The Rest Of Your Life

[Ray Brookes]

Some worldly advice I tried to give to my nephew a while ago ... seeds fell on stoney ground alas.


Take your time, don't let anybody rush ya
And mind, don't let anybody push ya
Along some track you don't care to go
Along and look twice at everything you know
And if you find the world in your palm
Try not to do anybody harm
Be strong when you get into strife
Today begins the rest of your life

If you fight, only fight when you feel you ought to
Talk to people how you wanna be talked to
Respect your fathers; respect your mothers
Leave the storming of the Bastille to others
Never run or show you're scared
When the teeth and the claws are bared
Carry no gun, no club no knife
Today begins the rest of your life

All the places that you wanna see
All the books that you wanna read
The one person you wanna be
Just a leaf on your family tree

Be careful of who you follow
Finish today before you start tomorrow
And remember when you chose your wife
Today begins the rest of your life.

[StephenM]

Ray... I heard this earlier and as usual i held it in high regard... but now reading the lyrics this maybe the greatest lyric I've heard from you and that is a very high mark...
Amazing words of wisdom.

[Johnbee]

Ray, I love this!!  One of your best. Everything is perfect from the playing to the lyrics.   If I may ask, what horn program do you use?

  John B

[Ray Brookes]

Ray, I love this!!  One of your best. Everything is perfect from the playing to the lyrics.   If I may ask, what horn program do you use?

  John B

Hi John,

All my virtual sounds such as orchestral, ethnic and horns are from the East West Quantum Leap library.

[thetworegs]

Excellent lyrics  throughly enjoyed the upbeat music too a perfect match shame he didn't listen it's great advice

[Zoltan]

The way the track begun made me to think of Motown, but it soon escalated! The brass took my breath away and only a bit of spittle remained. The drum programming is really clever. Some of the drum sounds were perhaps a bit harsh sounding considering the otherwise organic sounding instrumentation heard is track. They're totally ok, but date the song whereas it otherwise might sound a lot more ageless. This is only a small nitpick and an opinion that might change at the drop of a hat

The vocals are a bit lower in the mix this time, but are easy to hear regardless. The song is musically quite complex and there's a lot of things going on at the sametime. The song almost borders on getting too complex at times, but manages to dodge the bullett. The choruses are these huge pop hooks, yet they're not milked for their all worth. This is a lot more refined songwriting and something that works on repeat listens instead of burning out on endless repetition.

There's so much going on that the track could have easily been double the lenght.  Quality stuff and certainly a joy to hear! The lyrics are once again good and something to think about, but not at the center of this song. The overall joyous feeling of the track is so appealling that it draws the attention on the first and probably even second go

[Farrell Jackson]

I usually start writing my thoughts as the song is playing but I had to stop and listen, while reading your wonderful lyrics and taking in your melody. This is a great song and production Ray. The sage advice is timeless and true. The combination of the jazz/rock style in the guitar solo is a brilliant fit for the song style, which is also a combo of jazz and rock. Lastly, it has one of the best choruses hooks I've heard in some time. I like this a lot! 

[Rene Asologuitar]

Some worldly advice I tried to give to my nephew a while ago ... seeds fell on stoney ground alas.
*************
Hi Ray,
I really like the lyrics, and the melody is very hip and lovely!
Very nice words, and the guitar solo is so special.
I really like this song.

More importantly, I think, the "stoney ground" is still a very fertile environment for your seeds of wisdom, and IMHO they are going to blossom in time, especially if you can water it once in a while.

Great work!!!
Respectfully,
Rene

[vince23]

sounds so pro Ray, all of it music vocals, I always like the harmonies
and super in this clip.

[Ron D Bowes]

Great lyricist, great musician, destinctive voice - the complete package. Really good track and I love the big bold intro.