…Even I don’t really know what to make of this song. But first, a little backstory. I write a lot of different kinds of songs that never get released. Some of them are comedic and too blue for public consumption (such as my hairspray country numbers “Let Me Be The Man in You” and “She Ain’t My Ex. She’s My Why, Why, Why?”)
Some are too political for human consumption (as is my “High on A Mountain of Love” ripoff called “The Son of The Son of A Self-Made Man” and “The Ugly American”)
Some songs I wrote for my kid when he was a baby (like these in-house classics: “Rubber Check” and “A Tooth’s Coming in, So I’m Going Out”)
Which brings me to the origins of today’s song. Some years ago I was—for unexamined reasons—compelled to write a klezmer-ish tune called “Who Put The Mole in My Kugel” inspired by Romeo And Juliet via West Side Story. The star-crossed lovers in my half-baked play are Jewish from Eastern Europe, and Catholic Mexican repectively. I had visions of a complete musical, the title of which my wife magically pulled from her hat: El Sid.
Here’s the chorus from “Who Put The Mole in My Kugel”
Who put the mole in my kugel?
Who put the struggle in my strife?
Who put the mole in my kugel?
Because mole brought the kugel back to life.
Powerful stuff. Anyway, “A Backlit Story” song morphed its way from a joke. Maybe it should morph its way back. Feel free to subscribe if you’d like to hear it and future substack releases.
Thanks fir reading/listening.
I would pay good, good money for a Joe Pernice album full of slightly inappropriate children's songs. Looking forward to tomorrow's song regardless.