In this episode, Seattle’s Ehren Ebbage shares the story behind his song, “Snakes.”

Almost all of my songs are written with at least one degree of separation; a real life experience inspires an idea but the names and dates are changed to protect identities, so to speak.

Snakes is one of the few that are totally unaltered reflections of my life. The song started to emerge during a particularly challenging period. I was touring non-stop with a band that was slowly but surely achieving some rather large goals, including a major label record deal. We were crackling with excitement and big success seemed to be just around the corner. For the first time in my life I was a full-time musician and I was rubbing elbows with big time industry folks. It was truly exciting.

As time went on and the novelty wore off I noticed a consistent, nagging feeling of profound unhappiness. I was lonely. My relationship was on the rocks. I was going deep into debt (a Google search will provide many details as to how bands who sign record deals usually go broke). I was spending most of every day in a van or hotel room. I was booking the national tours for the band so the few scattered days that I was home were spent working long hours to prepare for the next tour. The stated goal of the bandleader was huge success; he wanted to play stadiums and arenas and I was at odds both because of the improbability of the goal and the fact that I didn’t see myself being any happier if we did happen to become rock stars. I wanted to be a musician but I was playing music for no more than 45 minutes a day. After a long period of this I realized that the sacrifices I was making were much greater than the rewards. I quit the band.

The song is written in a general way. There are no lyrics about ‘…the road ain’t no place to start a family…’. It deals with the points in life when you find yourself torn between options; what you thought you wanted and what you obviously need. It deals with growing pains and the feelings of failure.

It took some nerve to pack up and hit the road with the band but it was ten times more difficult to quit. This song came as I sorted through the process.

Snakes

I can’t explain
I just need to do things my own way
Cause this heart of mine
pulls in two directions at the same time

Loneliness here it comes
it’s been so long since I’ve loved someone

It doesn’t really ever pass
it just waits around like a snake in tall grass
at every opportunity
I turn my back and it sneaks up on me

but it doesn’t bite
it just hisses and spits
so why should I be scared of it

I don’t like to show it
when I’m feeling beaten
but nobody goes their whole life undefeated

it’s a matter of confidence
it’s just something you find
cause you’re not born with it

I’m starting to understand
even my dad had to learn how to be a man

I see those signs
just as clear as they get
like red lights flashing right over my head

this is my challenge and I’ll try to meet it
but nobody goes their whole life undefeated

which of us is brave enough
to throw away their fears
mostly we just save them up like little souvenirs
we keep them wrapped up
with all the other stuff
at the back of the dresser drawer
maybe someday I’ll take them out and say
I don’t need these anymore

These holes I keep falling in
there’s nothing to do but climb back out again
I just need a little privacy
some place to think without everybody watching me

everyone goes through the same kinds of feelings and
happiness is really just how well you are dealing
you say I am strong and I’d like to believe it
but nobody goes their whole life undefeated

In this episode, Portland, Oregon’s The Dimes share the story behind their song, “Paul Kern Can’t Sleep.” (As told by lead singer, Johnny Clay.)

“Paul Kern Can’t Sleep” is the story of a WWI vet who was shot in the head in battle. Doctors were able to save him, but the bullet struck the part of the brain that controls sleep and he never slept again for the rest of his life. I read about Paul Kern in an old newspaper from the late 1920s, and at the time of the article he’d been awake for 15 years straight. In fact, the article was written about the fact that he couldn’t pay his tab at a local night club. It seems that he’d been spending his nights at the local bar, looking for someone to talk to since everyone else was asleep. There’s not much information about Paul Kern after that article, but hopefully he was able to get some shut eye.

The Dimes – Paul Kern Can’t Sleep from grammar school on Vimeo.

Paul Kern Can’t Sleep

The year was 1915,
when Regret won the Derby,
and the war was on…

They say it must have struck a vein,
the bullet lodged in his brain,
and he’ll never be the same

Paul Kern can’t sleep,
and he can’t afford his whiskey neat
Paul Kern can’t sleep a wink

The year, 1930,
and Paul made the dailies
for 15 years he’d been awake,
and it’s earned international fame

and by 1945, 30 years without shut eye,
if Paul was still alive then,
would fatigue have finally set in?

Paul Kern can’t sleep,
he can’t afford his whiskey neat,
and Paul Kern can’t sleep a wink

Paul Kern can’t sleep,
for 15 years he counted sheep,
and Paul Kern can’t sleep a wink

Words and Music by Johnny Clay
C, P HursterSongs (ASCAP)

The Dimes are playing a New Year’s Eve show at The Mission Theatre in Portland, Oregon. This show and the video above both feature appearances by sometimes-Dime Ehren Ebbage.

ehren ebbage (photo by dave getzschman)

Leona Laurie for MetroLyrics: I know that for a while you’ve been making a big effort to write songs with other people. When you are writing songs with someone else, what is the process like?
Ehren Ebbage: It’s really fun. The process is basically you show up, you spend 20 minutes kind of feeling shy and awkward about offering up any ideas. I mean songwriting is such a personal process that it sort of feels like someone is reading over your shoulder while you’re writing in your diary or something like that. And there’s also this element of wanting… I wrote a song with Priscilla Ahn, and I remember feeling like: “She’s really good, and I almost don’t want to offer any ideas, because I don’t want her to see how bad most of my ideas are.”

I think everybody kind of feels that way at first, where you say “Do you have any ideas to start with?” And they’re like “I don’t know I might” And then it gets really fun. You end up noodling around a little bit, and throwing out a few initial ideas, and eventually there’s an idea that both writers are excited about. Everybody writes a little differently. Everybody thinks a little differently.

LL: Who have you collaborated with to date that you really enjoyed?
EE: It was great writing with Priscilla. Joey Ryan, who is based in LA. He’s doing a Hotel Cafe residency this month, I think. Jay Nash… I wrote a bunch with Stacey Blue. I’ve written a bunch, and it’s all been really positive.

LL: Tell me where your songs have been used now.
EE: A song that I wrote with Michelle Vice-Maslin has been used on The Guiding Light a bunch, a song I wrote with Jay Nash was used on Army Wives, my tune “Land on You” was used on Eli Stone, and songs from my album Ten Cent Souvenir have been used in the Web series Wage Slaves.

LL: Tell me a little bit about your recent decision to start filming yourself playing your songs & putting the videos online.
EE: Well, I worked closely with a brilliant publicist for a while who encouraged me to do that, and… the truth is that somebody gave (my wife and me) a flip camera for a wedding present, and it records pretty high quality, and it’s easy to use. If I get distracted before a show, I can set it up somewhere without finding a tripod. The reason I finally got around to prioritizing (making these videos) is that the goal for me is to find the audience for what I want to do. My current status is mostly as a solo performer, and that’s not the way the record is. I just wanted to have stuff out in the world that represents what I do when I show up and play. Also, since I’m still not working on another record, it’s a way to get more mileage out of the material I have at this point.

ehren ebbage playing “earthquakes”