Song Spotlight: If We Pretend – Doc Jazz

New at the Musical Intifada: Song Spotlight! Periodically, one of my songs will be highlighted in this category, providing a little more background information about lyrics, style or the ideas that gave rise to recording the song. I welcome your suggestions for which songs you would like to see featured in ‘Song Spotlight’; just send me a message through the communication box at the bottom of the website!

 

This time, we are going to take a closer look at the song ‘If We Pretend’. We will examine history, sound, meanings, and some further thoughts about this acoustic Doc Jazz ballad. Click on the player below the picture to have a listen to the song.

 

 

 

 

History

 

Those who have been following my music since before the recording of the 2007 album Front Door Key, may be in the possession of the original (2006) version of the song. It was called ‘If We Pretend Hard Enough’, and had a distinctly different – more electronic – sound than the definitive version on the album, although the song itself underwent only minor changes during the makeover.

 

Sound

 

On the Front Door Key album, the song stands out because of it being the only ‘unplugged’ track on the album. The whole album was produced by vocalist/producer Forrest Thomas, making the 12 songs on it practically the only songs in my repertoire that involve other musicians beside myself. The CD is available exclusively from the Palestine Online Store.

 

No drums where used in this song! The beat is provided mainly by the skillful cajon play of percussionist Eddie Conard, who also sprinkled some fresh shaker rhythms over the mix. The song was given a soulful groove by the deep and funky bass track laid down by Keith Keyes. Guitars were played by Ward Veenstra, both the rhythm guitar and the tasteful acoustic solos that slowly increase in intensity towards the end of the song. Lead and background voices were done by me, but one can safely say that the sweet backing vocals of Michelle David are what gives the song a special feminine touch that resonates quite well with its sensitive theme.

 

Meanings

 

So, what is this song about? Check out the lyrics here and you will find that they invite you to think about some issues that may or may not be on your mind on a daily basis.

 

The song starts with describing the various dreams that people have, while living their daily lives and chasing their ambitions. The power of imagination (pretending) is what boosts them; the person who bakes an apple pie may be imagining himself to be a professional baker while he is doing it. A grocer may be dreaming he is in the position of a doctor while he sells his herbal tea, explaining its beneficial effects to the customer. Many other examples are given, all of them showing that lovely side of pretense and imagination, that may be giving us joy in our lives.

 

However, the bridge heralds a change of mood; ‘sorry to be disrupting your dream’, the song seems to be saying. There is a degree of bitterness in the chorus; if we insist on looking at only that positive side of life, are we merely fooling ourselves? The cynical reality of that downside of ‘pretending’ climaxes at the end of the chorus with a reminder that the victims of the shadow-side of what goes on in the world, are often those among us who are most vulnerable, and most innocent: the children.

 

The middle eight is almost like a summary or explanation of verses and chorus, but adds one more dimension. It addresses the listener directly (‘you’), making us all aware that basically, all of us are engaged in this self-deceitful habit of pretending. ‘Outside your bubble, there’s a world in deep discrepancy’.

 

Further thoughts

 

So, is this song about Palestine, or about all places in the world where there is war, hunger or disaster? Of course, coming from me, it was written with Palestine on my mind. Nevertheless, this is not my only song where I chose to remain unspecific, and speak of injustice in more general terms.

 

This has various reasons: for one thing, human tragedy is not uniquely Palestinian, and what applies to the tragedy of the Palestinian people in many ways also refers to the heart-breaking situations of people living under injustice in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir and many other places in the world. Secondly, being unspecific sometimes can do more to open the mind of the listener to a certain message. At the end of the day, I, the songwriter, am and will always be a Palestinian, and sometimes that in itself is enough to make the point.

 

Attentive readers however may have noticed that the original lyrics have been shortened. In the old version, there was a more direct passage in the lyrics at the end, breaking away from symbolism and directly addressing certain issues of injustice. In the album version, they were left out. Personally, I think this made the song stronger, but I didn’t edit the lyrics on the site.

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this first episode of ‘Song Spotlight’. My songs often have a few deeper layers of thought behind them, which has been noticed by many attentive listeners, but perhaps not by all. I also hope that having read this will enhance your listening experience when you put ‘If We Pretend’ in your player, and that you will enjoy it more than you did before.

 

Thank you, and until the next episode of ‘Song Spotlight’!

 

Doc Jazz

Photos: Rachida El Garani

P.S. Apparently you have taken the trouble to read all te way to the end, and here is your reward! Download this song for free by clicking here.

P.P.S. The song is also on Youtube! The clip itself is not exciting. When I made it, I barely had any experience with video editing, and it shows. However, the lyrics are in it, so it presents an opportunity to listen to the song while reading the words in real time. Here it is: