Chained to the Wall
This is a little ditty written by me in my 20’s, to me in my 40’s, recorded and published by me in my 50s. It’s a fun ska/rock song about a sad character. The character is a guy who got caught up in the rat race—he has a corporate job he doesn’t like, but he climbs the corporate ladder. He fills his life with material things because he thinks that’s what will fulfill him. And to all appearances, he has it all: plenty of money, nice house, a pretty wife, a dog, 2 kids and one on the way, the proverbial Pickett fence. The so-called “American Dream.”
But along the way, he realizes that he’s given up what could have been a creative life. Worse, he has sacrificed his integrity. He can’t stand his boss, but he allows her to seduce him. He drinks heavily. He hits middle age and realizes that life can and should be more than what he has made it, and he feels trapped.
Funny thing is, like I said, I wrote this song long before middle age. It was like a cautionary tale to my future self: don’t sacrifice who you are and what you truly want, just so satisfy the expectations of society. I like to think that my little made up character made it out ok. He quit his job, took up fishing. He got sober and became the husband and father he truly wanted to be. Maybe I’ll write a sequel, haha.
This is a little ditty written by me in my 20’s, to me in my 40’s, recorded and published by me in my 50s. It’s a fun ska/rock song about a sad character. The character is a guy who got caught up in the rat race—he has a corporate job he doesn’t like, but he climbs the corporate ladder. He fills his life with material things because he thinks that’s what will fulfill him. And to all appearances, he has it all: plenty of money, nice house, a pretty wife, a dog, 2 kids and one on the way, the proverbial Pickett fence. The so-called “American Dream.”
But along the way, he realizes that he’s given up what could have been a creative life. Worse, he has sacrificed his integrity. He can’t stand his boss, but he allows her to seduce him. He drinks heavily. He hits middle age and realizes that life can and should be more than what he has made it, and he feels trapped.
Funny thing is, like I said, I wrote this song long before middle age. It was like a cautionary tale to my future self: don’t sacrifice who you are and what you truly want, just so satisfy the expectations of society. I like to think that my little made up character made it out ok. He quit his job, took up fishing. He got sober and became the husband and father he truly wanted to be. Maybe I’ll write a sequel, haha.
This is a little ditty written by me in my 20’s, to me in my 40’s, recorded and published by me in my 50s. It’s a fun ska/rock song about a sad character. The character is a guy who got caught up in the rat race—he has a corporate job he doesn’t like, but he climbs the corporate ladder. He fills his life with material things because he thinks that’s what will fulfill him. And to all appearances, he has it all: plenty of money, nice house, a pretty wife, a dog, 2 kids and one on the way, the proverbial Pickett fence. The so-called “American Dream.”
But along the way, he realizes that he’s given up what could have been a creative life. Worse, he has sacrificed his integrity. He can’t stand his boss, but he allows her to seduce him. He drinks heavily. He hits middle age and realizes that life can and should be more than what he has made it, and he feels trapped.
Funny thing is, like I said, I wrote this song long before middle age. It was like a cautionary tale to my future self: don’t sacrifice who you are and what you truly want, just so satisfy the expectations of society. I like to think that my little made up character made it out ok. He quit his job, took up fishing. He got sober and became the husband and father he truly wanted to be. Maybe I’ll write a sequel, haha.