Along for the Ride

.

Along for the Ride

"Hide away just you and me in warm quiet solitude"

I'm just along for the ride

So take me someplace new

I need a break after all that I've been through

Strap me down in the shotgun seat

Drive me through a star-kissed sky

You don't need to say anything

But let me know you're right nearby

We'll blow a kiss to the silver moon

In blossom on the open night

Doesn't matter what's going on

Right now everything's alright

I'm just along for the ride, baby

Just grab the wheel and drive

I need your help to feel awake and alive

Options for Buying This Song (Not Ready Yet!)

Patreon Link

Songwriter's Notes

.

I used to tell people I don't write love songs. I believed it too. With very few and very notable exceptions, I've always written songs about concepts of people rather than real individual people. I've always had wonderful people inspire my music. I've always dearly loved the people who've inspired me. But the songs they inspired typically weren't about them, or written for them. That's not a slam, and believe me it's not a sign of ingratitude at all - it's just simply true.

.

But my concept of love songs - shared by most people, apparently - had always been that every love song is a song about someone specific, written for a specific person, and typically situational. After a long life and a lot of relationships, I'm rethinking that concept. I don't know why it needs to be true that a love song is a single-minded song about someone, sometime, some situation. Do we really just love one person in our lives? If not, can a given song be applied to a wide range of situations, or an array of people in a given situation? Given that, every song is a love song to me. And “Along for the Ride” is no different.

.

I'm sure I don't need to explain to anyone who's lived anything resembling an adult life what it's like to be in a situation where you've just got to be taken away from the stress of reality, and especially what a joy it is to let someone else do all the work for a short time. Everyone needs a moment of escape in their lives, and sometimes we've really earned it! Obviously, that's the situation in “Along for the Ride”. But that's not really what the song is about. It's about two completely different things under the auspices of that sitch: it's about the bond you develop with that person doing the heavy lifting for you when you're there, and it's also about your need to relinquish control so that can happen. You're just along for the ride, but you still want it your way. Well, here you can't do both; you've got to let go to get what you really want.

.

So “Along for the Ride” isn't about escape, really; it's about gratitude. And here, gratitude has two manifestations. First, there's the obvious appreciation of being in a state where someone will take you away from reality and protect you until you come back. But there's a subtle second part of gratitude that manifests immediately: you have to trust that person before you can let them take control. And that's what makes this a true love song as I described it above. Your love for an escape captain can't be "sure, here's five bucks - pay me back whenever" love. To make the escape from reality real itself, you have to love that guide who's taking you away. That love has to be profound and complete, otherwise the experience cannot manifest.

.

I love this song. It's been one of those long-time escape friends itself for me over the years. I felt it needed to be laid down perfectly for all time. If I do say so myself, mission accomplished.

.

Musically, “Along for the Ride” is true its theme of submitting to trusting escape at the hands of someone who knows you and your need to be elsewhere. It's a harmonic ride across the spectrum of major chords primary and secondary to any major key. It's in E, and B and A major chords play significant roles in the harmonic ride of the song, but so do the non-tonic chords D (flat 7), G (flat 3), and F# (2 major, and V7/V). These choices aren't mathematical or some tawdry exercise in music theory, but they are deliberate. One can easily trust the melody and harmonic progression of “Along for the Ride”, and that's even true in spite of its occasional seemingly last-moment detours into tonically uncharted waters.

.

With its stand on the now-familiar bIII-bVII orthogonality and the sudden shift to a wall-of-sound power, the bridge seems to change key. But please - our escape captain brings us back faithfully to E with the II7/V turn. Once safely home, we can return to the friendly and gentle I-bVII-IV pattern. We're all glad we trusted our guide, aren't we? Admit it - now that we've experienced the detour, we would've kicked ourselves if we hadn't gone down that road.

.

Harmonic uncertainties notwithstanding, there are no minor chords in Along for the Ride. Is that just a coincidence? Hopefully, you're getting to know me better than to think that.

.

Production and Musician's Notes

.

The groove "Along for the Ride" sets is a seeming conundrum. It's a kick-back song, but the rhythm section has a really tough job ahead. While the lyrics and the vocal have taken the liberty to be lost in time, the rhythm section has to be constantly on the ball. After all - they're taking the vocalist into a meditative journey of the mind; we can't have any him experiencing any bumps in the road that might rattle his Zen, now can we?

.

So: job one is set the groove and keep it tight. The seemingly gentle rhythm is actually a throbbing 108 beats per minute. There's got to be room to breath (especially in a song about kicking back), but there's no room for error. As a musician, I found every part of this song lulled me into a sweet head trip, and it was easy to lose track of where I was and why I was there. I really had to pay attention while I played these parts (particularly the rhythm electric guitar part, which really resonated in my mind and sent it elsewhere). As you might guess, this kick back song took a lot of rehearsal and every part required a few takes.

.

I've started adding conga to almost every song I record now, and "Along for the Ride" really benefitted from its conga part. The introduction of the song is pure rhythm, and the conga in many ways is the one stand-out part in the intro. It's a great song to show off the versatility of congas and how they really add highlights to the color the rhythm section when they're played with subtle integrity.

.

The instrumental bridge was really fun to record and experiment with. And experimentalism is really key here. Throughout, the lyrics are saying "take me away", and the rhythm section in the vocal parts of the song offer a reliable conveyance. But in the instrumental bridge, it takes the vocal at its word. As the background rhythm instruments increase in volume and intensity, the processed first electric guitar solo grabs you and lifts you off the ground and gives you a view of your precious mother earth from the troposphere. It hasn't forgotten what the earlier parts of the song promised: they put you at ease with their reliable and well-meshed groove, increasing your confidence that you're at someone else's whim, but you're safe. It knows when you've had enough too; when it's given you the high-altitude tour and you're ready to feel the road under your wheels again, the rhythm section cools back down to its native habitat for this song and a softer, less clean electric guitar takes a short ride, bringing you back down. By the time the conga takes over again as the vocal returns, you're ready to ride into the sunset without a care.

.

The vocal harmonies in the song took a lot of experimentation to arrange ideally and a lot of work getting right. I detest autotune and refuse to use it; I'd rather do a dozen takes and sing honestly than use a false intonation tool. I'm big fan of Baroquesque terrace dynamics, and layered vocal harmonies are a perfect and beautiful instrument for that purpose.

.

"Along for the Ride" may be about getting lost, but I found plenty of myself in producing it. You might find something about me there yourself. But, of course, I'm hoping you find something of your own with which you can ride of into the sunset without a care.