These Old Boots

Spice Rack Collective

The idea for this one came to Margaret as she was walking to the studio for band practice one night, and we’re glad it did!

Margaret, Robbie, and I (Kevin) recorded the main takes together live off the floor during our usual band practice timeslot on 2/22. (Thanks, Kenny!) We added Cody’s piano parts and the harmony vocals on 2/24, and I slotted in some MIDI drums after doing a measure-by-measure tempo map for the song. Definitely worth the effort!

Cody also recorded some keyboard string parts, but in the rush to try to mix the album before the end-of-February RPM Challenge deadline, there wasn’t time to properly assess, comp, and get them to sit well with the other parts of the mix, so we just went with his lovely piano parts. I do have some remix ideas, though, so those strings may pop back up at some point.

Margaret Bibb – lyrics, songwriting, vocals
Robbie Robinson – guitar
Cody Collum - keys
Kevin Craig – recording, bass, MIDI drum arrangement, mixing

These Old Boots
by Margaret Bibb

Chorus
These old boots can tell so many stories
In the scuff marks and the stains they’ve come to own
No matter what I’m walking through,
they’ve held me up and seen me through
The good times and the hard ones, too
And brought me safely home.

Verse
This one has a stain that happened on the New York subway train
When we were traveling back from seeing your friend in her show.
You said you needed something more, you missed the life you had before
And left me there to wonder where the plans and dreams all go.

Chorus

Verse
That scarred heel happened walking down the avenue in Birmingham
The night you told me you had something else you had to do
I waited hours and held your space in line at that amazing place
While you were playing all your games and tricks for someone new

Chorus

Verse
Just like an old friend they’ve gotten softer and more broken in
And every scar or blemish only adds to their appeal.
When all the world seems upside down, and certainty is not around,
I look down at the ground and find a piece of something real.

Chorus