52 Week Song Cycle #36
That Bitch (c) 2010 Mattroi Berger
Once a month or so I attend Shaina Taub’s Song Forum - a Brooklyn meet-up of local singer songwriters to share new music and drink heavily. It’s a great group of people, and I find it incredibly inspiring to constantly be privy to some of the city’s best new music before anyone else has heard it.
There was a new wrinkle added to our gatherings recently, with “challenges” handed out among attendees. If one of us hears a certain something in another’s playing style that we want them to explore, or if there’s a specific artist we want to hear them cover, we issue a challenge, and that person has to answer at the following Forum. Already we’ve heard an updated Abba cover, a new “standard,” and now this.
Shaina herself gave me the fairly whimsical challenge to “write a blues about a well known fairy tale character, but never explicitly state his/her name.” I performed this as our latest gathering and asked those there to see if they could guess who the subject was. I think it’s pretty obvious. I souped up the tune a bit for the Cycle.
For the next Forum, my challenge is to cover a Regina Specktor tune - I already have it ready. I’ve long wanted to start recording some demos for the blog, but it’s hard to find the time. On a possibly tangential note, I’m starting to cook up ideas for this space once I finish the Cycle in late December…
Music and lyrics by Mattroi
***
That bitch, she stole all my money
That wild girl, she stole all my youth
But I could give a damn
Yeah, I got the upper hand
Cuz, bitch, I don’t believe in you
Well, girl, you move it like you’re baiting
Then when they hook you, oh you just act confused
But the way you cut that dress
It’s like you ask for it
I ain’t gonna bite no more - I don’t believe in you
Well Momma didn’t raise no lost boy
I ain’t a child no more
And though it’s imprecise
I got a plan that works out fine
And to take out all your sisters
Is an adequate price
That bitch, she messed up my mind, now
Made me feel like my damn ass could fly
Well keep your petty scores
I’m done with dust I don’t want more
That bitch, she stole all my money
That wild girl, I gave her all my youth
I could never land a blow
I ain’t gonna hit you, so just know
Oh, bitch, I don’t believe in you
Well Momma didn’t raise no lost boy
I ain’t a child no more
And though it’s imprecise
I got a plan that works out fine
And to take out all your sisters
Is an adequate price
Well it looks like I did the trick
But I ain’t done just yet
Cuz I’m gonna clap to bring you back girl…
