For a longest time it was Track 1 on The Manual. In the end it didn’t even make the record. What went wrong for The Treasurly Trinkety Trap?
Originally played on one string of a guitar, it was written after a long day clearing out my childhood bedroom. All these objects had been carefully curated and imbued with meaning by my younger self. It got my older self thinking about the role ‘stuff’ plays in our lives, the nature of our relationship with it.
He did what he usually did - have a mildly philosophical twenty-something revelation then go write a song.
During one memorable session, producer Calum MacColl and I stood giggling side by side at a microphone for about 50 layers of joyfully random backing vocals. We larked about, we tried to put each other off, we paid scant regard for the fact he’d have to edit all this nonsense later, we felt totally free. Hopefully some of that comes through.
I even chose the key signature to match ‘Track 2’ - The Floods. They would overlap for a few seconds, one leading seamlessly into the next. It was a beautiful dream.
But I was also hopelessly lost in the Second Album Cliché. Over-attached to ideas about what this album meant I couldn’t always see what it actually was. I spun off in a thousand directions, lost perspective, forgot which way was up.
My management didn’t get The Treasury Trinkety Trap at Track 1, and it didn’t seem to fit anywhere else. I tried writing new lyrics, obsessed with saving it, but it was too late. Crunch time came and I decided to cut it.
Re-listening now I still like it. I want to give that me a hug and tell him that his twenty-something revelations are powerful, that his circular fretting is just a sign that he cares about the songs, and that the people who matter most will get to hear the song eventually. It will take another 6 years though, sorry about that mate.
Not sure what he’d say to all that, but it doesn’t really matter. I killed him and took his place.
What do you think of it? Does it mean anything to you? Did I make the right call? Let me know in the comments.
Song credits:
Calum MacColl: Production, Engineering, Mixing, Backing Vocals. Jake Gordon: additional engineering. Jake Morley: Vocals, backing vocals, guitar, piano, vibes, organ. Extra special thanks to Calum who did such an incredible job producing this song and that record. Love you mate!
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