State of Mind

State of Mind is track no. 6 on the ‘Running Behind Time’ album. The lyrics tell a story of a whirlwind sequence of two scenarios in a marriage, running completely opposite to each other. The story was based on real events related to an acquaintance of mine, at the time I wrote the song.

In verse #1, the couple is taken by surprise by an unexpected pregnancy, and start planning a new direction in their relationship, with a new set of responsibilities and feelings.

In verse #2, events turn drastically in a completely different direction not long after the addition of the new family member. In an underlying current of post-natal depression, and challenges in their relationship within their new circumstances, the mother leaves the family home, taking the infant with her. The husband is left shellshocked, trying to come to terms with everything that happened.

In the chorus following each verse and bridge, the lyrical theme is that in general in life, the things we expect and plan for don’t always happen, or happen much later in our lives than we expect, and in different ways. And in place of them we get lots of surprises that we didn’t plan for, and that we have to deal with. In this respect, I was drawing on many of my own experiences.

Although the song has an up-tempo rhythm pattern played in a straight 4/4 time signature, I wanted the musical mood to fit with the lyrical theme.

In particular, I was looking for a ‘twangy’, early rock & roll guitar sound, with very little effects on top, apart from lots of reverb. Along with the studio engineer, we also settled on a Hammond organ sound that almost summons up a church organ type of vibe.

The combination of this guitar and organ sound, helped create a desolate, barren soundscape, which I felt really matched the mood of the lyrical theme.