The Anthem 2: Double Down On Mrs. B
Everywhere I saw them now, the Nebraska Furniture Market trucks, as I went back and forth on the great Sam Rayburn Tollway to and from my daily occupational responsibilities, passing their huge Texas location in the ever expanding suburbs north of Dallas. Like a sign, like an announcement, like kind of weird. Oh well, similar phenomenon to when you buy a new car, I thought. Or shoes. They were everywhere, rain or shine, even saw a picture on Twitter of a delivery in a blizzard in Des Moines. This place makes an impression. Over the previous week as I told folks of my anthem plans, many had declared devotion to the place, each with stories of satisfied experiences, notable memories, and overall affection.
I agreed. As a 2 time customer myself, I had been happy each time. A natural clearance browser, I once bought the very patio lounger I'm lounging on as I tap these words on a sweetheart deal. I was there to buy a double recliner couch, with USB hookups, and durable leather. A forest green flower print recliner and a fly silver make up chair for my youngest daughter, also from the clearance stock, completed my purchases. Delivery was spot on, think they hit the window. Only a USB input malfunction months later caused irritation. When my wife made communication with the warranty company, evidently there was some fine print about the USB hookups. Other than that, it's been 5 of 5 stars in all categories. Visited with my mom and the expedition and efficiency of the entire experience was outstanding. A cool and comfortable black leather recliner that lights up, plugs in, and has all the things, including nifty compartments on each side. She also got a breakfast table and chairs, with nice padding and sturdy construction. She was thrilled, in and out quick, delivery date and time set. I believe the delivery hit the window or I would have heard.
All these testimonials, and my own experiences and research, had me convinced the song I wrote as the anthem was complete. No talking verse needed to be added, the harmonica would help it jump, double down on Mrs. B, the chorus was done, a folk song of heroic capitalism, focused on the customer, an anthem for this age, complete with a modern day Rockefeller. After a couple of minor editing adjustments, the writing was done.
The decision to record the song completely solo was made quickly. More control, less confusion, fewer distractions, grand prize money greed. Plus, with a down home song, acoustic and sparse, lyrics articulated crisp, the less on the canvas the better. Home recording, in the foyer, vocals and Ibanez hollow body classical guitar through my Yorkville standup PA, captured through a Zoom4 field recorder. My preferred set up. D harp fit perfect with the song, the D7 chord adding some Blues tone. That was the plan, and that's how it went down. Did two recordings, one with reverb effect, one with ensemble effect, both had distinct moments of lyrical and melodic hooks. In the end, the ensemble version was chosen, it was the 2nd take and the harmonica was dialed in better. Also, the first version of the song included an odd pronunciation of Warren. It seemed a fatal flew, it was ditched.
Immediately, I uploaded the song to my Soundcloud page as required. For the song image, found the famous Rose Blumkin motto that served as my title and chorus and used it. Double down on Mrs. B. Hopefully, NFM will give me a litigation pass since I'm borrowing their motto for their own contest. Plus, it's in the folk and blues traditions to use whatever. Her estate can surely have co-writing credits if it's possible, probably covered on one of the pages of the terms and conditions anyway.
Once posted, all seemed done. Received affirmative overnight feedback from a few trusted sources then officially entered the contest early the following morning. After screenshoting the confirmation of my entry, posted the song on selected social media medium, connecting to the NFM headquarters and using the preferred hash. The Anthem is in, it's in the cloud, it's on the cloud. The lyrics were attached.