I made some notes on what inspired me to write some of the Adesso song lyrics. I do not pretend to be a poet however a writer once told me “for a guy who doesn’t really know how to write anything you are pretty good.”  I was so insultingly complimented!

Adesso
Adesso is Italian for “now.” The chorus of the song is “adesso viene il bello” and roughly translates as “now comes the nice part.” The expression was used in a 1940 Italian fascist song to celebrate early war victories over the English. It was subsequently used as an expression of contempt and sarcasm against the Mussolini regime as the realities and atrocities of World War 2 unfolded. I used the expression in the song Adesso as the “irony of life” coming back to bite you in the ass when you least expect it.

“Life just may be like a compass. Magnetic problems make it spin in all directions.”

Scenes from a Confrontation
This song is about my continual lack of success in altercations with assertive/aggressive personalities (yes, we all know who they are!). After an altercation I repeatedly mull over how I could have handled the situation differently. Psychologists say people like me do this to gain back some control over a situation where they felt helpless. Soooo Kevin when did you first start experiencing this…..?

“I play these scenes in the back of my mind and I move all the parts around”

Low
I was feeling pretty low driving back from a winter gig. Ask any Canadian about winter blues; or maybe don’t ask because it would take an hour of your life you will never get back. Anyway, things got worse when I got lost in a snowstorm. I finally found “civilization” (not to mention gas!) when I ended up in the town of Low Quebec. It occurred to me that it was a great name for a song and a perfectly ironic town to get roaring drunk in.

“I’m sitting here drinking in the town of Low. Been hanging out too long and I really should go”

Intended
My “what I think are good intentions” frequently get bulldozed by other people’s “what they think are better intentions.” Are all our human intentions selfish? Like the guy on TV with the Grammy who thanks God. So what is intended by people who say that? Does God really give a damn about your Grammy? “Sorry about all that misery world but I was busy watching the Grammys and collecting my thank-you’s!” Ok so am I jealous I never had the chance to get a Grammy and thank God? Did my bad intentions get the better of me?

“I had emotions I displayed them carelessly. Squandered them on too many hidden agendas”

Division
When I was young my Father did not approve of his son doing what he called “bumming around in bands” Well here I am decades later and still “bumming around in bands.” And when I am gone my epitaph will say “Here lies Kevin, he bummed around in bands.” I wonder if heaven has a place for musicians to “bum around” in?

“You’re on top for a while.  You’re living a style that was never built to last”

Life Goes On
Many believe the body dies but the soul lives on forever. If you stare at your hand for a minute and then close your eyes, you will see an image of the hand in your mind. The part of you that is seeing the image is your soul. Wow! how cool is that? But maybe I shouldn’t be doing this while I’m driving…

“Play the song like nothing’s wrong. Life goes on”

Kevin Gillespie February 2013