Songs: It Isn't An Exam

notes / gigs / releases

There's a moron on a forum
Saying that Ringo can't drum
His patterns are uncomplicated
And can be copied by anyone
I said you're missing the whole point of music
It's not a showcase for expertise
It's for joining in
So join in please:

It isn't an exam
It isn't a test
You're not gonna get
Any questions at the end
It isn't an exam
You will never get a grade
There's a thousand ways to pass
Though only one way you can fail
It isn't an exam

Some people take classes in art analysis
And think that they've been taught The Rules
Doctor Who Fans. Art Students.
Pop writers - I'm looking at you.
If it isn't constructed according to guidelines
It's lazy, it's wrong, it's inept
But it's also exciting, and funny,
Brilliant, beautiful, and best

Because it isn't an exam
Doesn't have to be assessed
You are not the centre of
A Quantum Observer Effect
It isn't an exam
The only way to mess it up's
Instead of answering the question
To critique the way it's put
It isn't an exam

History can only tell you
What has been and what has gone
If you think it can tell you, or dictate the future
You're wrong, wrong wrong

She said "I'm a failure"
"I don't have a husband or kids"
I said "Nor do I"
But I'll tell you this
If you've not had time to accomplish the goals
That others had set down for you
It's only because you were having adventures
They could never have dreamt that you'd do

Rules are only for board games
Checklists are just for the shops
Everyone's wearing a blindfold
All we know about life's what it's not

And it isn't an exam
You don't have to revise
People telling you that's wrong
Is how you know it must be right
It isn't an exam
But I'm giving you a pass
In fact you're getting a distinction
You're the top of the class
It isn't an exam

Published by Wipe Out Music Publishing

This was an idea for a song that'd been kicking around my head for ages, but it wasn't until I was off work poorly, specifically on January 20th 2010, that it BLOSSOMED into a fully formed THING.

The inspirations are probably pretty obvious - verse 1 comes from exactly where it says it does, verse 2 is Some Things That Had Annoyed Me Recently, verse 3 is a conversation with a friend a while ago that seemed to fit in, and then the ending bit FLOWED from there. It felt like it needed a bit MORE before we got to the final chorus, and I'm especially pleased with that bit!

This was the first song I'd written for AGES - YEARS, possibly - that wasn't for any version of Dinosaur Planet or for an ADVERT BRIEF. I was taken aback by how EXCITING it was, and got a Really Good Feeling about it - the same as I had about The Lesson Of The Smiths and It Only Works Because You're Here.

At the time I thought that just THINKING that would probably JINX it... and I think probably it has. I tried to get The Validators to have a go at it a few times (in fact maybe once we did?) and it never took, and I did it solo once or twice to no avail. Hopefully, now it is finally out in the world, it will be DISCOVERED!