Lindsay Smith: Listen

• MP3 short clip, hi-fi play (broadband)
• MP3 short clip, lo-fi play (modem)

The apartment I lived in from 1996-2001 was a 15-minute walk from the underground train station, so I used to walk every morning. I spent those walks just letting my mind wander, and when my mind is left to itself, with no distractions, songs tend to just happen with very little help from me. A man named Michael McGough (pronounced “McGoo”) started at the company I work for sometime in 2001, and I loved his name so much that it turned into a song in my head. At first, it was a bouncy little children’s song, but I had just put together a band, and I was starting to write with them in mind, so I made it faster. My guitar player, Jeff Petermann, suggested changing keys for the solo, which I did. By the time I was ready to record another album, I didn’t have a band anymore, so I decided to turn this song over to my friends Karma Lingo. They are this prog/classic rock band, and I thought it would be an interesting science experiment to see what "Karma Lingo featuring Lindsay Smith" would sound like. Kelley has dubbed the result "alternacheeseprog".

MR. MCGOO

There once was a man named Mr. McGoo.
He lived twenty years in a broken-down shoe.
When he got out, he didn’t know what to do;
Lord, the world grows up on you.

He had a wife and two little kids.
In the shoe with him they lived.
Those little kids turned into teens.
Lord, they missed the music scene.

Oh, Mr. McGoo,
Oh, what did you do?
Oh, Mr. McGoo,
Did you find a life that’s true?

His wife, she had some old heirlooms.
She threw them out; there was no room.
She soon forgot her family tree.
Lord, she lost her history.

Oh, Mr. McGoo,
Oh, what did you do?
Oh, Mr. McGoo,
Did you find a life that’s true?

For twenty years, they lived alone.
Through that shoe, no sunshine shone.
Then one day, he turned about,
Untied the laces, and let them out.

They all went to the market square.
The kids, they saw the clothes and hair.
They had no family, had no friends.
Lord, they want that shoe again.

Oh, Mr. McGoo,
Oh, what can you do?
Oh, Mr. McGoo,
Can you find a life that’s true?

There once was a man named Mr. McGoo.
He lived twenty years in a broken-down shoe.
When he got out, he didn’t know what to do;
Lord, the world grows up on you.