James Gordon’s new song is a lament for a broken music business
If you’re feeling melancholy about the state of the music business, here’s a little good news.
No, Spotify royalties have not shot up by 200 per cent.
No, we have not seen a proliferation of small restaurants paying scale.
No, it did not suddenly become socially unacceptable to not pay for music.
OK, maybe “good” news is overstating things.
But hats off to James Gordon all the same for writing this little anthem about the sorry state of the music biz because now, at least we can feel sorry for ourselves together.
I just had to feature it here today because it’s really rather sweet.
I even wrote out the lyrics for you.
Have a read and then check out the video below.
“Music was your Lover” – James Gordon
Raised on rock n’ roll,
Rhythm and Blues,
‘Twist and Shout’ and ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’
You learned your trade,
You paid your dues,
Music was your lover,
The road became your closest friend,
It nurtured you; it kept you fed,
You thought that it would never end,
Music was your lover,
When the road’s the only thing you’ve known,
It’s in your blood; it’s in your bones,
It’s hard to watch it falling apart,
Your guitar’s not going to pay the rent,
Unless you are the one per cent,
This broken business is going to break your heart,
Something happened along the way,
No one values what you do these days,
They want your songs but they don’t want to pay,
Music was your lover,
Expenses have doubled and the income’s half,
It’s so sad that you could laugh,
It’s a joke if you try to do the math,
Still music was your lover,
When the road’s the only thing you’ve known,
It’s in your blood, it’s in your bones,
It’s hard to watch it falling apart,
Your guitar’s not going to pay the rent,
Unless you are the one per cent,
This broken business is going to break your heart,
When the rental car makes more than you,
Gas and airfare, hotels too,
What are you supposed to do?
Music was your lover,
Still somehow you keep on trying,
It’s a hard sell when nobody’s buying,
It’s not a living, it’s more like a dying,
Is it time to leave your lover?
Maybe if you sold your gear,
You’d make it through another year,
But losing that life was not what you had planned for,
People still like to hear you play,
It doesn’t matter anyway,
You can’t take applause to your landlord,
So say goodbye to your beloved road,
You can stay home and get it as a free download,
Don McLean was right I suppose,
This was the day the music died
