Trainyard Paint Spray
Channel: Joé McKen ♪
Date: 2023-11-01

This song was written for ‘The Punk of Podunk’, a ‘Zootopia’ fanfiction novel by M.B. Harrison (also known as she_dies_at_the_end).
» STORY: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042440/chapters/55106068

Story-accurate “live” version (with added ambience and practice strums):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ax7hANvaq4

A whirlwind summer of music and friendship draws to a close. A rebellious young rabbit finishes up her first-ever rock show. An earnest fox returns from a life-changing competition he fears he’s lost. Alone together at the edge of the crowd, she sings her gratitude for his love and support as they look ahead to an uncertain but hopeful future.

‘The Punk of Podunk’ is a tour de force of dramatic storytelling, and the particular scene in Chapter/Track 35, “All the Small Things”, where this song is performed is probably my favorite part of the whole story. It so moved me that I was inspired to try my hand at putting M.B. Harrison’s beautiful lyrics to music, even though it had been many years since I had tried my hand at songwriting. I hope the results add to the experience of this lovely story.

This is also my very first piece of music with actual recorded vocals! All praise to Lynsey (via @Musiversal) for bringing this song to life with her beautiful performance. I would also like to thank my friend DesertLassOpossum and her very patient Hubby for making it happen – this song would not exist as it does without them, and they have my tremendous gratitude.

(And yes, this song features an acoustic guitar; the electric guitar in the art symbolizes the story/series generally.)

Vocals – Lynsey (via Musiversal)
Lyrics – M.B. Harrison
Music – Joé McKen

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LYRICS —

VERSE 1:
They say
Every good song opens up with a question
A hard-to-swallow fact or thoughtful suggestion
So
I guess, what I’m trying to ask
Is why’s yours so hard to unmask?

VERSE 2:
See
I’ve been sitting on this couch, like I’m waitin’ for the truth
And
To see my feelings for you doesn’t take a super sleuth
Oh
The words drive me insane
Like ice cream to the brain

CHORUS 1:
So
Come on, sit down and just hold me close
Now
Play those movies we both know the most
And
Listen to the shouts, the tears, and the laughter
Our summer’s running short
But I’m thinkin’ about the hereafter
Yeah
And there’s only one thing I can say I knew

VERSE 3:
Oh
I’ve been sitting on these tracks for what seems like forever
Mulling over what feels like a hopeless endeavor
Smoke-butt tombstones in the sand
And a paint can in my hand

VERSE 4:
So
While you’re climbing trees and you’re running your miles
I’ve been watching you, hiding my smirks and smiles
Woah
Pretending it’s something we can’t see
And, for now, that’s enough for me

CHORUS 2:
So
Come on, sit down and just hold me close
Now
Play those movies we both know the most
And
Listen to the shouts, the tears, and the laughter
Our summer’s running short
But I’m thinkin’ about the hereafter
So
There’s one thing I can say I knew

BRIDGE:
Well
The sun’s coming up, the slumber party’s ending
And
I haven’t put together the message I’ve been sending
So
There’s only one thing left to say
Spin the words with a trainyard paint spray
 
CHORUS 3:
Come on, sit down and just hold me close
Play those movies we both love the most
Listen to our shouts, our tears, and our laughter
Our summer’s running short
And I’m looking to the hereafter
’Cause I know no-one else would see this through
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you

OUTRO:
Thank you

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DOWNLOAD —
Grab this track for free in high-quality MP3, WAV, FLAC and other formats on Bandcamp:
https://joemcken.bandcamp.com/track/trainyard-paint-spray

SHEET MUSIC (PDF) —
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9xka99eswd27xm3ou4wc9/Trainyard-Paint-Spray-23-11-01-05-22.pdf?rlkey=c5azwvv6xgk7dfdy0asr9rkfc&dl=0

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SOCIALS —

Personal website: https://joemcken.net/
Commission information: https://bit.ly/JMComms

You can also find my music on:
» Bandcamp: https://joemcken.bandcamp.com/
» SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/joe-mcken

For announcements and personal news, follow me on:
» Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/music.joemcken.net
» Twitter: https://twitter.com/joemcken_music
» Mastodon: https://mas.to/@jm_music

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Recorded October 29, 2023
Software used:
» Written & recorded with Sibelius using the Ample Guitar M sound library
» Mastered with Ozone & Audacity

#ThePunkOfPodunk #acoustic #Zootopia #RockstarSaga #guitar #acousticguitar #vocals #lyrics #ballad #Musiversal