Paul J Penton – Songwriter

Mr Perfect

She’s been chasin’ Mr Perfect
for almost all her life
love’s come and gone
been lost and won
she’s ain’t nobodies wife
her bio-bomb is tickin’,
she’s almost had her run
she knows she’d better find him soon
or it’s over and done

She’s always known precisely
what he needs to be
muscles lean and
tight blue jeans
smile by D & G
but all her aspirations have never been fulfilled
every bar stool disappointment
just left her with a chill

To get her dates she uses the best technology
she’s a heavy duty user on RSVP
she meets her dates by G.P.S.
and lets them go by S.M.S.
her love life’s is still a mess …….

she works out like a demon and
keeps herself in shape
kick boxing on a Tuesday night
Tai-bo on Thursday
This corporate life she’s livin’
don’t leave her too much time
for chasin’ men and wonderin’ when
he’s gonna arrive

I’ve watched on from the side lines
I’ve seen her highs and lows
heard the laughter watched her tears
worked through all her blues and fears
she meets her dates by G.P.S.
and lets them go by S.M.S.
but her love life is still a mess
and still there’s no….
Mr perfect
Mr Perfect

lead

She always wants to tell me
how bad each date has been
she calls me up at half past ten
saying that she’s over men
If she could drop that bar a notch
and live without the Rolex watch
It might be just what she wants
her
mr perfect
mr perfect
I’d be Mr Perfect

read comments (0)

Paul J Penton performing with the Fabulous Tesoriero Brothers at Open Studio Northcote – July 8 2009

read comments (0)

First lyric draft – hear the current draft here … http://pauljpenton.com/demos

Not exactly sure what I did next, but probably a bit of brainstorming- seeing if I could find connections etc- but certainly the ‘autumn mornings biting’ and the ’shadows stretching ’til noon’ idea wanted to come together. Here’s a first lyric draft… not quite in the order or structure I have arrived at. I note that the first section of verse1 one is longer than my final idea and the second part of verse one was not developed yet…..[as it was by the time I did the first demo] it was missing a third line to make the arrival at line four more pronounced. I also note I did not repeat the title line in line 3 of the chorus- these things were added for emphasis in later drafts..

the rough verse structure then is

A A A B
C C C B

Here’s my first post ‘kitchen table’ recording – I used a shuffle beat from Digidesign’s ’strike’ drum program to get the feel right….there are two acoustic guitars playing the same harmony on different positions on the guitar.

Perfect morning APril-09

Another perfect morning -April 09

Autumn mornings start to bite
have to pull those covers tight
it’s really been a chilly night
gotta bring you in even closer —–
it might be a nasty winter

shadows seem to stretch to noon
got to get to work real soon
but I – don’t want to leave you

it’s another perfect morning
for sitting on the verandah
watching all the world go by
thinking I don’t want to die
it don’t get better than this
another perfect morning

When you find new love again
and you can’t believe it’s happenin’
pinch your cheeks and poke your chin
to remind you tha it’s real

Some people search all their lives
for what we got I realise
we’re lucki-er than other guys
and this might last for-ever-
like the way it feels

CH

The sky is blue and the sea is green
and I’m getting high on brown caffeine
staring at a perfect scene
out of the window
- I don’t want o go

to another crazy office day
with telephones that buzz away
computer screens that turn to grey
because I can’t see you

CH

more soon…..

read comments (0)

The next dash of salty inspiration from the muse was when I had to get that first ‘extra’ doona/blanket/cover after the first night with a seasonal chill. Here’s my random train of thought:

Autumn mornings start to bite
have to pull those covers tight
bring you in even closer
it might be a nasty winter

Another perfect morning
for sitting on the verandah
tasting the colour of the morning

a jewelry box full of glitters and sparkles
hazy autumn mornings
dew is icing on the grass

Are you afraid of Ghosts?
Do you hear their voices
Like tyres on a wet road
Whispering past?

don’t want to boast
but I’ve suffered a lot
to get to the place where I am
to keep running at the pace I plan
is gonna take all my life
but some people search all their lives

read comments (0)

I recently had a song of mine -Another Perfect Morning  Critiqued at a seminar by none other than Mr Pat Pattison himself- generally he liked the song – as did the crowd – and made some suggestions for improvement-

I thought it would be interesting to document the initial inspirations and ideas and see how the final version [almost] has evolved.

Over the last year I have take to longish Sunday morning strolls around the neighbourhood and off in the bush too, usually armed with my mp3 recorder/player. So if I hear/see/smell something unusual I hit the record button and make a note- at the time the thing may seem almost inconsequential – but later they might ‘join together’ as was the case with this song…..

Just after we had changed the clocks from summertime I was riding to work at around 8.30 am. The day before it was of course 7.30 a.m- hence I noticed that the shadows were longer and that there were some damp patches on the ground. I stopped the bike and hit record and made some notes and observations:-

riding ’round the Botanical
golden light of mornings
seems to shine off buildings

Autumn rain,
mirror puddles in the park
all reflect the world right back
those golden hues of autumn

puddles on the ground
mirroring the world
Trees stripped bare
losing their autumn coat
autumn leaves reflecting the earth

the trees are losing their bloom,
colder days are coming soon
The sun is getting up so much later

mirror puddles in the park
all reflect teh world right back
those golden hues of autumn

shadows seem to stretch to noon
got to get to work real soon
computer screens growl
telephones buzz like angry mosquitos
and people come around
with impossible expectations

everybody I know
would rather not be working

I’ll pop up another installment tomorrow.

read comments (1)