No Cares

No Cares

No Cares

Track 4 of Heart Songs

LINKS

ABOUT THIS SONG

release date: November 16, 2020
length: 4 min 20 sec
music and lyrics: Chris Tong
vocals: Chris Tong
musical arrangement: Chris Tong
ISRC: QZNWT2011901
UPC: 195757110161
instruments: piano, synthesizer, soul organ, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums

I wrote No Cares (Swinging in the Rain) when I was 29. I was watching Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain". I said to myself, I want to write a song that is just as happy, that will lift the spirit of all who listen! The result was No Cares.

LYRICS

NO CARES

My momma was made of string.
My daddy was made of air.
She loved me well, but bound me tight.
And he wasn't really there.

But that was all long ago.
The years have restored my soul.
I'm playing fast.
I feel so free.
If this don't last,
well, that's okay with me.

No, I don't mind the pain now —
it's just chills running down my spine.
Yes, I sing in the rain.
All I know
all I know
all I know
all I know is. . .
I feel fine!

Don't ignore a friend who's hurting —
now I've got enough to spare.
It's with all of life I'm flirting.
Let it go
let it go
let it go
let it go.
You can only care
when you got no cares.

I once was a care-ful man. . .
a heartache, encased in steel.
I dreamed her arms would hold me tight,
not daring to make it real.

But that was all long ago.
These days I let my heart show.
If she says no,
well, sure, there's pain.
But my heart goes
and tries all over again.

Think I hear a knock at the door. . .
It's my life, saying
"Come on, there's more!"
I'm playing fast.
I feel so free.
If this don't last,
well, that's okay with me.

No, I don't mind the pain now —
it's just chills running down my spine.
Yes, I sing in the rain.
All I know
all I know
all I know
all I know is. . .
I feel fine!

Don't ignore a friend who's hurting —
now I've got enough to spare.
It's with all of life I'm flirting.
Let it go
let it go
let it go
let it go.
You can only care
when you got no cares.

Previous Track:
She

Next Track:
All I Need Is Your Love

ADDITIONAL NOTES

LYRICS: I was learning many profound lessons about personal growth at the time. This song expresses some of those lessons in a form anyone can grasp, including: how to keep one's heart open (having "no cares") even in the midst of life's challenges, allowing one to love others ("you can only care") because of that open heart; “the trick is not minding that it hurts (Lawrence of Arabia)”; and being able to outgrow limiting expectations and behavioral patterns ("let it go").

No, the opening verse doesn't describe how I felt about my mother and father. I just wanted the song to communicate that some of the most important limiting patterns one has to outgrow are one's "mommy" or "daddy" issues. So I just picked a couple of pretty common patterns, to ground the song: the "smother" mother and the "absentee" father.

MUSIC: This song is all about swing: from the swing/shuffle drums, to the swinging voice and instruments, to the finger-snapping, with a little organ to add soul to the swing. Hence the subtitle: "Swingin' in the Rain". While the word "swing" may bring to mind 1930's bands or Sinatra era pop songs, in fact there has been a very full swing pop rock tradition since the 1960's, that includes songs like the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love", "Penny Lane", and "With a Little Help From My Friends"; Van Morrison's "Moondance"; Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams Come True”; Toto's "Rosanna"; Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel"; etc. FYI: finger-snapping is usually ON the beat. The only reason we can even hear the finger snaps is because the (much louder) melody is hitting the offbeats (because it is “swinging”).

When I first recorded this song, one response I kept getting was how much these words meant to listeners: "Think I hear a knock at the door. It's my life saying 'Come on there's more.'" So in the current arrangement, I make that section the musical climax of the song. (And you can even hear some door knocks if you listen!)

top