Hello Cruel World

from Heard it all before by Ian Bourne

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about

Gretchen Peter's song about "A girl without a safety net" woke me from early morning "it can't be morning already" via a radio alarm as it was played before official release on BBC Radio 2. I immediately said: what is this song? I have to learn this and play it.

As it is "a song written for a lady what to sing about herself", I found that it lacked something when I tried to sing it, so I turned it into a third person song (subtle changes to the lyrics) and played it live that very night at Emma McGann's "Songbird Acoustic" (sadly missed) at The Phoenix in Coventry. Still love playing it. I have quoted the original lyrics below, but my version is easy to work out.

lyrics

haven’t done as well as I thought I would
I’m not dead but I’m damaged goods
And it’s gettin’ late
I’m a rusty hinge, a squeaky wheel
at the bad end of a shaky deal
cursed by the hand of fate
and ooooooh – I’m a very lucky girl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world

I’m a ticking clock, a losing bet
a girl without a safety net
I’m a cause for some concern
You don’t live this long without regrets
Telephone calls you don’t wanna get
Stones you’d rather leave unturned
but ooooooh – the grain of sand becomes the pearl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world

some folks go the easy route
numb the pain or put the lights out
either way they got to go
me I’m gonna stick around
in for a penny in for a pound
cause I hate to miss the show
and ooooooh – I’m a very stubborn girl
yeah ooooooh – hello cruel world
hello cruel world

credits

from Heard it all before, released January 11, 2017
Gretchen Peters (Words and Music)

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about

Ian Bourne Nuneaton, UK

Acoustic artist, performing quirky (and often obscure) covers and moody original songs, usually solo, but sometimes with a variety of friends.

Musician, nice guy, photographer, husband, father, temporary world citizen, unwilling future corpse ... more

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