DBT Track #98: Used to be a Cop

[211poundsofpork]

Well, it's my turn this week (thanks Clams - glad to do this!) to cover the weekly track of the week. I decided to cover a newer tune, "Used to be Cop". Along with "Cartoon Gold", this is my favorite track off of Go-Go Boots. It took me a few listens before I 'got it'. The tempo for this one really jumps out at you as something very peculiar for the Truckers. It's not really a dare per se, but it stands out like "I Ain't Hiding" from the Black Crowes "Before the Frost..." After listening to it, you realize how totally DBT it is and it works.

But my temper and the shakes and they took that thing away. Love the lyrics to this one. Another one of Patterson's engrossing tales of woe that he really has a knack for. Really great lyrical content, in my opinion. The music, need I say is a winner. Love the contributions from the entire band on this one. Jay Gonzalez and his subtle Wurlitzer touches, John Neff and his haunting guitar cries providing perfect background for Patterson's vocal, Shonna's plodding bass-line, and of course Cooley's soloiong at the end of this. Again, a really great track and I like how it's put together. Dive in:

Used to be a Cop

Used to be a cop but I got to be too jumpy
I used to like to party till I coughed up half a lung
But sometimes late at night I can hear the beat a bumpin'
And I reach for my holster and I wake up all alone

I used to have a wife but she told me I was crazy
Said she couldn't stand the way I fidget all the time
Sometimes late at night I circle around the house
I look through the windows and dream that she's still mine

I got scars on my back from the way my Daddy raised me
I used to have a family until I got divorced
It's too far to turn back so I just keep turning round in circles
I used to be a cop but they kicked me off the force

Used to have a car but the bank came and took it
I'm paying for a house but that bitch lives in it now
WIth the children that we had who now won't even look at me
Guess there's nothing left to lose, nothing matters anyhow

Got a scar on my arm from that bullet that once grazed me
I keep it in a box to remind me where I've been
That thin blue line was the only thing that could save me
I used to have a badge but they made me turn it in

I used to play football but I wasn't big enough for college
But I passed the entrance exam, first try and on my way
The Police Academy gave me the only thing I was ever good at
But my temper and the shakes and they took that thing away

Used to have a wife but she just couldn't deal with
The anger and tension that was welling inside me
Sometimes late at night I circle around the house
I look through the windows and I remember how it used to be

Lyrics: Patterson Hood/Music: Cooley, Hood, Neff, Tucker, Morgan and Gonzalez
copyright: Soul Dump Music(BMI)

[beantownbubba]

Another one that, for me, worked a lot better after I heard it live.

The mystery of it is that by now it's pretty much taken for granted around here that it's an outstanding song yet I'd say it "snuck up" on a lot of us (repeated listenings or hearing it live necessary before getting it) which makes me wonder how that happens. I mean the song is the song, right? What about it makes it hard to get on first hearing?

[Tequila Cowboy]

I heard it live first, Homecoming 2010 I believe, and didn't care for it. After I heard the studio version a handful of times it quickly became a favorite. The terrific walking bass line, the Charlie Watts-esque "Miss You" drum beat, the chilling lyrics and especially the outstanding bridge hit me like a ton of bricks. The way the major chord bridge pairs with the happy day lyrics I used to play football... and then goes back to the minor chord echoing the narrators despair, well that's just damned brilliant if you ask me. Second favorite song on GGB after Mercy Buckets.

[Smarty Jones]

Have to say it - Shonna owns this one with her badass base lines. For some reason, Matt and Barbe just don't cut it on this one.

[Jonicont]

Another one that, for me, worked a lot better after I heard it live.

The mystery of it is that by now it's pretty much taken for granted around here that it's an outstanding song yet I'd say it "snuck up" on a lot of us (repeated listenings or hearing it live necessary before getting it) which makes me wonder how that happens. I mean the song is the song, right? What about it makes it hard to get on first hearing?

Are you kidding--Hooked the moment that base line comes in

[cortez the killer]

Another one that, for me, worked a lot better after I heard it live.

The mystery of it is that by now it's pretty much taken for granted around here that it's an outstanding song yet I'd say it "snuck up" on a lot of us (repeated listenings or hearing it live necessary before getting it) which makes me wonder how that happens. I mean the song is the song, right? What about it makes it hard to get on first hearing?

Are you kidding--Hooked the moment that base line comes in

I'm with you Jonicont. This thing grabbed me by the throat and shook me violently from the get-go.

[ramonz]

UTBAC and Ray's Automatic Weapon - my mind always groups these two together. Love 'em both. Moody, yet beautiful. IMO, clear standouts on the album.

.....and especially the outstanding bridge hit me like a ton of bricks. The way the major chord bridge pairs with the happy day lyrics I used to play football... and then goes back to the minor chord echoing the narrators despair, well that's just damned brilliant if you ask me.

Glad you brought that up, TC. I agree completely. I obsessed over this part (is that the right word?) for the first few weeks I listened to it. I think the difference between a really good song and a great song, or at least between a really good song and a "hit" song, can have a lot to do w/ the bridge - how often it occurs, how it fits w/ the rest of the song, etc. I could not help thinking every time I heard UTBAC that that bridge (to my ears) should have occurred again in the song. I still think so, but now I just appreciate it when it comes around, and the fact that there's only one I think makes me appreciate it even more.

Obviously Patterson writes some amazing songs. So this is not a slam in any way. But bridges like this ("bridges that size" ) do a great job of injecting some variety and sonic energy into songs that may have a tendency to plod a bit. Sort of like the two versions of Goode's Field Road. To my ears, the alt version is clearly the better version, although the album version is still great. And I read somewhere that Santa Fe started out a lot slower and without the exuberance that the album version has. I think Patterson's best songs maintain the darkness but harness a chunk of melody and variety that makes them beyond compare.

[Penny Lane]

i like the part that goes:

RAYER RAYER RAYER RAYER RAAYYYY
RAYER RAYER RAYER RAAAAAAA
WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOMMMMM
WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM....

is that the bridge or the chord change you're all talking about? Because if it is...then you're right.
DL'd the homecoming 2010 shows a couple weeks after (very sad I was still in night school and couldn't attend) and they started night 1 with this I think. PH knows how to write a song, potent lyrics, too.

ps--does this song remind anyone of McNulty? just a little...

[Clams]

To me, this song is the ultimate character study. This ex-cop is about as tightly wound as a person can be. He's pretty damn close but he hasn't gone over the edge... yet. The same is true of the guitars: tightly wound, a controlled fury. Dark and scary stuff all around.

And how 'bout a hand for the porkster.... a newbie stepping up to cover a track of the week... and hitting a home run in the process.

[ramonz]

And how 'bout a hand for the porkster.... a newbie stepping up to cover a track of the week... and hitting a home run in the process.

Masterful job from the even-toed ungulate!

[RolanK]

i like the part that goes:

RAYER RAYER RAYER RAYER RAAYYYY
RAYER RAYER RAYER RAAAAAAA
WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOMMMMM
WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM....

is that the bridge or the chord change you're all talking about? Because if it is...then you're right.
DL'd the homecoming 2010 shows a couple weeks after (very sad I was still in night school and couldn't attend) and they started night 1 with this I think. PH knows how to write a song, potent lyrics, too.

ps--does this song remind anyone of McNulty? just a little...

Try singing and recording it with your iPhone, upload on bandcamp.com and post the link here so we can know if it is the same thing

EDIT to say I love UTBAC. One of my favorite of Pattersons.

[211poundsofpork]

The way the major chord bridge pairs with the happy day lyrics I used to play football... and then goes back to the minor chord echoing the narrators despair, well that's just damned brilliant if you ask me

.

That is one thing I forgot to mention. TC hits the nail on the head with his comment about the bridge and the happy day lyrics ( ) And then Clams mentions the Patterson character study. Can't wait to hear what other effed up stories Patterson has for us on the next album. UtbaC is probably the reason why I pick Go-Go Boots over The Big To-Do.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

The mystery of it is that by now it's pretty much taken for granted around here that it's an outstanding song yet I'd say it "snuck up" on a lot of us (repeated listenings or hearing it live necessary before getting it) which makes me wonder how that happens. I mean the song is the song, right? What about it makes it hard to get on first hearing?

For me, I think it was more multi-layered and textured than I'd noticed the first time I heard it. At first I just thought it was Truckers/Patterson by-the-numbers but I couldn't have been more wrong.

[Kevidently]

I heard it live first, Homecoming 2010 I believe, and didn't care for it. After I heard the studio version a handful of times it quickly became a favorite. The terrific walking bass line, the Charlie Watts-esque "Miss You" drum beat, the chilling lyrics and especially the outstanding bridge hit me like a ton of bricks. The way the major chord bridge pairs with the happy day lyrics I used to play football... and then goes back to the minor chord echoing the narrators despair, well that's just damned brilliant if you ask me. Second favorite song on GGB after Mercy Buckets.

Agreed - without that major chord change, the song would be good, but not amazing. It reminds me of the Springsteen song "Reno," where he's hooking up with a prostitute he doesn't even want, and in the middle of the song there's the key change and he's remembering the girl he loves.

[sactochris]

It's just a great song. It grabbed me the very first time I heard it on the flipside of the black friday 10". I just love the whole dirty groove of the song. The lyrics are great. When people who aren't DBT fans hear me playing it they always seem to laugh when the "paying for the house that that bitch lives in now" line comes up. My favorite lyric is the "play football" part. That just slays me every time I hear it.

[JimmerDette]

great song........great bassline.

[Chest Rockwell]

Loved this song from the get-go. Saw them open with it last year at the Fillmore and then a few weeks ago again at the Fillmore and love the evolution of the song in the live setting. The groove is just menacing and creates a film noir like atmosphere. Patterson adds some super distorted pick scrapes toward the end of it...love that kind of texture. As mentioned above, it's a great showcase for the interplay between everyone in the band too.

[dogstar]

I wasn't sure about this until I heard Patterson and Cooley do it acoustically and then it kind of made sense. I like what Cooley plays which seems to create most of the tension in the song. Link to the video of the performance here

http://vimeo.com/channels/roughtradeshops#29791183

[phungi]

seems my role as of late is to dredge up old song threads, but this morning on FB, someone posted:

Set me straight...Used To Be A Cop
I always had in my mind he was in his own house when he circled 'round....all paranoid and peeking through the blinds, etc.
A fellow Heathen... suggested he was circling his wife's house (the one that bitch lives now) looking outside in, stalking.
So which is it?

(referencing the line:)

Sometimes late at night I circle around the house
I look through the windows and dream that she's still mine

while it never occurred to me "looking through the windows" could mean anything other than "from the outside of the house", we have all been known to interpret lyrics in unique manners

the first reply:

Patterson Hood:
Totally stalking.

[dime in the gutter]

it's the guitars, stupid.




eta
stupid being in the general sense...not you.