I Think I'd Rather Grow Onions
I Think I'd Rather Grow Onions Words and music (c) Ian Hills 1981 Would you like to be loving, would you like to be kind, Would you like to leave all forms of hurting behind? Do your friends often tell you "You're out of your mind"? You'll have trouble surviving. Would you like to be ruthless, would you like to win, Would you like to sit back and watch the money roll in, Make a world where loosing is the only real sin? Then you'd better prepare to be lonely. Chorus For we live in a world of amazing extremes Where fantasy rules but there's no room for dreams Where you're right or you're wrong but there's no in betweens And to know you are both means you're crazy. When I had a case of the galloping riches I still went around with a hole in my briches. Like a knight in lace panties I strove to right wrongs Battling jackboots with blue rubber thongs. But I found the contradictions were too much to share: A man who builds bridges does not have long hair And a fighter for rights has no right to be square. I think I'd rather grow onions. Would you like to be a patriot and go away to war? Would you like to be a pacifist and stay home with the poor? You must decide - go through only one door. I think I'd rather grow onions. Would you like to be an angel with long flowing locks? Or would you rather be a prostitute - go to bed with old crocks? Well you must decide - check only one box. I think I'd rather grow onions. Would you like to be mangled in blue pinstriped pants Or tied up face down on a bed of red ants? You must decide and the choice is all yours. I think I'd rather grow onions. Would you like to be loving, would you like to be kind, Would you like to leave all forms of loving behind? You must decide - come on make up your mind. I think I'd rather grow onions. |
Background to the SongI wrote this song at a time of great turmoil in my life. I felt I was faced with a number of difficult choices all of which were unpalatable. I could do this, or that, but either way the result would be unpleasant.
In the end I cut the gordian knot and chose something that wasn't included in the original choices - something unusual and completely off the page and immensely exciting and enjoyable. This song is my celebration of the idea that you don't have to make choices between a restricted number of unattractive alternatives that life and other people seem to be offering. You can choose your own alternative. The Words and MusicThe structure of the song reflects this freedom of choice and departs from the usual choices one has to make for a conventionally constructed song while still maintaining it's integrity and sense of wholeness. The rhyme structure, the chord pattern and the tune changes subtly from verse to verse, the chorus is only sung twice and the whole is contained in a loop that doesn't quite take you back to the beginning of the song.
I think I'd Rather Grow Onions was written in 3/4 time and is played with a swing. It is in the key of C because that suits my voice and the chords are relatively easy. I've thrown in a few dynamic tension chords to make the sound more interesting (and to follow the sense of the words better) but these are not essential and you can easily dispense with the Em, B7 and Am and substitute C, F and G7 respectively. Guitar ChordsMost verses Second Verse Chorus
C, Em, Am C, Em, Am F, C G7, C G7, C G7, C C, Em, Am C, Em, Am F, B7 G7, C G7, C G7, C Repeat 4 lines F, C G7, C F, B7 G7, C |