Greetings Gautamanation,
Welcome to the third installment of Whiskey Wednesdays. Today’s pairing will be track 3 from “Strong Medicine” entitled “What Am I Waiting For?” with Wiser’s De Luxe. I discovered Wiser’s thanks to a reccomendation from the manager of the ABC Package store in Matthews, NC. I was an instant fan, it’s a great sipping whiskey with the bite of Scotch and the robust flavors of other Canadians yet without the annoying syrupy sweetness you get from Crown Royal and the like. At $14.95 a fifth Wiser’s De Luxe is easy on both your wallet and your palette. So pick up a bottle of Wiser’s De Luxe, grab your favorite rocks glass and enjoy “What Am I Waiting For?”
Verse One:
Well the crowd is thick and the drums are kickin’/ still it feels like something’s missin’/ can’t sweat that now gotta go all out cuz I know the clock is tickin’/ and I know it’s not my mission to sit here and spit this fiction/ gotta speak the truth when I freak these loops gotta give ‘em something different/ can’t tell the same old story the same old song and dance/ this world ain’t got much for me it’s like this is my only chance/ and I won’t let it slip I’m holding it with my kung-fu grip/ cuz all the whiskey I can sip/ won’t plug the holes in this sinking ship/ but if it’s going down I’m going down with it/ the head that holds this crown is propped up by a neck that’s stiff/ cuz I’ve been sleeping in whatever cranny I can fit/ the stakes are high and still I up the ante chip by chip/ gonna build it brick by brick won’t quit ’til I’m a hit/ won’t stop until my name remains on everybody’s lips/ and I may not live to see this history I’m making/ that’s all right with me cuz I garuntee that I’m not waiting…
chorus:
What am I waiting for? What do y’all take me for? Man I can’t take no more and if I knock any harder I’m breaking down the door so just let me in
Verse Two:
I burn a fire to stay cool burn myself I am the fuel/ time’s on my side but she can be cruel so he who hesitates is a damn fool/ and Mama Gautama didn’ raise one of those/ so dough or no dough man I’m playin’ those shows/ cuz people they come and go and when you don’t ever know/ but I’m not waiting ’round for that bunker to blow/ homie slow your damn roll no need to be Rambo/ Imma get where I’m going won’t be in a Lambo/ and I know cuz I’ve been at it since way back/ tryin’ to turn my bus pass into a Maybach/ maybe not a Maybach, more like a Hybrid Civic/ but it’s gonna feel like a Maybach when I’m driving in it/ and I know the sky’s the limit as long as I grind to get it/ climbing to the clouds in proud defiance of cynics/ life it’s not infinite so ’til it’s finally finished/ just give me my 20 minutes and my drink tickets…
Chorus
Verse Three:
From the self-destructive habits that derail my greatest schemes/ to the women of my past who haunt all of my dreams/ as daunting as it seems Imma face it with a grin/ cuz I know that no one else was made to make it in my skin/ so I play this game to win but I’m quick to change the rules/ cuz I’m really getting sick of waiting ’round on all these fools/ to finally decide they’re ready to face the fire/ I’ve been marching through this bitch so long I’m geting tired/ live wire, the simple goal to which I aspire only involves happiness that’s all I require/ so if you object step up and catch wreck/ and let these people tell you where you need to step next/ cuz I’m never half-steppin no matter what type of kicks I rock/ Docs to classic Reebok’s Dunks to Birkenstocks/ put it on my tab homie I guarantee that I’ll work it off/ see that’s purpose y’all until the curtains fall…
This song was my personal assesment of my music career as of the summer of 2010. I had spent a year couch surfing in between trips out of town (I lived in Atlanta at the time.) My album, “Few Against Many” had come out the previous spring and I was basically going all in with doing music. The opening couplet of this song explains my state of affairs “Well the crowd is thick and the drums are kickin’/ still it feels like something’s missin’…” Basically, I had managed to get my music to the point where I was playing shows regularly and people were responding but I was also poor and essentially homeless and no matter how positive of a response I was getting at shows, at the end of the night I faded back into obscurity with no one outside of my immediate circle of friends paying much attention to my exploits. Despite that fact I also felt that I had turned a corner artistically, had finally discovered my true voice and was on my way to mastering my instrument. I moved to Charlotte a few months after writing this song and it’s meaning really took life as I began the proccess of breaking into a new market armed only with my existing catalog and the confidence that comes with a track record of accomplishments that many can’t boast of. Ultimately this song is me taking responsiblity for my future and realizing that there is no time like the present and no person better equiped than myself to propel my music to new heights.
And there is another Whiskey Wednesday on the books, pour yourself a double if you caught the Fugazi reference (oh irony) and give “What Am I Waiting For?” another listen.
Cheers,
GG