#beetlegirl

So this is the first of a series I intend to write, for the curious souls who wonder what inspires my songwriting. Songs, to me, are personal stories with a melody, where the music, wraps the words and keeps them safe and warm, like a comfortable quilt, without which the words are a bare soul, the part of the song that connects and really speaks to a listener. The personal, non-commissioned works that I write are usually just me revealing all that goes on within, whether calm or calamity. Because I’m generally quite a private person, the things that I choose not to talk about come out in song instead. 

The song ‘Beetle Girl’, is Track #1 off the Jack & Rai debut album, ‘In Stores Now’. It’s a simple story actually. Man walks out of a bar into pouring rain. There are no cabs in sight. Blue VW Beetle pulls up and a hippie girl inside offers man ride. Man takes ride, feels like he is flying ‘cos of girl. Man is happy. Happy, lovey-dovey-flighty feelings and visuals. The End. 

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED 

‘I’ve had six cheap beers I can’t stumble back home again It pours outside the closed doors Of the liquor store’

So several years ago, I had some to drink at New Asia Bar, a club which was at the top of Fairmont Hotel (then called Westin). Something about being at the top of a tall building maybe causes the alcohol to hit you harder? (Urban Legend) In any case, I was attempting to sneak away from my group of friends, and I got a message from my then-girlfriend. We were just starting to date, and hadn’t really established a full-on relationship yet, so it was still on a “Hey, wassup?’ kinda thing. She asked me where the party was, and I told her, but I said I had wanted to leave. She then told me she would come pick me up and we could head out somewhere after, saying she could reach within 30-40 minutes. Naturally, I was all butterflies-ish and glad we were gonna hang out so I agreed and proceeded to the taxi stand. It was raining, and taxis were few. Not to mention, there was a relatively long queue there.

Thumbs up called a taxi-man Ain’t got no comfort or city lights O then a lil’ blue beetle pulls up You want a ride I said hey, hey I wanna fly away

Singaporeans would know what I’m referring to when I mention the taxi companies, Comfort and Citycab. To make the reference a little more universal, I tried to take the colloquial terms out, and made the setting seem deserted, dark and uncomfortable. Hence ‘No comfort or city lights’ came about. In reality, it referred to the limited availability of the distinct blue or yellow taxis from these 2 companies. At this point in time, it would be worthy to note that the main subject of the song, my girlfriend then, drove a vintage, navy-blue 1973 Volkswagen Beetle, I believe you can see where I’m going with this now. So there she was, on her way to pick me up and I was hanging’ around the taxi stand.

Filled up, halfway home You drivin’ me wherever you want to Rain’s gone, the windows are down As the sun says a long goodbye I said hey hey, I wanna fly away With you

During our SMS exchange, she did ask me where I wanted to go. And my reply was simply ‘Drive me wherever you want’. Naturally I was on a happy high, thinking about how nice it would be to sit in her car, just driving down the expressway, windows down... Ahhhh, the thought of it.

I’ll be alright tonight My feet will be off the ground I said A ’73 Beetle Girl drivin’ circles in my brain

Her smile lightin’ the miles ahead Her eyes watching’ the road but not me I see the wind in her hair lifts me up, off, high I said hey hey, I wanna fly away with you

I’ll be flyin’ trail in the sky This Beetle Girl has me, floatin’ on by.

But that was all it was... a thought. What happened shortly after, was I felt myself tipping over my limit and desperately needed to leave. The next thing I know, I was in a taxi and she had buzzed me to tell me she was 15 minutes away, as I murmured on the phone that I was in a cab on the way home. She laughed and was pretty chill about it. Thankfully, after that boo-boo, we still dated for a while. 

So in the end, Beetle Girl turned out to be the song describing what I really wished had happened, but actually didn’t take place. At least the fantasy was nice enough to write a song about it. 

Song Facts:

The song is NOT about a girl who looks like an insect, or clumsily keeps banging into walls, lights and stuff.

The 1973 Beetle she drove had, coincidentally, also been owned by one of my lecturers in university. Realised one afternoon, when i walked in his office and saw the car’s licence plate, leaning against the window.

The first written version of the song was different, and had some strange arpeggios on the key of A, which I discovered accidentally. It was later rearranged by Amir Masoh, who produced ‘In Stores Now’... minus the strange arpeggios.

When we first tried to record it at a friend’s house, I did vocals in a ‘whisper room’ that was made from some mattresses and cloth. I call it ‘Eu-genius’.

It was mixed by Dan Garcia, a producer and mixing engineer based in LA, who has worked with names like Rod Stewart and Christina Aguilera.