Sons of the City

This is a submission for the Harmonic Vocals challenge. It is divided into three parts: the lyrics, an actual recording of the song (with you truly on vocals), and, for the truly musically minded, the song script detailing the musical structure.

The Lyrics

I have laid the lyrics out as if it was a transcript for a vocalist. Where there is a '-', it signifies to elongate that word. Where there is a '/', it means a pause or a stop.

Comments in italics and square brackets give a sense of the musical accompaniment.

[Musical Prologue - full accompaniment]

Verse1:

Many people pass them b-y/

Soci-al work-ers ask them why?/

Little children doomed from the sta-r—t/

Wonder what’s goi-in’ on- in -their hea-rt-s./

Verse 2:

I went down to Fitzroy stre--et/

I saw the kids out in the street/

Beggin’ mon-ey fr-om the pass-ers b-y/

They don’t even seem/ to/want to try./

Chorus:[Backing vocals (BV) sing the line , lead vocal (LV) spoken]

(BV) O—h—h – -h-h-/

(LV) Sons of the city /

(BV) O—h—h – -h-h-/

(LV) Daughters of crime/

(BV) O—h—h – -h-h-/

(LV) Children of Pity /

(LV) They’-re /the/ vic-ti-ms/ of/ our/ time./

[Musical bridge]

Verse 3:

What to do abo-ut these stre-et kid-s/

How do we get them back on their feet?/

Too much apathy in ou-r li-v-es/

I guess their destined not to survive/

Verse 4:

They’ll grow up to be tramps of the ci-ty/

They’ll grow up to be the whores my friend/

What a way -t-o li-ve yo-ur li-fe/

What a way for it a-ll to end.

Chorus: [as for first chorus backing vocals and lead vocals]

[ Prologue - Drums, Bass and single guitar with tremolo]

Listen to how it sounds:

This is a rough homemade recording of the song performed by my band (Trade Secrets) from the 80's. The story behind the song is provided in the author's notes at the end of the story.

Song Script

The song is 120 BPM, with a 'boppy' pop beat. The chorus is softened and slower, controlled by the lyrics. The song has an Indie pop rock feel to it.

Full accompaniment is rhythm and lead guitar, bass, and drums.

The letters in bold above the lyrics are the guitar chords.

[Musical Prologue full accompaniment - lead and rhythm guitar, bass, and drums]:

Em C D Em

Em C D Em

Verse 1:

Em C

Many people pass them b-y/

D Em

Soci-al work-ers ask them why?/

Em C

Little children doomed from the sta-r—t/

D Em

Wonder what’s goi-in’ on- in -their hea-rt-s/

[Run-on to verse 2]

Verse 2:

Em C

I went down to Fitzroy stre--et/

D Em

I saw the kids out in the street/

Em C

Beggin’ mon-ey fr-om the passers b-y/

D Em

They don’t even seem/ to/want to try/

Chorus: [Backing vocals sing, lead vocal speaks, full accompaniment]

D Em

(Backing vocal) O—h—h – -h-h-/

(Lead vocal only) Sons of the city/

D Em

(Backing vocal) O—h—h – -h-h-/

(Lead vocal only) Daughters of crime/

D Em

(Backing vocal) O—h—h – -h-h-/

(Lead vocal only) Children of Pity /

Em G D Em

(Lead vocal only) They’-re /the/ vic-tims/ of/ our/ time/

[Musical bridge - full accompaniment with a floating lead overlay]:

Em C D Em

Em C D Em

Verse 3 &4 [as for verses 1 and 2]

Chorus as for first chorus leading into the epilogue.

[Epilogue – No drums, only hi-hat, dominant Bass beat (E chord), and single guitar with tremolo to give a haunting feel to the finish of the song.]

****

[Author's Note: I wrote 'Sons of the City' when I lived in Melbourne, Australia. It was inspired by a visit to Fitzroy Street. At the time of writing this, Fitzroy Street was the centre of 'bad news' in Melbourne. Melbourne's Fitzroy Street is similar to Kings Cross in Sydney, featured in the Underbelly series. It was a mecca of drugs, prostitution, and a hang-out place for street kids.

The song highlights the struggles of kids who, sometimes through no fault of their own, end up littering the streets. As the song progresses through its different verses, it highlights the fact that no one seemed to care. They sat there begging for money, with little interest from passersby.

Social workers worked hard to change their lives. Still, many end up as sex workers or drug dealers.

Till next time,

Calvin

Copyright © 25/3/25 Calvin London. All rights reserved.