Battle of the Bands ~ Workin' Man Blues

Battle of the Bands is, once again, colliding with my Soundtrack posts. Yep, I'm doing those again. Here is a quick list of other people participating in The Soundtrack Of My Life:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Cherdo on the Flipside 

Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

THE DOGLADY'S DEN 

Mean Who You Are

Wrote By Rote


If you decide, at any time, you want to start posting these on your blog, let me know, and I'll add you to the list.

First, the story.

If you will remember (really reach into those memory banks), the previous summer I sold books door-to-door in Colorado. Well, I knew I didn't want to do that again. But, I needed to make enough money over the summer to cover my school expenses (mostly) for the year. I also worked a very part-time during all four school years.

Anyway, one of my friends who was native to the area suggested I get work in Saugatuck. That was about a 40 minute drive for me, but it was a small "resortish" area on the lake. One of the restaurants was actually a three in one business. There was a really nice restaurant, a bar, and a diner that only served breakfast and lunch. Since I had zero waitstaff experience I ended up working in both the bar and the diner.

OMG.

I know that doesn't sound bad, but it was. On the weekends it was terrible. I'd work until close in the bar and then have to be there before open in the diner.

This girl needs her sleep. This girl also discovered that she didn't have a clue what it was like to be on her feet all night in a bar and then have to hoof it again all morning into mid-afternoon, go home a couple of hours, and then do it all again. Every weekend.

We lived off campus, and I moved three times in that house. That summer my room was in the basement. I remember one morning crawling up the stairs because my feet hurt so badly. Plus, I got to the point I was sleeping on the floor and putting my feet on my bed to elevate them.

Let's just say that a couple weeks into this job I was rethinking it. I really should've sold the books again door-to-door.

If the story tells you anything, be generous to your waitstaff the next time you eat out. That job is ROUGH.


Now, the song.

I really wanted a song about working. Well, there is no song that sings the blues of working like Workin' Man Blues. Of course, I wasn't drinking any beer in the tavern. All I was doing was serving it! There is no way I'm using the original by Merle Haggard. That wouldn't end well. So, I went looking on YouTube. Turns out several groups have done this song live as tribute to Merle. None of those were best in my opinion, though. Although there was one that cracked me up. For anyone who enjoys watching the audience, I can send it to you.

Feel free to watch the video in both of these. You can tell in both of them that they're really having fun. That makes them a joy to watch.

First up is a collaboration. Diamond Rio, Steve Warnier, and Lee Roy Parnell got together to pay tribute to Merle. Not sure what to call this... RioWP?



Next up is Craig Wayne Boyd:


Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

• Far Away Series 
• Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• DiscConnected (temporarily disconnected from BoTB)
• This Belle Rocks
• Mike's Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• Book Lover
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands 
• Cherdo on the Flipside 
• Angels Bark 
• THE DOGLADY'S DEN 
• Jingle Jangle Jungle 
• WOMEN: We Shall Overcome 
• NovelBrews
• J.A. Scott
• Quiet Laughter
• Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

Soundtrack of My Life ~ Why Don't You Like Me?

Many of you had LOTS to say about J1 in the last Battle/Soundtrack post. And you were all right. And all wrong. Dontcha hate it when that happens?!?!

You were right in the fact that I should've told him how I felt. If he didn't care, I should've told him adios and farewell. But, I didn't. And that is the part of the story we should all take away here. This is MY soundtrack. J1 is merely a supporting player.

Even though he "treated me mean and treated me cruel," I still loved him. And wanted to see him. And looked forward to the day when I'd see him again.

Those days didn't come as often as I wanted. I do remember him driving to see me after the Christmas break and once more a few months later.

The thing was it was always fantastic when he was there. It always felt horrible after he left. And worse yet when he stayed gone.

For anyone who's been in a relationship where you feel way more invested than the other person.... well, chances are you're way more invested than the other person.

I think J1 was completely overwhelmed by his life. His family. Trying to please his dad. And he cared about me, but not enough to really make me a priority. However, whenever he came around I dropped everything.

Yeah, it wasn't healthy.

There was never an official Break Up. But, after that second visit things changed. I got tired of the unreturned phone calls or the calls that were supposed to come that didn't. I got tired of always coming in last. So, we never officially said "this is it," but I stopped going out of my way to try and make him notice me. Not saying that it didn't hurt or that I stopped loving him (because that would've been way too healthy!), but I stopped initiating. And when that happened, he disappeared off my grid... until he didn't. But, that's another blog bit.




WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ME WITHOUT MAKING ME TRY?

I TRIED TO BE LIKE GRACE KELLY
BUT ALL HER LOOKS WERE TOO SAD
SO I TRY A LITTLE FREDDIE
I'VE GONE IDENTITY MAD!


I COULD BE BROWN
I COULD BE BLUE
I COULD BE VIOLET SKY
I COULD BE HURTFUL
I COULD BE PURPLE
I COULD BE ANYTHING YOU LIKE
 
WHY DON'T YOU LIKE LIKE ME?
WHY DON'T YOU WALK OUT THE DOOR!
 
WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ME?
WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ME?
WHY DON'T YOU LIKE YOURSELF?

BUT YOU ONLY WANT WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE SAYS YOU SHOULD WANT

HUMPHREY, WE'RE LEAVING!


If you're enjoying these posts, feel free to share your own Soundtrack. This isn't a hop. No requirements at all, but a suggestion to do it one song at a time. (If you participated in the hop several years ago, you can still do this. Just post them one song at a time, with the freedom to add more songs if you'd like.) I'll link to all participants at the bottom of each of these posts:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Cherdo on the Flipside 

Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

THE DOGLADY'S DEN 

Mean Who You Are

Wrote By Rote

Soundtrack of My Life ~ When It Stops Being Funny

Well, I've gotten lax with these posts. For a while there, I was really moving along. Now, it's more of a crawl. However, I was moving fast enough that I did forget to mention something at the beginning of junior year. So, we're backing up briefly.

If you recall, I came to college intending to major in music. That didn't turn out so well, and I spent my sophomore year taking Core classes (aka required classes) and hoping that I'd just fall into something that lit my fire. Turns out, that really didn't happen. But, you can't just wander aimlessly through the college experience forever without declaring a major. So, based solely on the fact that I liked to read I chose English. Yep. You read that right.

Now, that is a significant story right there. But, it's made worse by this one little thing.

When I was in high school, I found out that my mom dropped out of college after her sophomore year because she couldn't decide on a major. Well.... I thought that was hilarious. And I laughed in her face about it. A lot. I even told my friends. And laughed some more. Frankly, I was a bit of a brat about the whole thing. Who quits because they can't decide on a major???? hahahahaha.

Well, it was not nearly as funny when I was the one having difficulty deciding. When I got a call from someone in the admin department saying I couldn't go forward unless I decided... well, this sh#t got serious. And ironic. Very ironic.

I bet my mom had a good laugh. If she did, she was kinder about than I... because she never did it in my face, though I very much deserved it.





If you're enjoying these posts, feel free to share your own Soundtrack. This isn't a hop. No requirements at all, but a suggestion to do it one song at a time. (If you participated in the hop several years ago, you can still do this. Just post them one song at a time, with the freedom to add more songs if you'd like.) I'll link to all participants at the bottom of each of these posts:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Cherdo on the Flipside 

Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

THE DOGLADY'S DEN 

Mean Who You Are

Wrote By Rote