In days of yore in the late nineties, when the lyrics for this ditty were written, there was much ballyhoo about the hardbitten folk living "one paycheck away" from financial ruin. Upon reading those stories I would look around in shock to see they were talking about me. "Oh yeah," I thought,"I live like that." It was an awful realization, running completely counter to my habitual assumption that I was one payoff away from being a millionaire. You may say I'm a dreamer—to quote a millionaire—but I'm not the only one.
For such is the protagonist in "One Paycheck Away," who thanks the Lord (sarcastically?) for keeping him and his loved ones one paycheck away from ruin. On the other hand, he sees himself as one paycheck away from getting together the cash he needs to execute the plan that will make his fortune.
I like that this is a "days of the week" kind of song, like, uh...Oh crap. I can't think of any famous ones, off the cuff—just un-famous songs like "The Diary of Horace Wimp" by ELO, or "In Only Seven Days" by Queen, or Sting's "Seven Days" or The Monkees' "Saturday's Child"—but you know what I mean. Songs that move along by the days of the week.
Lots of nice contrast in this one: the lurking opening riff, the building second riff, the weariness of the verse, the drama of the chorus. It's not cool to enjoy one's own work as an artist, but me? I got NO problem with that. There's still a kid in me that is still just having a BLAST with this music thingy.
lyrics
"One Paycheck Away"
(vonHummer)
Friday Friday’s a holy day, that’s the day of the week I pray for more sunshine, for making hay, and my fair share of the deal…
Sunday Sunday’s a day of worry, Monday Monday’s the day I scurry back to slack for the Hamster Lords, the shavings, the cage and the wheel,
One paycheck away…One paycheck away…I want to thank you, Lord for keeping me and my loved ones one paycheck away…
"All for nothing"’s not what I’ve been thinking, got Titanic hopes and they aint sinking, got a get-rich-dream I’m poised to put into play, if I should someday stash one paycheck away…
Tuesday Tuesday’s a day of woe, too many days in the week to go, only one day of pay so far safely stashed in the sack, Wednesday Wednesday’s a day of bills, Thursday’s dead weight, all uphill, Friday Friday my day’s done with one more week’s wage to my back
One paycheck away…One paycheck away…I want to thank you, Lord for keeping me and my loved ones one paycheck away…
"All for nothing"’s not what I’ve been thinking, got Titanic hopes and they aint sinking, got a get-rich-dream I’m poised to put into play, if I should someday stash one paycheck away…
credits
from Abbey Damned,
released August 1, 2003
vonHummer: Drums, bass, bass drone, high drone guitar, vocals
vonHummer is a Portland music/cable access legend whose career spanned from Fall of 2001 to Fall of 2011, during which he
recorded a hundred or so songs for use in his absurdist show (and feature film) and played only a handful of concerts. Currently retired, his work shines on for the ages. Or will he someday return...?...more
Long split up, but not forgotten. Some say the Winebirds functioned as an ersatz Fleetwood Mac, and that's more than fair, but to me, they functioned as a real-life Partridge Family. vonHummer
Continuing the rock tradition of talking about awkward, intimate minutiae and nerdy obsessions via mammoth guitar lines. Bandcamp Album of the Day Sep 12, 2017