Topic: "I'm Ashamed"

Just what the world needs - a dance song about atoning for bad behavior from long ago.

There are plenty of 'You done me wrong' songs, so I figured I would try a 'I done you wrong' song.

I hear lots of throbbing drums and a fat-nasty bass in the background on this one.
Some horns would also be good along with some shiny healthy women to do background vocals.

Everyone who has ever done somebody wrong has got to get up and shake it - hard.

I'm AshamedJames McCormick, October 12, 2007


very rhythmic, pulsing, primal, tribal


Yeah, [G7]something is on my mind, [C7]something that I did


I'm [G7]not proud about it, [C7]tried to keep it hid


[G7]Happened very long ago, and [C7]life moves by so fast


But [G7]just because it's history, don't [C7]mean it's in the [D7]past


. . . .


I [G7]realize I was wrong, [C7]what I did was bad


So [G7]selfish, so hurtful, [C7]made you feel so sad


Can't [G7]wave a magic wand around, [C7]give you back your pride


But [G7]I can finally be a man, ad-[C7]mit what I de-[D7]nied


I'm a-[G]shamed (shame!), I [C]know I did you wrong


A-[G]shamed (shame!), I've [C]known it all along


I'm a-[G]shamed (shame!), I [C]feel it in my bones


A-[G]shamed (shame!), It's [D7]time to atone . . .


Oh, [G7]callow youth lean and bold, [C7]thought I was so slick


[G7]Figured I had it all figured out, [C7]knew what made life tick


But [G7]time's a tough professor, [C7]wily like a fox


I've [G7]learned it all the hard way, got [C7]lots of good hard [D7]knocks


. . . .


[G7]Time has made me stronger, [C7]helped me understand


[G7]Everything is ash and dust, [C7]grains of cosmic sand



You [G7]can't take it with you, got to [C7]leave it all behind


Be-[G7]fore I go you got to know you [C7]have been on my [D7]mind


I'm a-[G]shamed (shame!), I [C]know I did you wrong


A-[G]shamed (shame!), I've [C]known it all along


I'm a-[G]shamed (shame!), I [C]feel it in my bones


A-[G]shamed (shame!), It's [D7]time to atone . . .


Yeah, I [G7]learned it all comes back around, [C7]when you make a mess


[G7]Learned about compassion, [C7]care and tenderness


I've [G7]learned that it's better to [C7]give instead of take


'Cuz [G7]life is good, life is full, if [C7]love is what you [D7]make


. . . .


I can [G7]offer my apology, re-[C7]gret so sincere


I [G7]really could not blame you if you [C7]turned a deaf ear


I [G7]compromised your honor, [C7]hurt your dignity


For [G7]all the pain I have caused I [C7]truly am sor-[D7]ry


I'm a-[G]shamed (shame!), I [C]know I did you wrong


A-[G]shamed (shame!), I've [C]known it all along


I'm a-[G]shamed (shame!), I [C]feel it in my bones


A-[G]shamed (shame!), It's [D7]time to a-[G]tone



"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Hi james
A nice racey number. I like the way you always have the Grand vision for your songs. smile  I usually can't see past my guitar.

Well done again

Ark

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Thanks, arkady - never thought of it as grand vision, but I guess you're right . . . all my stuff starts out with little ideas but sometimes the ideas can grow into grander concepts.  This one started out with some comments Old Doll made about 'Suddenly See Blues' I posted recently - that one is a classic "You done hurt me so bad" thing.  This one is sort of the flip side of all that.

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

hi james you can feel all sorts of emotions with this song a lovely sad but apologetic composition  well done ...stay cool

love is life ,life is for love,keep a true heart and live life to the full....stay cool

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Hi James,

Its a good place to find!. So more about being aware of our actions/words,  Then Ashamed"..
If I think ive hurt someone, I dont like the feeling im left with.

But then apologies can be majestic words in motion.

Your song here is exactly that James! You clever Man!

Old Doll.

Why Blend in with the Crowd ? When you were made to stand out !

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Hi James,

Great song, fun and easy to play with a meaningful message behind it. I can only fault it in one way you have ommitted a D7 at the end of the 4th verse (just to prove that I do actually play the songs wink).

Well done and I look forward to you getting the full ensemble to record it. lol

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Thanks Roger for spotting that error, I have fixed the missing chord.

In an ideal world, I could just call all my various musicial friends and say "Bring your stuff and let's make a song".  However, getting players together is like herding cats - some folks are really busy, and others just think they are busy.

Now I know why so many recordings are make piece-by-piece using different people at different times and places - it's not necessarily a better way to do it, it is just the only practical way to accomplish the task.  I'm still getting comfortable doing single-track recordings - will try multi-track efforts eventually.
James

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Hi James,

Multi track recordings can be great fun too. You can then play your autoharp in two or more different ways and put backing vocals, ooohs and aars, maybe even getting your family to do some for you. It is great fun experimenting this way so when you are comfortable with single track recordings start playing with multi track and have fun.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

But [G7]just because it's history, don't [C7]mean it's in the [D7]past

  That says a mouthful right there.
It was funny reading your ideas for what it oughta sound like, mainly because I'm the kind to do that too. I can hear solos and six or seven piece bands, harmonica parts or even somebody playing the spoons. I'll even have visions of really awesome famous people singing my songs, with somebody like SRV playing blues riffs over 'em and huge sold out crowds...... so here's to getting too far ahead of ourselves with songwriting lol

All You Need is Love smile

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

I have just posted a recording of "I'm Ashamed" to my MySpace Music page.

Please click on the 'website' button under my forum avatar to go to my MySpace page.

Unfortunately, the microphone wouldn't jack directly into my imagination so I had to rely on just my instrument and my voice instead.

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Hi James,

If you could plug your microphone into your imagination that really would be cybermusic but as that is not possible I would say you have done a wonderfully grand job using your instrument and voice. Well done,

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

James,
Would it be possible for you, or anyone, to create a songbook with the songs they've written and submitted on Chordie? Just curious..

Toney

Give everything but up.

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

brilliant song james,

Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Thanks for listening & liking it, gentlemen!  This recording stuff is getting to be less painful and more fun as I do it more . . .

But ideally, I would really like to do what Robert Hunter did - he was the lyricist/songwriter for the Grateful Dead.  He had the luxury of creating songs and then turning them over to a band of accomplished players who could truly bring them to life.  Although he is an accomplished musician himself, Hunter could remain behind the scenes and enjoy hearing his compositions performed by his collaborators.

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Oops!  Southpaw41L, I forgot to respond to your inquiry regarding songbooks of original songs on the forum.  As far as I know, there is no way to create and share such a songbook. 

However, the latest upgrade of chordie's guts includes a 'print song' button for all properly formatted songs submitted to the forum.  You can select font size and placement (or absence) of chord grids.

Clicking on any forum user's name next to their posts allows one to then select 'show all posts'.  You can use this to find songs by all the many contributors to the Songwriting forum and then print the songs you want to save.  Hope this helps . . .

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: "I'm Ashamed"

Hi james Just checked out your MYSPACE page loved yours songs really liked "I'm Ashamed"

its a great song