Just Lucky, I Guess
Mr_Yesterday
I’ve had a few long drives recently and got the chance to polish some new material, at least the lyrics and vocals. Rudimentary accompaniment by my virtual click-track MIDI band, Sins of the Fathers, is included for fun.
BPM is 72 (some will count it as 144) except for the break at measures 35-53 (first half the third verse), which starts out at 96 and wraps up with a ritard and some other complications (my DAW doesn’t manage fermata well, so a whole bar gets absorbed and distributed as spare beats ;-)…
Lyrics © & (cc)BY D A Ayer 2025-11-08
(Verse 01)
Sometimes I drive a little over the limit.
Sometimes I take something but don’t know what’s in it
and I never really know [just] where anything’s been.
On the other hand, I don’t obsess in case I might miss it.
Pushy people behind me? Well, you know they can kiss it!
And once I arrive, I’ll tell you precisely when…I’ll get in…
(Chorus 01)
So, I’ve come this far!
(Never thought I’d [even] last past thirty.)
though some days were so hard
(my nose ain’t so clean and my hands are all dirty)
but when anybody asks me ‘bout the key to my success… [I tell ‘em]
[I’m] “just lucky, I guess.”
(Verse 02)
Now I don’t care very much for where our politics are going—
feels like walkin’ off my home turf with my gang colors showing—
and I’m not gonna tell you how I’ll vote, ‘cause that’s my right.
On the other hand, I can’t stand to just stay quiet
when they come for me and mine: you know, it’s time to start a riot.
You can turn the other cheek, but I’m gonna stand and fight!
(Chorus 02)
‘Cause they’ve gone too far!
(Never thought I’d hear the Devil read the sermon!)
Makin’ life so cruel and hard:
the house of the people is teeming with vermin.
But whenever people ask me how I plan to survive this mess… [I tell ‘em]
“Just keepin’ lucky, I guess.”
(Break/Verse03)
Now it hasn’t always been this way.
I once thought there might come a day
when we could all have had our say
and afterward sit down and play…
…on through the night.
‘Cause I don’t believe you only can be a friend or a foe;
most areas are grey, not a simple yes or no
and I could even change my mind…or you might see the light.
(Chorus 03)
Yes, we’ve been this far!
(No one thought we’d make it last past thirty.)
…through days easy and hard
(our noses ain’t clean and our hands are still dirty)
but whenever someone asks me what’s the key to our success… [I just tell ‘em]
“We’re lucky, I guess.
“Just lucky, I guess.”
BPM is 72 (some will count it as 144) except for the break at measures 35-53 (first half the third verse), which starts out at 96 and wraps up with a ritard and some other complications (my DAW doesn’t manage fermata well, so a whole bar gets absorbed and distributed as spare beats ;-)…
Lyrics © & (cc)BY D A Ayer 2025-11-08
(Verse 01)
Sometimes I drive a little over the limit.
Sometimes I take something but don’t know what’s in it
and I never really know [just] where anything’s been.
On the other hand, I don’t obsess in case I might miss it.
Pushy people behind me? Well, you know they can kiss it!
And once I arrive, I’ll tell you precisely when…I’ll get in…
(Chorus 01)
So, I’ve come this far!
(Never thought I’d [even] last past thirty.)
though some days were so hard
(my nose ain’t so clean and my hands are all dirty)
but when anybody asks me ‘bout the key to my success… [I tell ‘em]
[I’m] “just lucky, I guess.”
(Verse 02)
Now I don’t care very much for where our politics are going—
feels like walkin’ off my home turf with my gang colors showing—
and I’m not gonna tell you how I’ll vote, ‘cause that’s my right.
On the other hand, I can’t stand to just stay quiet
when they come for me and mine: you know, it’s time to start a riot.
You can turn the other cheek, but I’m gonna stand and fight!
(Chorus 02)
‘Cause they’ve gone too far!
(Never thought I’d hear the Devil read the sermon!)
Makin’ life so cruel and hard:
the house of the people is teeming with vermin.
But whenever people ask me how I plan to survive this mess… [I tell ‘em]
“Just keepin’ lucky, I guess.”
(Break/Verse03)
Now it hasn’t always been this way.
I once thought there might come a day
when we could all have had our say
and afterward sit down and play…
…on through the night.
‘Cause I don’t believe you only can be a friend or a foe;
most areas are grey, not a simple yes or no
and I could even change my mind…or you might see the light.
(Chorus 03)
Yes, we’ve been this far!
(No one thought we’d make it last past thirty.)
…through days easy and hard
(our noses ain’t clean and our hands are still dirty)
but whenever someone asks me what’s the key to our success… [I just tell ‘em]
“We’re lucky, I guess.
“Just lucky, I guess.”