I Can’t Live Without This Pain

Robert James

Generally speaking I like this one, but there are some catches.

1. The vocals for this song, along with two others, were recorded on a day when I just didn’t have it. I couldn’t hit a pitch if you painted a big target on it.
2. I recorded the lead guitars using a guitar I hadn’t touched for about four months and I had a hard time getting the feel of it again.
3. I’m pretty sure I wrote this song already. There’s a song from my RPM Challenge project back in February that I’m a little nervous to listen to today because I’m pretty sure this is almost exactly the same. Oops.

The cool thing about it is that it was written on guitar. When I get into a project like 50/90 I basically turn into an assembly line and that assembly line almost always starts with bass guitar and drums. MIDI, in other words. Guitars come later. For this one and one other that was written on the same day (which was also sung on the bad singing day) the guitar came first. That’s a nice change of pace.

One other item of note. This song is proof that I am incapable of paying attention to my own plans. In the GarageBand file for this song I have an arrangement track that labels each section of the song, verse chorus bridge, ect. The label on the section that includes the second guitar solo is “Bridge No Vox No Solo.” So much for that plan, eh?

The rhythm guitar is a Gibson ES-335 Pro through a Klon KTR pedal and both a Vox AC15 and a Fender Bassbreaker 15. The lead is a Gibson Les Paul Custom through the KTR and a Malaise Forever Black Lives Matter pedal and the same pair of amps.

Chorus
I can’t live without this pain
Never gonna feel the same
The suffering it calls to me and tells me
I can’t live without this pain

Verse 1
my confession
no regretting
nothing left to fight for
if the circumstances were ever changing
No confession for me

Bridge
Its worth knowing the question
There’s no guessing the reason
so keep looking for answers
and keep hoping you’ll find it

Verse 2
no forgiving
no missgiving
no forgetting that day
how the situation called for some action
No forgiving for me