[link to original on tumblr]
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I learned the guitar riff for this maybe six or seven years ago (I'll admit I lookt it up on the internet because I couldn't figure it out myself) although it wasn't until a few years after learning how to play it that I actually could play it because (the way I do it at least) it's played with a pick and extra fingers and I learned that skill only about three years ago. The bass part either follows that guitar riff or is roots and fifths. The tambourine part… that's an-other story. I hadn't really noticed until recording this that there even is a tambourine part, and I figured, "I have a tambourine; I should be able to play that." It was the hardest part, and not just because I'm an inexperienced tambourine player. Sometimes it plays on the downbeat; sometimes it's the second beat. It's difficult to keep straight.
I attempted the vocals too (I double-tracked them because I can't not double-track vocals, but I don't think they're double-tracked on the original record). I recorded only about the first minute, so I knew I didn't have to do the "da da da da da…" part in the middle (which I don't think my voice would suit). I didn't do the backing vocals (notably the "Train" line) for the simple reason that I can't sing that high. I hadn't realized this until singing it either (actually, I figured it out later, but I became curious while singing it), but the "home" in "And I don't know if I'm ever comin' home" is sung to a G note. The song is in G major, so that G note is the tonic or "home" note. The "home" in the lyrics corresponds to the "home" in the music. The guitar and bass both play G notes there too; it's the note the riff begins on. I also hadn't realized that "again" is pronounced the British way so that it rhymes with "train" (which I neglected to do).
