Lost Dog Records

Lyrics

STANDING TALL (AT THE LOWEST POINT ON EARTH) Patience flies in the face of death Trying not to draw that final breath I’m weak man in the strangest ways Whose virtue has known better days I’m standing tall At the lowest point on earth Lovers cry, their stars uncrossed Bitter years forever lost I can’t control my wounded heart I can’t digest another tart I’m standing tall At the lowest point Maybe we could dig a little deeper We could make the plummet even steeper Even steeper Nothing comes from troubled minds But plastic grins and gracious lies Another lost puppy in the garden of life Marauding the block on garbage night I’m standing tall At the lowest point on earth Patience flies Patience flies c1995 by Wishnefsky Wishnefsky – vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass, synth Dave Rodgers – drums, tambourine COMMENTS I did stand tall at the lowest point on Earth when my wife and I visited Death Valley in the early 90s. Nevertheless, this song does not concern the physical desert. No, it addresses the psychological desert through which some of us must wander, endeavoring to determine whether the distant palm trees and gazebos shimmering in the heat waves represent a fictional oasis, or something a bit more mundane, like another Starbucks. I wrote some of the music for Standing Tall in the early 90s when Rod was still in the band. At first, this song, like a lot of ambitious attention-seeking songs, dreamed of being a pop hit, adored by all, especially spunky teenage girls. Over time, though, I'm happy to report that Standing Tall grew up and matured into an adult song, wisely casting aside the shallow reveries of youth. (If you don't think songs take on lives of their own, far beyond the control of the composer, then clearly you are not a song-writer.) We recorded different versions of this songs, including one during which Todd, who does not play guitar, "played" the guitar solo on the outro. I believe it was Mike's idea. He turned up the amp very loud and cranked up the distortion pedals. Then he handed the Beast (one of my guitars) to Todd and said, "Let it rip!" Todd looked at me like it might not be a bad idea to contact some mental health professionals to bring Mike to a nice quiet room where he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. In spite of Todd's reluctance to live out any long repressed Eddie Van Halen fantasies, we rolled tape and he played something that was more feedback than actual guitar playing. And it sounded, well, interesting. I believe I have a mix featuring Todd's guitar solo. If enough of you clamor for it loudly enough, I might upload it. I played the guitar solo on this version. I was trying, with limited success, to imitate Mike's lovely, lyrical style of playing. We also recorded a version of this song with Todd singing. It's hard to say who sings it better. Probably Todd. But I own it a bit more than he does. If I find a decent mix with Todd singing, I'll upload it. Wishnefsky