Professional Virgin

[Donna D]

There was an exchange of thoughts about country music in Willie Wendon's 'Wired' thread. Then FuzzFace mentioned something about 'depressing'. So I thought I'd post one of my first attempts at depressing country. The guys did a great job on it. If I were doing it again from scratch though, I'd shorten the lyric (and tweak it in places), up the tempo by a couple of bpms, and bring James' fantastic vocals higher up in the mix. Anyway, hope some of you enjoy it.

Donna
------------------
James Ryce - Vocals
Donna Devine - Lyrics
David Patterson - Original Music, Guitars, Bass & Mixing
Jim Terry - Pedal Steel
Jay Schankman  - Piano & Organ
Dietmar Rothermund - Piano & Organ
Marc Meeker - Drums

Time:

0:00

Volume:

50

0

 Stop   Play   Pause   Vol   Vol   Mute   Repeat   Download

Professional Virgin

(v1)
At thirteen she played in her mama's high heels
Giggled in the mirror at the woman revealed
Wore her old dresses, toyed with her beads
Didn't know then about some men's needs
Had girlish hopes about how love would feel

(v2)
She was fifteen when she came to the city
Man on the bus said 'Girl, ain't you pretty!'
A list of dreams was all she had
Didn't know then things were going to get bad
Man was named Johnny, seemed kind and witty

Chorus
Professional virgin in tired white lace
Faint trace of make-up on a little-girl face
Young eyes getting old as they scan the street
Heart turning bitter that used to be sweet

(v3)
Shy fifteen, she was sweeter than honey
Didn't know a thing about making money
Body of a nymph, heart full of trust
She'd never heard of a sin called lust
Learned real quick from that devil Johnny

(v4)
She's eighteen now and the dream list is gone
Johnny's left too, he grabbed the money and run
Others took his place, with the same old plan
Each one a 'daddy' but not a man
Not even a friend, so she's got no one

Bridge
Getting out of here as soon as she can, never should've left her mama alone
Leaving these heartless streets behind, still feels like a child, she wants to go home

Chorus
Professional virgin in tired white lace
Faint trace of make-up on a little-girl face
Young eyes getting old as they scan the street
Heart turning bitter that used to be sweet

She still feels like a child
She wants to go home
Oh she wants to home

Oh she wants to go
Oh she wants to go home

(c) 2009 Donna Devine

[FuzzFace]

This is a powerful ballad.  Paints an everyday tragedy that we have probably all come across in one way or another.

[Gritter]

Heavy subject matter and pulled off exquisitely. This is a grand Country ballad. Strong performances by all involved.

[IanR]

Amazing Donna

I have to be my own band when I record so I am envious of you having such great musos to work with.  Great tune and great country sound.

IanR

[Redler]

Great lyrics, Donna! A bit sad story, but fits in that beautiful country melody! All things works well on this song and performance - as always!

Kari

[Geir]

You're quite a versatile lyricist Donna. Sad story, but very well told and fitting to the genre.

Great performance from all involved !

[dasilvasings]

Powerful and sad song! I'm depressed now.

This is one of the best songs I've heard on this site so far. The lyrics are excellent, and the music/ musicians are flawless. This is professional stuff, you should charge us!

I would love to hear Toni Price singing this!

[stoman]

I did not know you collaborated with James too. Perfect fit!

And even Dietmar played on that song. I haven't heard anything from him for quite some time ...

Very nice, Donna. Not too much plain country, just the right dose for my taste.

Regards,
  Steffen

[fenderbender]

top class song Donna -
as usual you have a way with words
great vocals from james -

[The Reverend 48]

Superb Lyrics
Reminded me of Bruce Springsteens Darker sde
The Gentle arrangement of vox and music
adds to this sad picture
Excellent in every way!