"BBQ Party"

[Cue Zephyr]

Howdy folks,

I have an assignment due for upcoming Wednesday.

LOng story short, I need to write a song themed "BBQ Party".

I have the vibe, arrangement and sound clearly in my mind, but I can't write the song!

The song starts out with a clip of some BBQ sounds and somebody starts picking a guitar (like to check if it's in tune) and counts the song in.

I set the song around 100 BPM with a very simple chord progression in G. The rest of the arrangement will hopefully be some stomping on the ground on the beat, some off-key backing vocals during the chorus and some banjo and/or mandolin.

Here's what I have (guitar only): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49609615/bbq_1.mp3 - it's 2 bars of intro, 2x 8 bars of verse and 8 bars of chorus.

For the general form and setting of the song's story I was thinking of just describing some things that happen at such parties, like your aunt's telling a story about her kids that have moved out, one of your parents tells an embarrassing story involving you, your sister's already tipsy, stupid stuff like that.

For the hook I was thinking to open with "We're having a barbecue party" and some generic things that you bring to or do there. I don't know, eat too much, drink too much, talk too much and misplace your glasses.

I'm sure at least one if you can help me out with this.

Cheers!

CZ

[mike42]

I'll see what I can do lyrics-wise. I'm thinking it could be creative to start the song out on a more serious note, like someone handed you a guitar and you're about to play some cool song for everyone.

But then you keep getting interrupted, people doing stupid things in the background, etc. and so the lyrics quickly turn into telling people "stop doing this or that" and describing what the others are doing. Then you could jump into a silly chorus and people start singing along.

Also, if you need off-key backing vocals, I am *very* good with those so that shouldn't be a problem 

[Cue Zephyr]

Mike, while reading your post I thought of an existing song. You're onto something here!




I'm not sure if I need to have some stuff pre-recorded or not but I'll let you know!

[mike42]

I'll see if I can come up with some lyrical ideas.

I'm envisioning the guitar player sitting there, looking around and singing about the people at the BBQ. People intermittently chiming in with a line of their own here and there in the verses, and then breaking into a chorus like the "red solo cup" song where everyone is singing along.

[SunBurstUK]

   I don't know make it funny, or not depends on the people. you could even make it double entendre 'rack' but, I don't recommend it.
" I..love BBQ parties..I'd even BBQ my cat,
you could wash it down with a gottle of gear but... it might take a yea---rrrr"

I don't know... just try to have fun with it

 

[TB-AV]

.....

[TB-AV]

does it have to have the word Party... that's kinda rare over this way... You either go to a party or a barBque.

It's two totally different things. they are like 180 degrees out.

A barBque you go to eat and get drunk.... at a Party you go to get drunk and eat. It's just two totally different things.

Of course if you must... you could confuse and combine the two in a song. It's like putting ketchup on ice cream but go ahead and have a barBque Party.

BTW... you can steal these ideas and place them to lyrics 

We've got barBque beans and barBque chicken
Aunt Mary's in the 'shine', back up in the kitchen,
tellin' stories 'bout (name here ), like it's her birthday party.

other subject matter and regional specific... dragonflies buzzing around the pond, kids fishing, horseshoes clanging(the game not the animal), the tree swing, family renunion,,, rhymes with communion... religious experience.... these are just idea to rhyme with and go off on a tangent ... so the whole deal is the barBque and individual segments of it are like their own little private party...

Grandma got to reminissin' about the time dad went missin'...... after two shots of bourbon and an ice cold beer I just heard something I wasn't s'posed to hear.

BarBQue Party...

That's all I got dodad... good luck.

Seriously though... a BarBQue Party... who ever heard of such a thing....... that's a good idea.

[bradt]

What sort of general setting do you have in mind? From your first post it sounds like a family gathering type of thing, or is it maybe a small town where no matter where you go, you always know half the people there and are related to at least a few of them?

Is it the sort of Barbecue with kegs and music, and the potential for a bonfire...planned or not?
Is it the kind with a badminton net, dads in shorts, and kids running around?
Is it on the beach in the summer? At a ski cabin in the winter?

There's a lot of ways you can go with this, and that may inform the story a bit more.


BTW- Here in The Southeastern US, barbecue is something you eat(involving some form of sauce or rub) rather than a place, event, or something you do. You eat barbecue, and you get barbecue sauce on your shirt, but you either grill, smoke, or slow roast meats. What much of the world calls barbecues, we call cookouts. I dunno, maybe that could be used in some way as well.

[TB-AV]

Ha! yeah... actually we do call it a cookout. It's a complicated thing.

So here's the deal.....

1. If no alcohol is involved it's a family reunion.

2. If the main focus is on food cooked in a variety of ways to include grilling, smoking, BarBque, steamed crabs, shrimp boil, roasted oysters,  etc.. with ample supplies of alcohol, then it's a cookout..... unless you're a Yankee in which case you can just call it anything you want because no one really cares.... they just want to know when the food will be ready and do they have time to ( fill in the blank ).

3. If the main focus is alcohol, then it's a Party, doesn't matter what kind of food, what you call it, cookout, indoors, whatever.

Now there are a few disclaimers......

You can have a crab feast which is a cookout that centers around steamed crabs or crabs of any nature actually.

You can have a "fish fry"... now that's a cookout usually,,, I'm not going to tell you what is served there.

... and finally you have your BarBque Gun, which a very fancy pistol worn to a Texas BarBQue ( or other such very special events )... but a Texas BarBQue is a cookout that will be serving Texas style BarBQue....

...and this is why you need alcohol at most of the a fore mentioned events because if you think on it too long, it's going to drive you to drinking anyway, so you might as well have it handy.

[TB-AV]

Is it on the beach in the summer?

Careful now.... you're gettin' into "clam bake" and "oyster roast" category now .. those are not technically 'cookouts'... plus you have to watch out for those on the other side of the world. You start cooking on the beach and for some reason everyone wants to throw something on Barbie... I swear that girl has a rough time... must be some kind of tradition.... like rice at a wedding or something.

Cue, you've really opened a can of worms now.

[bradt]

Careful now.... you're gettin' into "clam bake" and "oyster roast" category now .. those are not technically 'cookouts'...

You forgot the low country boil. Shame on you! Both a cookout, and often held at or near a beach....even if it is a crappy beach on a river or lake.

Also, what sort of boring family reunions are you going to? lol

ETA- to get back to the topic a little better. This sort of regional confusion could probably be used in creating wordplay for the lyrics. Depending on overall theme, it could even work into the central theme of the story somewhat (e.g. family members coming in from different areas, but all coming together when the food is served.)

[mike42]

Alright, I managed to come up with a few silly lyrics that could be a starting point.

This barbecue, looks like a frat party
"Hey Aunt Pam, stop kissing Uncle Marty!"
Bill's been drinkin', now he slurring and tripping,
(drunk guy) "Where did she go?"                                               
"Hey Bill, I think she's in the kitchen!"

He's stumbling off, so can we finally have peace?
(woman) "Peter's on fire, someone call the police!"
Peter's grill master, roastin' burgers and dogs,
But now the beer and propane, equals a fire house call.

(Pre-chorus)
Through it all, here I sit, just a strummin' away,
We've had ourselves another ordinary, barbecue day.

(Chorus)
Let's have a barbecue, we're at a cookout,
Be careful you invite, you better look out,
They'll turn a backyard party, to a heavyweight bout,
As soon as the keg runs out...
As soon as the keg runs out!         (all together)

It's half past two, and there goes Grandma reminiscin',
"Did I tell you kids about the time, your daddy went missin?"    (Grandma)
"Nobody cares!"                                                                          (Grandpa)
"Did I say you had to listen? So anyways, one time..."               (Grandma)
"Screw this, I'm goin' fishin'!"                                                      (Grandpa)

(Pre-chorus)
(Chorus)

(Music slows down)
It's just another Saturday, in the South...

[Cue Zephyr]

Right so, it's about to get even weirder.

For inspiration we got to pick an A4 paper that somebody else made and I picked one that basically said: <name>, <name> and <name>'s BBQ Party, a pig with some barbecue toolery around it, no vegetarians allowed, a location and contact information.

So make of it what you want.

I really like the small-town type of barbecue setting that bradt describes. I think it makes for the best story potential and probably fits the country vibe as well.

Mike, I can't believe how fast you got this down. That would've taken me a year to write! Cheers man.

[mike42]

It was a *long* 20 minutes of my life, so if you don't use any of the lyrics don't feel too bad about it 

Did they give you specific names to use, or is that your choice? I could probably write another verse or 2 that includes a pig reference, something snarky about vegetarians, etc.

Not sure my lyrics fit the requirements that you describe, but I suppose it depends how much of a 'creative license' they allow you to have for these assignments 

[Cue Zephyr]

There's a lot of creative license allowed. It didn't even have to be literal, but that's pretty hard with "BBQ Party"

So anybody's idea listed in this thread including my own are all equally valid.

I forgot there's a line on the paper saying not to forget your swimwear but I'm not obliged to use it. I think it's needlessly restrictive.

I'm not sure how much space or time there is to actually have some people yelling about so I may have to keep that as an option rather than a requirement. I like the idea a lot though.

Also, the hosts are

Code: [Select]

Kevin, Frank and Akin so if you've got something for that, feel free to use it.

Thanks Mike,

[mike42]

I kind of dropped the idea of people yelling in favor of having random people chime in throughout the song. I think the first couple verses could work if you change Bill to Frank and Peter to Kevin. That gives you 2 of the 3 names.

Here's another potential verse:

Akin drives up, he's yellin "Frank, I've got the pig"
He's gone to hog roast heaven, wheels turning like the spit.
But Frank is still drinkin', now he's thinkin' he knows best,
If you let him near the fire, he'll be crispier than chips
(or maybe "he'll be bacon for the guests")

I could write an additional verse that mentions vegetarians, or maybe something about how 'veggies don't belong here' (things like "I don't eat rabbit food" seem to be common sayings). Not sure how long you want to make this thing, though. Are the vegetarian and contact info parts a requirement?

Also, if the location doesn't have to be too specific the final line "It's just another Saturday in the South" might fulfill that part?

[Cue Zephyr]

The vegetarian part is actually quite significant on the poster (which is what it is, essentially) but both the location and contact info are pretty useless.

I'm thinking about 3 minutes should be alright.

I love that verse, by the way.

[close2u]

U.S. & Euro cultures eh!


Cue
I think this is probably a curve ball to what you want lyrically but I got these country star rhymes going on ...

Dolly Parton
The party's really startin'

Merge Haggard
The drunk guy slipped and staggered

Waylon Jennings
I'll sing to the pretty girt in leggings

Steve Earle
Boy kisses girl

You see where I'm going with this?
There must be dozens of these if you get in a roll and want to work it.

[mike42]

Another verse idea along the same lines as my previous posts. This time with a vegetarian theme:

The food has finished cookin', lookin' like it's time to feast,
When along comes cousin Sally, askin' "Hey, what's here for me?"
I know you love your veggies, but the 'fixins' only meat,
So take a burger, no complaining, or you're hittin' the street.

[Cue Zephyr]

Mike, you're cooking on gas.



Anyhow, were you thinking of these lyrics spoken-word style like Red Solo Cup or more melodically like this one?

[mike42]

Mike, you're cooking on gas.

I just hope it ends better than Peter/Kevin on the grill in verse 2... 

As to the lyrics, somewhere in between the two is kind of what I was thinking. There are a lot of words so unless the tempo is very slow it'll be hard to make it too melodic, but I think the singer's lines should have a bit more melody than the 'interruptions' by others strewn throughout.

[Cue Zephyr]

I was thinking of perhaps me singing the chorus and have a few of the others attempt to put the words over the music. This should be interesting. I'll see if I can incorporate some of my own ideas and what others have said as well. Not that your stuff ain't good enough, but you know I gotta pick up the pen somehow!

Incorporating the names on the poster got me thinking I may add some other names of fellow students who take the same class. I'm sure they won't mind and their names aren't as awkward as mine either.

[mike42]

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with!

[Cue Zephyr]

I inquired fellow students and a few are already up for it. I haven't had any consent from some others but they probably don't mind either.

I don't have a replacement for cousin Sally yet.

Code: [Select]

"BBQ Party"

V1
This barbecue, looks like a frat party (dude, it is)
"Hey Ben, come pick with us!”
Ben's been drinkin', now he slurring and tripping,
[drunk guy Ben] “Where’s my guitar?”
"Hey Ben, it’s here, hold it together, man!”
V2 (Ben joins)
Kevin has stumbled off, he went swimming with the frogs
[woman] "Janos's on fire, someone call the police!"
Janos's grill master, roastin' burgers and dogs,
But now the beer and propane, equals a fire house call.
PC
Through it all, here I sit with my banjo just pickin' away,
We’re having ourselves another ordinary, barbecue day.
Chorus
Let's have a barbecue, we're at a cookout,
Be careful you invite, you better look out,
They'll turn a backyard party, to a heavyweight bout,
As soon as the keg runs out...
As soon as the keg runs out! [everybody]
V3
Koen drives up, he's yellin’ "Yo Frank, I've got the pig"
He's gone to hog roast heaven, wheels turning like the spit.
But Frank is still drinkin', now he's thinkin' he knows best,
Yeah but no, he'll be bacon for the guests
V4
The food has finished cookin', lookin' like it's time to feast,
When along comes cousin Sally, askin' "Hey, what's here for me?"
I know you love your veggies, but the 'fixins' only meat, <insert laughter>
So take a burger, no complaining, or you're hittin' the street.
(PC)
(Chorus)
Through it all, here we sit with our guitars (I’ve got a bass!) (well, I have a banjo) just pickin’, strummin’ and singin’ away
We’ve had ourselves another ordinary, barbecue day.
Until the keg’s run out
[drunk guy Ben] “Hey guys, the keg’s run out” <insert riot>


[Cue Zephyr]

I spent some time fleshing it out, and here's what I got (for the chorus):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49609615/queue-1.mp3

Thanks Mike, you're a genius!