RockinInTheCradle

Now listen to the band
cause that song can really move you
keep you hanging on to every word
there's a back beat to the music
and the rhythm likes to use it
it's the sweetest sound you've ever heard
that pain inside the blues
what it feel like when you lose
but the melody uplifts the soul
and when you grab it by the bottom
then you know you got 'em
cause that baby's gonna rock 'n roll
a little dance
bump and grind romance
you can shake that thing
but don't split out you pants
you can hold her in your arms
beneath the stars above
rockin' in the cradle of love.

Now taken by the action
and the physical attraction
there was Romeo and Juliet
he was a struggling musician
when she stopped in for a listen
and their lives became a sweet duet
Now it rally ain't no mystery
if you've read up on your history
love's the finest thing around
they had a harmony between them
and anyone who'd seen them
said that passion really scorch the ground
some people have
some people have not
everybody uses what ever they've got
you're the one and only
that I'm dreaming of
rockin' in the cradle of love.

(chorus)

Everybody's rockin' in the cradle of love
Rockin in the cradle
You got me rockin' in the cradle of love
rockin' in ther cradle
Everybody's rockin'
I'm talkin' about
do do do do do, do do do
do do do do do, do do do

Now let me run one by ya,
about Samson and Delilah
both were from the poor side of town
when they danced in syncopation
they had style and innovation
they brought the whole temple down.
they'd shift that jumpin' jive
right in to overdrive
through the magic of the
give ant take they'd make
He said “when you look at me
with that crazy energy
I can feel by whole body shake”
“Get a hold of yourself baby”
she explained
“That was just the rumbin'
of the subway train”
Standing on the platform
push comes to shove
rockin' in the cradle of love

Chorus & repeat 1st verse

Doc's Notes:

On every album I like to write a song which reminds me of why I still do what I'm doing all of these years later. On the one hand it's nothing really profound but on the other hand it is. I write song for the love of music. When all the seriousness of the process and the form are put aside, music is fun and it makes you feel good. A lesson I rediscovered during the making of this song. Regardless of whether you're making it or simply listening to it, the benefits it bestows upon our state of mind and overall well being is unmistakable. Music is love.

This song was written during the winter of 1988 when Mark and I were both working at Lycian Stage Lighting, when it was still a small cinder block building and barn behind the owners main house.

Once again the Lyrics came first. A whole lot of lyrics. I was trying to write a story song with two main characters, a boy and a girl, who more or less had a running dialog going back and forth between them. It was an ambitious piece of writing.

Mark and I structured it to sound like a retro fifties great balls of fire rock 'n roll number. Now the really strange thing about this song is it was written in reverse. It never really fell into place. Over time we would drag different elements into it that would get it to a certain level and then throw out everything which brought it up to that point. Kind of a see-saw effect.

When we finally got the sound and the overall structure in place somehow the words didn't seem to fit anymore. In July of 2006 we laid down several versions during the 'Eye Of The Storm' recording sessions with Mark playing a mean electric guitar and then walked away from it.

During post production, listening to the playbacks, I liked a lot of what I was hearing. I liked the music, I liked the chorus, but the lyrics distracted from the groove of the song. I thought so anyway.
In a last ditch attempt to nail everything in place I just threw out all of the verses out and rewrote the song to go with the sound.

In August of 2007 Mark came down for some additional recording sessions and we decided to implement the new changes. To my surprise, Mark had a change of his own to add and he brought a southern sensibility to the rock 'n roll by slowing it down just enough to give it some soul.

Bingo! 'Rockin' In the Cradle of Love' took on a whole new light because basically it was a whole different song, but it all worked. As I remember it, we laid down three or four different takes and they all sounded pretty good. The all clicked into the groove. It all went pretty fast and smooth.

This song was really fun to do and it makes you feel good. There's nothing wrong with getting serious about your craft, but sometimes it can get in the way of your love of the music.