Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today The Quick & Easy Boys' Sean Badders tells us about "Take Your Medicine" from their brand new album "Red Light Rabbit". We now turn it over to Sean for the story: So the song "Take Your Medicine" is at once a happy, dance party song, as well as a personal examination of a relationship with a girlfriend that ended on a sour note.
It originally came to fruition at a sound check before one of our shows. I wanted to do a song based on a major 1 (Bb) to a minor 2 (Cm) chord change, so we just started messing around and locked into a funky disco-type groove that is the basis for the song's verses and chorus. Eventually we started hashing it out more in practice, where I figured out a solid bass line and Jimmy refined his verse/chorus guitar parts. Vocally I had nothing for the verses yet, but for the hook I was singing "ooooooooooohhhhh, my my my my my my myyyyyy." It was coming along well until it was brought to my attention that the melody I was singing was pretty close to the "hands across the water
" line in Paul McCartney's "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." At that point, it was the catalyst I needed to A) change the melody, and B) come up with lyrics as a whole.
Personally, I was at a pretty low point as my girlfriend had just broken up with me as I returned home from tour. All my lyrics on the album are about dealing with that relationship/break-up, but through pain comes growth, and, in this instance, new songs for the album. The line "So take your medicine
" was the first thing I came up with, and from there the rest just flowed. I finished the chorus, and the verses came just as easily. As the song started coming together, I really wanted to run with the idea of a happy sounding song that was actually quite sad, much like the pop tunes of the '50's and '60's. Vocally, I was trying to go for a Levi Stubbs (of the Four Tops) meets Barry Gibb type of feel.
After the lyrics were all done, Jimmy helped construct the bridge, we tweaked the form a bit more, and a couple months later we recorded it. Hopefully the song makes you dance and sing along, but more importantly become a fan of the band and see us when we hit a town near you.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album - right here!
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