Slingshot
Energetic Punk Rock, Grunge Rock, and Avant Garde Rock. Fuzzy electric guitar riffs. ABCB rhyme scheme. Three-part harmonies enter on choruses and key lines: baritone below for depth, lead tenor in the middle, and a high tenor above, creating a tight, ringing blend. Quiet verses and voice-violent intense choruses. Soaring choruses. Virtuoso performances of Bluegrass-influenced instrumentation featuring highly unusual playing of a slide dobro, mandolin lead lines, mandolin chops, steady upright bass, acoustic guitar, fingerpicked banjo, and banjo rolls. Each instrument takes rotating solo breaks: the synth-emulated mandolin, dobro, guitar, and banjo—while the others provide tight rhythmic backing. Lead vocal is a clear, slightly high-lonesome male tenor carrying the melody. No fiddle. Mood is reflective and sentimental, longing for a simpler past. Clean, natural production
Slingshot
Energetic Punk Rock, Grunge Rock, and Avant Garde Rock. Fuzzy electric guitar riffs. ABCB rhyme scheme. Three-part harmonies enter on choruses and key lines: baritone below for depth, lead tenor in the middle, and a high tenor above, creating a tight, ringing blend. Quiet verses and voice-violent intense choruses. Soaring choruses. Virtuoso performances of Bluegrass-influenced instrumentation featuring highly unusual playing of a slide dobro, mandolin lead lines, mandolin chops, steady upright bass, acoustic guitar, fingerpicked banjo, and banjo rolls. Each instrument takes rotating solo breaks: the synth-emulated mandolin, dobro, guitar, and banjo—while the others provide tight rhythmic backing. Lead vocal is a clear, slightly high-lonesome male tenor carrying the melody. No fiddle. Mood is reflective and sentimental, longing for a simpler past. Clean, natural production
Lyrics
Instrumental intro
Verse 1
A stretch of years passed since tall grass was mine
Out in the country as a boy
Wild horses ran loose and cattle grazed free
While the Summer’s warmth promised joy
Instrumental break, short
Verse 2
I passed my days catchin’ toads with my friends
I felt these times would always last
But those were just thoughts of the innocent
For I learned all bliss must come to pass
Chorus 1 - harmonized
Why did my folks sweep us up and leave?
Why did they move to town?
And why’d I leave my slingshot in that oak?
How did the world go crumblin’ down?
Instrumental break, long
Verse 3
Now I pass through life in a gleaming place
Ain’t even one speck of dirt
Ohh how I long to dig in the creek
And wipe off the mud on my shirt
Verse 4
Now and then I take long dusty rides
Down the miles of dirt road
Past wild turkeys and the old homestead
Hitch up my pants and step in the flow
Chorus 2 - harmonized
Why did my folks sweep us up and leave?
Why did they move to town?
And why’d I leave my slingshot in that oak?
How did the world go crumblin’ down?
Instrumental break, guitar solo, mandolin solo, dobro solo
Chorus 3 - harmonized
Why did my folks sweep us up and leave?
Why did they move to town?
And why’d I leave my slingshot in that oak?
How did the world go crumblin' down?
Instrumental outro