What You Live By
Recorded
Release history
Credits
- Written by Huffman/Lin/Nelson, © Song-Based Songs (ASCAP)
- Viola by Steve Creswell
- Cello by Phil Peterson
Lyrics
Meet me up on 99
beneath the Marco Polo sign
I’ll be the one with a box of wine
and a $100 carWe could talk about the lives we’ve led
and count the reasons we’re not dead
or maybe we could talk instead
about the ways in which we areAlways nothing or too much to say
only so many sides of a record to play
and the song that got stuck in my head said:You die by what you live by
You will die by what you live by
You will die by what you live by, every timeLike carnivores to carnal pleasures
so were we to desperate measures
melting into stagnant puddles
beat down by the sunI went to school, I didn’t stay
spoke right up when I had nothing good to say
(and I said it to anyone who would listen)Lay me down in the bed that I made
starved for sleep by the shrill serenade
singing over and over:You die by what you live by
You will die by what you live by
You will die by what you live by
Every time…
Quotes
AMH: “What You Live By” is a sentimental favorite of mine, having been written during a difficult time in 2001 when everything seemed to be ending. During recording it became something very different than I would have ever imagined (somehow I always pictured it being played on a beat up old acoustic guitar; sitting on a back porch at dusk), but it’s still one of the best things on the album.10A
SCN: Aaron and I wrote “What You Live By” during the wilderness years and performed it several times at little cabaret and club shows that were attended by few; of all the things we tried, that one stuck around; Jeff liked it too, and heard the jazzy piano rhythm that dominates the recorded version; in effect, the recorded version of “Live By” is two songs in one—Aaron’s take and Jeff’s interpretation; I just like the line about the Marco Polo motel on Hwy 99; I remember playing an early demo of this song to HD’s former manager when he asked to hear what I was up to; he heard the words about dying and despair and melting into stagnant puddles and so forth and just laughed,
Not looking to get back on the pop charts, are you?Well…10A
Notes
- The lyrics
I went to school, I didn’t stay / Spoke right up when I had nothing good to say
previously appeared in an earlier song, “Mainland”. - A demo of this song was recorded for Sean’s solo project, Sean Nelson and His Mortal Enemies; it was mixed on October 23, 2004, and made available as a download from his website around 2005.SCN