Gerry Coogan songs
This track is a real favourite of mine because of the emotional involvement for me. The day after I buried my father, I drove down to Kyle's house for a scheduled writing session. My dad died on January 1st, which makes people feel awkward when they ask you later if you had a good New Year, but he lasted just long enough to hear the football final score (a 3-2 away win against Hearts) so we agreed that all's well that ends well.
Kyle started the song off, playing with the phrase "Everything I Need" and we settled on a rhythm. For a while we experimented with a fake Paul Simon Graceland guitar part but then moved away from that idea. The part survives as the short solo after the first chorus.
Because my dad was still uppermost in my thoughts, I incorporated some of the things he used to say into the lyrics. "You only work to live, you don't live to work," was one of his favourite ways of encouraging me to take it easy. Another preferred proverb was "You'll make things difficult for yourself if you stand in your own light." So it was nice to be able to fit these aphorisms into a song about counting your blessings and appreciating every moment of the gift of life.
Kyle did the bass, drums and rhythm guitars and I sang the lead, played the keyboards and extra guitars.
We wrote "Every Road" a few days later and tend to think of these two songs as twins - the "Every Brothers."
JahLove; ~GerryMATW
(Words and Music by Gerry Coogan and Kyle Robertson)
I used to stand in my own light,
Dwell in my shadow
Fooling myself
and nobody else
Always being right
Then came a woman holding the key,
Taught me a lesson,
She opened me up,
brought me to love
Made me feel free.
So I'll always be grateful
for the thing she said to me -
I got everything I need right here.
So value Jah love, cherish your time,
Share it with someone.
Your threescore and ten
won't come again,
Bear this in mind.
To get what you want, what would you give?
Would it be worth it
to trade in your soul,
lose sight of your goal
And your reason to live?
No, I'll always be grateful
for the things she said to me
I got everything I need right here
So every man gotta pay his way
He gotta work so he can live.
But you don't live to work
Or work so hard you got nothing left to give
So I'll always be grateful
For the words she said to me
I got everything I need right here.
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*17 Feb 07 - reached #1 on SongRamp Favourites Chart *
We thank you!
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