Is This What They Call Romance?

Lyrics:

There’s you, and me, and the street cleaners,
and the seagulls scuffling for scraps,
Even Supermac’s is closed and the sun’s long up,
but we don’t notice,
and I say,

“I really like your boyfriend, and I don’t wanna break you up,
But I really wanna be kissing you.
He’s quite the perfect boyfriend – he calls you every day just to make sure everything’s ok.
He’s handsome and kind, with an astute mind,
He’s polite, and he’s sweet.
He’s like a teddy bear with gel in his hair, and he always says hello when we meet.
But you have the greenest eyes, and the sweetest smile.”
Is this what they call romance?

There’s you, and me, and the street cleaners,
And the jerky puppet head of people half asleep,
They’re waiting on the first bus home, staring at the shopfronts
Noses pressed against the glass.

“I really like your girlfriend, and I know you don’t swing my way,
But I really wanna be kissing you.
She’s quite the perfect girlfriend – she calls you every day just to make sure everything’s ok.
She’s beautiful and kind, with an astute mind,
She’s polite, and she’s sweet.
She’s like a supermodel with long blonde hair, and she always says hello when we meet.
But you have the greenest eyes, and the sweetest smile.”
Is this what they call romance?

You’ll find me in the dark, in the shadows I steal away,
When the blackness surrounds you, come and stay.
I walk around with my glasses off, to romanticise the world.
When you’ve nothing left to say, well, hide a while with me.

There’s you, and me, just you and me,
You, and me, and the street cleaners,
Is this what they call romance?

eamon brett 2011

about this song:

I remember having the idea for this song after a swim, while sitting in the sauna, and it was running around in my head – lyrics and melody for the chorus. It fit in with something else that I’d written previously that never was set to music, and the song started to take shape. The piano line was deliberately different to how I usually play. I made the decision to try a song where I was mostly vamping chords on the piano instead, to see if that worked for me. I wanted to play around with gender in the song too and I wanted to have a bit of fun with it lyrically. It’s a staple of my live set, as I really enjoy playing it to an audience.

In terms of recording it, it’s tracked slower than I usually it live, and it’s just got drums, bass, and piano on the track. Maybe some day I’ll re-record it with the brass section that I have in my head for it. I remember loving George’s bass line when we were tracking it, and then he pointed out that he was just doubling my left hand piano line for a lot of it. That was when I realised how little attention I paid to what my left hand was playing sometimes, as the two hands merge together into one part when I’m playing. But his bass part really brings out that line and it’s what made the song come together for me.

Song credits:

mister ebby – piano, vocals
george guilfoyle – double bass
karl hand – drums