my fault
that you hate yourself
not my fault
that your mind is such a wasted place
such a wretched space beyond repair
no it’s not my fault
chorus
no it’s not my fault
no it’s not my fault
no, no it’s not my fault
no it’s not my fault