[Editor’s Note: On May 10, Texas-based Side Saddle, the project led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ian McGuinness, released its latest EP Forever and a Little While. The EP, which was produced by Peter Katis (The National, Kurt Vile, Hozier), finds the songwriter musing about his marriage, the challenging yet rewarding journey of parenthood and moving from Long Island to Dallas, Texas, all amongst an sunburnt tapestry of folk and power pop sounds. Today we’re happy to share an essay written by McGuinness about the inspiration for his song “Moving Out West” and how it was therapeutic. ]
A good friend of mine once compared going to therapy to taking your car in for routine maintenance. The analogy stuck with me because it removed the notion that you have to experience some trauma to warrant going to therapy. I understood his perspective on the practice to be more nurturing and preventative. This idea will play a part in how I wrote “Moving Out West”, but first, let’s go back to 2019.
I was living in Cranston, Rhode Island with my girlfriend and our dog, and I had gotten a job offer, that would end up moving us all to Long Island, NY. It was an exciting offer and one I was eager to accept. I romanticized the move and what it would be like living near the beach, in a quaint, historical, and walkable village. I romanticized it the same way I used to romanticize the “West” when I was in college. That was when I wrote the chorus lyrics and melody to “Moving Out West”. Though I tried, I never developed a verse melody I liked much, so that chorus just lived in my voice memo’s on my iPhone.
A few years later, my wife and I were living on Long Island, I’m experiencing more frequent and intense anxiety attacks and we’re expecting our first child. The therapy/car analogy kept creeping in and I was ready to do the work to make sure I was mentally fit for fatherhood. Thus, the verses for “Moving Out West” were born. The verses are about mentally preparing for fatherhood, the way you would bring you car in before a big road-trip or move.
It’s the tune I’m most proud of lyrically, even though the analogy wasn’t mine. “I want it to run better than the one that I was taken to school in”, is a nod to the age-old parental tradition of striving to do a better job than your parents did. I’m a big fan of when lyricists marry something very specific with a bigger, zoomed out idea or concept. I don’t think I’ve consciously written like that in the past but I was able to do it in this tune. “Uncovering all of my blind spots, doing the work, doing the work, everything is gonna change forever in a day”.
Sonically, we wanted the song to have a driving with the windows down feel, but it needed to have a weight to it. I think Ryan’s guitars on this track helped with that weight. His parts are simple but really effective in creating these “key moments” that define the song like the the intro/chorus lead and bridge solo. From a song structure perspective, I can often be lazy, and find the easy road out, leaning into thetraditional verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, but I pushed myself on this one and out of it came two bridges. If you’re not looking for it you’ll miss it, but there are some cool things happening in that 2nd quieter bridge. You can hear my sons heartbeat, which Peter threw into the mix after learning what the song was about. Also, Eric Tait Jr, who played bass and keys, did this really cool arpeggiated part that blends together beautifully, helping make that moment special. Miles, our drummer plays my favorite fill on the record in “Moving Out West”, and it’s the one that brings us form the first verse into the second chorus. It’s super unique and works really well.
We’ve gotten really positive feedback about this tune, maybe more so than any other tune I can recall. I think it’s because, even if you’re not paying attention to the lyrics, you can tell there’s a story there, and that there’s a weight to that story.
You can follow Side Saddle at Instagram and Facebook and stream/download the band’s music here.
Ian McGuinness
Contributor
Ian is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Dallas, Texas that fronts the band Side Saddle
