Hound Dog, Sometimes a Lover

I think more about it now than I ever did when we met,
but I still won't call it regret
She named him Hound Dog, from the way he mopes,
his jaws on the floor, sniffin at the door, 
waiting for a feeling that's comin on the breeze as it blows

At the time the song was written, I had been dating my now-wife for four or five years. She owned/s a Basset Hound named Lucy who would howl every time I pulled into the driveway.  Lucy lived in her backyard and the only thing that kept her away from my car was an old wooden fence, I don't know how it lasted this long, that just about snapped in half every time she jumped against it. I never seen anyone so emotionally dependent and torn up by love than Lucy. She howled with sadness when we left on our dates, and howled with joy when I would bring her home. She lives every second like it would be her last, and isn't afraid to express how she feels about it. She is a dear soul, with a capacity for loyalty that we can all learn from. Her actions moved me. Her love made the story.

Had I known, when we started this, just where we'd land, how far we'd miss
well I still might be where I am, poor Hound Dog,
It's just the way it rolls...
He knew she was coming, he heard the engine running, and saw me bring her back
but it only hurts him more when she goes

One of my best sources on inspiration is a game where I try to imagine different scenarios happening to real people I know, and figuring out how I would feel about it. Like dreams, false stories of true people. Which make them real enough to me that I could believe it. If I lost a love...If I never found love...If I died... I get a lot of inspiration by playing this what if game. This one was about a love triangle. What if someone had the uncontrolled love of Lucy, but it was unrequited? What would they go through, how much it would hurt? That is the story of Hound Dog.

I want to say a little something about the music. Abe did a beautiful job on the chord arrangements. This is one of my favorite songs of ours. Has a total Burt Bacharach vibe, that I am mad about. The solo at the end, come on he nailed that. The bass line is also a blast to play. The whole thing is just a melody I can sing to. There have been a few moments where I listen back and say, did we just make that?...and Hound Dog is definitely one of them.

*

what the world needs now, more songwriters like Burt

The best stories have a hint of truth, or so I believe, because the true parts are what make it relatable. What I love about this song is how well it applies to other parts of my life. The girl character, the object of desire, doesn't need to be a person, it can be anything I want. Anything I am loving. Sometimes I am the other lover, sometimes I'm the Dog.

Lately I haven't been wanting for much. Just the usual: health, security, greater success for the band, immortality etc... all the things that seem to wax and wane their favors with me. Some days they seem so close I feel I am right there with them, some days leave me feeling like I am behind the gate. Wishing. Hoping they will come to me. It all seems so foolish from a distance. But when you really desire something you can't have, it is overwhelming, it is blinding, it is instinctual.

I think I've gotten better. I know desire=suffering, but it is almost impossible to not feel it. To not want. I can't eradicate the feeling. The best I can do, the best I can hope for... I'll always be human I'll always have my instincts to possess... is having awareness of my desires, and hopefully that can pull me off of the fence. Wake me up. Move me back to being happy with my moments.   

I thought about calling you

had my fingers against the numbers.

They knew where to go,

I didn't have to look.

Yesterday was filled by countless words

I needed to give. Countless thoughts

about where we could go, and so many adjectives,

but I gave it a day and a night.

As the call belled in my receiver,

I found it had all escaped me.

-rene

*house is not a home