We were invested far before knowing the venture. There is suffering - an anguish - in the voice of d.c.R. Pollock as he tells the story he calls “Cold Bath.” Pollock made the emotional investment in the tale and we willingly followed. Well-crafted music has the force to carry the listener, even before the vehicle’s makeup is clear.
The lyrics of “Cold Bath” are embedded below. Our understanding evolved with repeated listens and the confidence in the understanding hasn’t fully congealed, but the song is a first-person account of a man who chances upon seeing someone he knows in a magazine ad for a coat. He knew the model “back when.” She “got her dream,” while he is traveling, perhaps as a long haul truckdriver. Think Harry Chapin’s “Taxi,” but with a truck and without an ending seeped in irony.
The protagonist in “Cold Bath” is still is emotionally attached, “She gets to me like El Paso heat.” And when he talks to his brother, who is being criminally prosecuted, the brother notes a strain in the voice that indicates it’s been too long since the last contact with Lianne.
The anguish is enhanced in the later half of “Cold Bath” by mournful backing vocals. The story behind the song’s release relates to a “near miss” in ever hearing this gem:
“This song was originally one of about 40 songs written for a full length record coming up, but didn't end up making the final cut. I loved the song but didn't have the funds to take it to a studio, so I just sat on a demo of it for about a year. It wasn't until a heat wave hit my city, Costa Mesa CA, that I remembered it. I was taking out the trash at my work and I just kept mumbling some of the lyrics about the heat. That convinced me that I should just release the demo. So I had a friend throw a quick master on it, drove home on my lunch break, and posted it in time to be back and finish my shift. It takes about two weeks to upload to most streaming sites, so I posted it to SoundCloud so people could hear it while it was still boiling outside.”
As noted, d.c.R Pollock is from Costa Mesa, California. He is Dave Pollock. He deserves more attention.
“Cold Bath” by d.c.R Pollock
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dcRPollock/
Website: https://www.dcrpollock.com/
Lyrics of “Cold Bath” by d.c.R Pollock
Stop at midnight
A cold cup of coffee
A magazine in a booth
When I recognized
One of the Angeles sellin’
A coat on the last page or two
She would act in my town
Worked for minimum wage
She once told me she slept
For an hour each day
Well, she got her dream
I woke up in a motel
An hour east New Mexico
That southern heat
Got me tossin’ my sheets
Held my knees
Till that bath tub ran cold
I mean, every damn night’s like a
Pamplona bullfight
Between where I can be
And should
If I shake like a bastard
It ain't cause the water
Till I knocked out like a McGregor hook
Drive through midnight
My brothers on the line
"I don't think
I'll be home in time
If the trial goes right
I'll take you out
On my dime
We'll drink the peninsula dry"
Get your coat clean
Try not to show
Your damn crooked teeth
We both know you’re guilty
Just don't show it
For an evening
He said
"I ain't lookin sharp
But I'm just my type.
I'll take you up
On a drink 'nother time”
That strain in your voice
I can hear when you're tired
I can hear you ain’t spoke
With Lianne in awhile
Well she got a dream
I woke up in motel
It’sTexas? Arizona?
I'm not sure
She gets to me
Like El Paso heat
Knocks me out
Like a McGregor hook
Knocks me out
Like nobody else should
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