Day 91: April 1: I Was Only Telling a Lie

"There ain't no need to act like I shot your dog."

Here's James pretending to be a player.  He's in the "it's cool to use women" mode.  Interestingly, this is the same kind of vibe that Steamroller gives off- except on that track his tongue is more firmly planted in his cheek.  There's a playfulness to this one too (along the vein of ZZ Top's "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide") but it also feels a bit more misogynistic.  In high school days I would have listed this among my favorites. If viewed ironically, it's still a smile, but I don't hold it in as high esteem as I used to.

I Was Only Telling a Lie

I really find the comparison of these two songs interesting.  Rod is essentially saying the same thing in his song that James is- those promises I made in the heat of passion were insincere- but somehow Rod plays that admission with vulnerability.  It's really a beautiful song- and it reminds me of what Rod was capable of before he started crooning standards.

I Was Only Joking