Disclaimer: For legal reasons… This song is about a fictional character.
The above audio file is a recent attempt at recording my original song Parasite using the microphone on my Mac-book Pro as an experiment for the guitar recordings. The vocals were captured with a Shure SM58. I added a synth pad and doubled up the vocals to add a bit of depth to it but other than that it is just guitar and vocals that were slightly equalised and bussed through a reverb channel.
I wrote this song over a year ago and have been bouncing it around ever since. I initially made a rough demo with guitar and vocal recordings captured on my phone’s voice note app. The guitar recordings were fuzzy and I hadn’t bothered to tidy up the 8 bar verse loop so there is a ‘clip’ noise when it cycles. The vocals were also rough and pitchy so I auto-tuned them for the purposes of this ‘proof of concept’ demo. I was only planning to share it with friends and fellow musicians for the purposes of getting creative feedback.
But it ended up having a special place in my heart as every subsequent time I have tried to record this song I haven’t been able to capture the essence of that original demo. I have recorded much better guitar and vocal takes from a performance and technical standpoint and spent hours and hours trying to recapture whatever it was that made the demo so special to me, but I can’t seem to do it. I even took the original DAW project and systematically replaced the individual parts with the improved versions and it still sounded off. Whatever magic happened initially, it is now illusive. Maybe I just cared more. Felt it more in that version. I’ll include that original demo below so you can judge for yourself.
‘Parasite’ (2023 demo)
Because the source of its inspiration is still raw and has a profound effect on me, I have performed this song only twice live. Once as part of my final performance at university (for which I have on video and may upload on here in the future) and once at a songwriter’s community project in my hometown where heavier subject matter is welcome as it is a night all about artistic expression. Both times I barely made it through without my voice cracking and the glint of a tear welling up in my eye.
So I don’t really perform this song as a rule. It doesn't really fit into my family friendly acoustic set and the general attendee to a gig just wants to hear songs they know and like and doesn’t care to be confronted with overtly negative emotions like resentment and anger. If one is going to break out an original song at one of those gigs, it had better be really happy, really catchy or really pretty. Most ‘normies’ have absolutely zero interest in hearing depressing songs at all. That’s where ‘artsy fartsy’ community art projects and Substack come in handy.
I hope you like it. As I say with all my demos, one day I’ll record this song properly. When I have a few hundred paid Substack subscribers and can afford studio time or professional standard equipment, that is.
Again, for legal reasons, this song is about a fictitious character. I don’t want to get sued for defamation, slander or (of course) libel now as this is in print.
Thanks for listening
Pete Brennan (Music) AKA The Common Centrist
Parasite (Lyrics)
Parasite
Enjoy your money while it lasts
Won't fit through the eye of a needle
Or buy a second back
No more fight
The black widow work is done
The battle is finally over
Your war is won
You knew your part
And forty years you played the game
You won’t work another day
In your life again
Parasite
You bet it all and won the fight
Now the last drop of blood is gone
But how do you sleep at night
Parasite, Oh Parasite
Now you're all alone
There's noone there to hold you now
Just an empty home
Parasite, Oh Parasite
Now you're all alone
There’s no one left to love you now
And no one calls you mom
Parasite
You say faith has made you strong
But what kind of God would forgive you...
For everything you've done
Enjoy your time
Your golden years you'll spend alone
Your kids don’t even have your number
Saved on their phones
What you said to your daughter
Can't bring myself to say out loud
But now she’s far away from you
And you can’t hurt her now
Parasite
The only question that still remains
Did you give him his pills that night
Or pour them down the drain
(Chorus)
'Parasite'