Say

Say
Written and Recorded 2012

"Say" is a song that came a bit later in Of the North's time together. This song was very temperamental in performances, especially with tempo. A lot of these songs feel a bit incomplete, like they're just missing that extra step to go from pretty good to great. "Say" is one of my favorites from this batch of songs, but there's always been something not quite right about it. Reflecting on it now, I think that something that inhibited the full growth of these songs was jumping too quickly into a fixed instrumentation. In this song, the bass becomes the absolute backbone, but if you're missing the lead guitar line, it is also incomplete. Those were crutches to lean on at the time of inception, rather than crafting a song that can work in any instrumentation.  I've uploaded another demo version of the song that was given to the band.

• I've always loved the twang of a clean guitar with a little bit of delay on it. That was largely the inspiration for this song.
• I remember getting more into the Steep Canyon Rangers around this time. I think I tried to emulate their modern bluegrass stylings in this song, especially in my vocal delivery of the verses. My dad once said of the singer of the Rangers, that "he never sings the same line the same." What Dad meant was that the singer let the words dictate his inflection.
• Three part harmony is a really cool effect when done well. Even the most passive listener's ears will perk at the sound. With this song, I wanted to give the relatively forgettable chorus melody more weight by adding the other voices.
• These verses were very difficult for me to memorize. It wasn't necessarily that I didn't know the words, but if I swapped the order of the lyrics I was toast. So I had tried memorizing the first letter of each line, and luckily they are in alphabetical order: Deep inside, Lost and lonely, People see you, Take a moment. As a result of this problem, I've completely forgotten where these lyrics came from. They have become like flash cards.
• I really like the bridge build-up on this song. The chorus is surprisingly catchy, which I definitely attribute to the harmony and placement within the song. I usually don't lead off with choruses, but I'm glad I did here.