Said It Before

‘Said It Before’ is song #9 on the ‘Running Behind Time’ album. As with some of my other songs, there was originally no direct connection between the music and lyrics. I had separate ideas for both, and then brought them together into the same song.

Musically, I wanted the song to have a funky vibe. The bass guitar line drives the melody that gives the songs it’s hook line, with the ‘twangy’ rhythm guitar (played on a Fender Telecaster, as a lot of the guitar parts on the album were) overlayed in 16th note patterns on top.  

I played drums in a simple 4/4-time signature, usually with an open hi-hat after the end of each bar of 4. The purpose of the drum pattern is to hold a solid groove under the bass and rhythm guitar progressions.

There is a middle 8 section after the second verse & chorus, followed by a short guitar solo. I changed the drum pattern for the middle 8, and there are additional guitar fills in that section also. Thereafter, from the third verse & chorus through the fade-out, there are additional drum fills and guitar licks (some with other non-Fender guitars 😊) to additionally colour the musical landscape.

The lyrics were inspired by memories of a larger than life and much-loved work colleague from earlier in my career, who kept us amused with many great stories about his own exploits that were largely fictionalised, and became the subject matter for many laughs afterwards. Hence references to such as gold rings, motorcycles, trips to Dubai, long hair, etc… Statements were often prefixed with ‘I know I said it before, but….’, which later became a catch-phrase 😊

I developed these snippets and memories into the lyrical storyboard for the song, moulded around the musical structure.