&
| & | |
| |
| Written by | Joe Hawley |
|---|---|
| Appears on | Good & Evil |
| Sung by | Joe Hawley |
| Duration | 3:14 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Language | English |
| Links: | YouTube Spotify |
& (pronounced "and") is a song by Joe Hawley. It shares the same melody as a song (also by Hawley) called A Lady, which acts as a reprise on the album Good & Evil.
History
& was one of many songs to be tested at Union Hall in February of 2009. It would later be performed at Mr. Smalls Funhouse on the 20th of May, 2009.[1] Early performances had slightly different lyrics that would later be ironed out for the album version.
Music Video
& was set up to have a music video, directed by Steve Loter, who also directed the music video for Hidden In The Sand. The video was to incorporate fan-submissions of creatively-made ampersands, and was edited and partially filmed by Bora Karaca. Though many fans did submit ampersands, the music video was scrapped due to lack of funding. [2]
In a 2022 Keep Up The Good Work episode, Steve Loter would explain that a rough cut exists but due to them not being satisfied with the video, as well as funding and stress, the video was never finished.[3]
On October 21st, 2011 Tally Hall created a photo album on their facebook page of 137 of the ampersands that were submitted by fans, with the caption:
The "&" video is no more. Many hours were committed towards making this video a reality; however, with limited resources, it just didn't happen. To everyone who worked on this video, and all those who submitted your artwork: thank you for the effort and thought you put into this project. Words are insufficient to express our gratitude.
[4]
On September 29th, 2013 Skye, AKA HomeStarRunnerTron uploaded a fan-made music video to YouTube, which showcased the fan-made ampersands. Skye explains: "This is a video I've had in my head for just about two years now. When I found out there wasn't going to be an & music video, but ALL the fan-submitted &s were there to behold... I knew there still needed to be a product in which to view it." The video now has over 30,000 views, as of February 2023.[5]
Trivia
- The word &/and appears in the song 40 times.
- If you include the words it appears "within" (like "demand"), it appears in the song 44 times.
- Including the title of the album, song titles, & all repeated verses not listed in the lyrics, &/and appears a total of 137 times on Good & Evil (not including words it appears "within"). Phew!
- The Good & Evil booklet uses "&" in place of "and" for &'s lyrics, with the exception of one "and". Joe stated in 2011 that this was an accident but that he must have done it for a reason he doesn't know.[6] It was not corrected in the 2022 rerelease.
Lyrics
(Please note the asterisk IS part of the official lyrics, left to be open for interpretation by the listener)
Love of the s*n Came back again to make it clear that He never said it would meet demand Shame on a martyr claiming friends from Either perspective of & Weak & Strong & Wet & Dry & Right & Wrong & Live & Die & Sane & Gone & Love & Not & All the &s that we forgot so Sing while you hear it Don't deny it Leave if you can't stand the thought of it Come back again to make things stand with No disrespect to the & High & Low & New & Old & Stop & Go & Hot & Cold & John & Yoko Dark & Light It's almost time to say good night to it They took a lesson from their fathers Told them that they were the same command Wait for the minds to make complete their Lives stuck beside every & Words & Numbers Sound & Silence Stop the peace & Keep the violence No & Yes & We digress It lives with Sad & Happiness Oh God Big Bad Betty of the 'pocalypse She opens her lips & it goes like this When The Golden Rule & the jungle meet There'll be nothing to love & There'll be no one to beat Oh the things we know The things we don't Oh the things we think we can will & won't We're loath to gather that nothing's left We're all together & we're all bereft Capitalists, Communists You did the hokey pokey & it went like this You hate each other & you love yourselves It might be Heaven & it might be Hell Oh the things we do The things we say Oh the things we wish we could wash away
Early Lyrics
On the May 2009 tour, Tally Hall performed a slightly earlier version of the song. The song is mostly the same, however it has some different harmonies and alternate lyrics.[7][8]
Love of the s*n Came back again to make it clear that He never said it would meet demand Shame on a martyr claiming friends from Either perspective of & Weak & Strong & Wet & Dry & Right & Wrong & Live & Die & Sane & Gone & Love & Not & All the &s that we forgot & Sing while you hear it Don't deny it Leave if you can't stand the thought of it Come back again to make things stand with No disrespect to the & High & Low & New & Old & Stop & Go & Hot & Cold & John & Yoko Dark & Light It's almost time to say good night to it They took a lesson from their mothers Told them that they were the same command Wait for the brain to make complete their Lives stuck beside every & Words & Numbers Sound & Silence Stop the peace & Keep the violence No & Yes & We digress It sings of sad and happiness Oh God Big Bad Betty of the Apocalypse She opens her lips & it goes like this When The Golden Rule & the stars align There'll be nothing to love & There'll be nowhere to hide Oh the things we know The things we don't Oh the things we think we can will & won't I loathe to tell you that nothing's left We're all together & we're all bereft Capitalists, Communists You did the hokey pokey & it went like this We hate each other & we love ourselves (sometimes sang as "You love each other or we hate ourselves") It might be Heaven & it might be Hell Oh the things we do The things we say Oh the things we wish we could wash away
Tabs/Chords
Starting chord (love of the s*n): A
Verse part a: Bm E Bm E G F F#
Verse part b: Bm E Bm E G A B
Chorus: Em B Em B Em B Em F# G A
Solo chords are same as verse
Last chorus (words & numbers): B Em B Em B Em F#m G A Bbm
"Big bad Betty": Bbm F Bbm
"Capitalist, communist": Bm F# F#7 Bm
"Oh the things": Bm F#
References
- ↑ Tally Hall - & and Misery Fell. May 21st 2009. YouTube.
- ↑ HITS. 'The & Music Video, by HSRT And Fans Like You'. September 29th, 2013.
- ↑ Keep Up The Good Work Special Edition: Steve Loter and Rob Cantor discuss The Ghost and Molly McGee. YouTube.
- ↑ Tally Hall "&" Facebook photo album
- ↑ Skye AKA HomeStarRunnerTron. 29th September, 2013. Tally Hall & Fan Music Video. YouTube
- ↑ Tumblr post about a 2011 fan meetup with Tally Hall.
- ↑ pumpkinpeye. 'Tally Hall -- &', recorded May 22, 2009. YouTube.
- ↑ DwightTheGreat. 'Tally Hall - & and Misery Fell', recorded May 20, 2009. YouTube.
| Good & Evil | |
|---|---|
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* indicates tracks only available in the 2022 CD rerelease |
| Singles | |
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 |
Banana Man (Demo) · Ruler Of Everything (Demo) · Good Day · Welcome To Tally Hall · Light & Night · You & Me · & · Nathan Naimark · Club Can't Handle Me (featuring Casey Shea) · Just a Friend · Turn The Lights Off (b-side: Light & Night) |