The Last Day On Earth

Only the good go to Heaven.

(Such an ambiguous statement).

This song, The Last Day On Earth, was written on May 22nd, the day after the world was "supposed" to end (or something).

Though this song is not necessarily breaking any of my rules, it does celebrate rule-breakers and the creativity they produce in groups (and alone).

[I would have written the song on the 21st, and thus have submitted it on time, but I was extremely ill all day and was only able to begin working on this song on Sunday.]

I'm going to betray the magician's secret and explain some of the influences for this song, something I would normally not do, because I think it's interesting:

The Last Day On Earth - Marilyn Manson

Love and Hard Times - Paul Simon

The End - The Doors

mAke beLIEve (Zombie Robot Aliens Mix) - Capgras

The first song is obviously where I got the title from.  Taking titles directly from other songs and seeing how I would write a song with that name is something I quite like doing, and have done many times.  Who's to say only one song of each name can exist?

I recently read a Rolling Stone interview with Paul Simon and gained a large amount of respect for him as a musician, and then I learned that he had recently released a new album (So Beautiful or So What).  I happened to be at Starbucks buying a drink with a gift card my sister had given me for tutoring her (for finite math...ick) when I saw the cd in the little racks they use to sell music, so I bought it.  I have never heard a Paul Simon song before, and could only identify some Simon and Garfunkel songs from cultural memory.  This album opened my musical horizons quite a bit, and this song in particular (being about God making a visit to Earth, etc.) helped formulate the idea for The Last Day On Earth.

The End is a wonderful song.  For those who have never heard it, you should be rushing out right now to find it.  This song is about the end of the world, so The End would naturally be an inspiration for it.

And finally, the remix I did of mAke beLIEve was a huge influence on this song.  This is where the true "rule-breaking" comes in.  In making the remix, I broke several of my rules of writing music - mainly that I usually don't mix guitar/bass with synth sounds.  In writing The Last Day On Earth, I used several of the things I discovered while remixing mAke beLIEve (a remix I am extremely happy with) and also used a new song-writing technique, wherein I would record one or two lines of music with my guitar/bass/piano (i.e. my organic instruments) and then would interrupt (intentionally) my creative flow to go into Garageband and add synth accompaniment to that part.  This helped to create a very cool atmospheric and rhythmic effect (I used several different "steppers" - synthesizers that have a percussive feel due to their repeated staccato bursts) that I am very pleased with.

Due to time constraints, I was not able to make a video for this song (as I've said before, the videos are for convenience and lyrics), so I'll just provide a link to the song from myspace and the lyrics.

http://www.myspace.com/capgrasx13/music/songs/the-last-day-on-earth-82055185

The Last Day On Earth

This is the last day on earth

I know because they told me so

I hope the Lord can see my worth

I hope he says that I can go

I never took heed of their words

I just laughed at skies so black

I never saw the dying birds

And now I'm lying on my back

I came to the edge of town

I looked up as the sky fell down

He smiled and turned my frown

He made me wish that I'd been drowned

I walked up to the savior man

I asked him where to get in line

He looked at me and shook his head

He told me that this death was mine

[Only the good go to Heaven

Those who follow the rules

You never learned to count to seven

Never followed the fools

Only the good go to Heaven

We haven't got that much room

You never learned to count to seven

We are the hand that guides the loom]

He told me there was somewhere else for me

Deep beneath the sky

When he pointed to the fire

I didn't ask why

Hell was made for rule-breakers

The rebels and their kin

You'll feel much more at home down there

With all the filth and sin

[Only the good go to Heaven

Those who follow the rules

You never learned to count to seven

Never followed the fools

Only the good go to heaven

We haven't got that much room

You never learned to count to seven

We are the hand that guides the loom]

As I descended the stairs down to my new home

I looked up at the Lord and how large he had grown

Maybe I'm not good enough for the castle in the sky

But I'd rather be living than with those who wait to die

It's a party all day long

There are no fucking rules down here

Satan and his evil throng

Supply all the whiskey and beer

The Fire and Brimstone burning

Keep the music nice and hot

It may not be Heaven

But boring, it's not

As the fires burn down to the ground

We gather in a ring

All the demons and the sinners

We all start to sing:

[Only the good go to Heaven

Those who follow the rules

We never learned to count to seven

Never followed the fools

Only the living go to Hell

The ones with thinking minds

We think our home is swell

Thought it's all just lies]

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So what does this song have to do with breaking rules?

Obviously, there are references to rule breakers going to Hell in the lyrics, but this seems to be a preferable fate to going to the rule-followers' Heaven.  [Let it be noted that this is obviously not supposed to be religiously accurate, since it's based on the end of the world - which hasn't happened.  I'm not suggesting Hell is a place of partying and fun, but I wouldn't be the first if I am.]

This song arose because of some rule-breaking I did of my own.  This is the first song I've ever written that actually has "God" in it (I've written songs about vaguely religious topics but never actual religious figures...to my knowledge).  The only reason I used the sounds I used in this song is because I remixed mAke beLIEve, something I did in response to the comment that I should "mix up" my music.  So, this song is a culmination of everything that has been running through my head this week.

Also, time-wise, this song is breaking some rules that have been set by precedent so far for this album.  Just three seconds under ten minutes, it's nearly three times longer than both the song that precede it (RIP Bert and mAke beLIEve).  That being said, however, this is much more typical a length of song for me to write.