Unbound is a song that just wrote itself, like so many others that came out fast and furious during the Covid lockdown. Today, it’s one of the band’s favorite songs to perform live. Once I recorded it on my phone, I forgot about it for years. During down times I’ll go back, but I don't do it that often. When I eventually revisited the iPhone recording, the chorus flattened me, it sounded like something out of Ovid’s Metamorphosis.
I am nowhere, I am everywhere, I am free, I'm unbound
I'm emotion, I am instinct, I am music, I am sound
I went right to work in the home studio, and the lyrics came as fast as I could write them down. Looking back, the song’s message sums up who I am as a human, and how I view the world around me. Always through the eyes of an artist. We are all divine. As such, we are thus equal to each other down to our DNA, within each and every one of us lie the cannons of human history, of our ancestry. It is not dogma, just observational fact. Science proves it. Those who insist otherwise (that they are chosen above anyone) are only doing so to put a yoke around another’s neck. We are all chosen ones, we are all deeply spiritual individuals, God’s children if you will. No one country or religion gets to claim that as their own, it lives in each of us. It lives in the world around us.
Ain't no need to go and get religion
Don't waste time with people that'll put you down
You're cash money babe, you just can't see it
Take my word 'cause I've been around
Some Quick Housekeeping
To celebrate my new single “Everything“, coming out on June 14, 2024, I’m letting my Weekly Wednesday Jam songs get published on Substack for free, outside the paid subscription wall for the rest of the summer. If you’re local here in Southern California, consider joining us at the release party on June 14 at the Camp Store, South Carlsbad State beach.
I’m also moving the post song commentary to its own podcast, to keep these posts purely music. I added the commentary to appease Spotify, but they took down all my podcasts regardless. As a platform, they’re not really that friendly to work with to tell you the truth.
Musicians | The Camp Store Carlsbad, CA | 3.29.2024
Dan Greenbaum
Aaron Brownwood
Dan Greenbaum
Mike Hunt
Mark ODonnell
Lyrics
You ain’t ever baby gonna find me
You ain’t never gonna track me down
Heard it said you want a piece of the action- gimme action
Heard it said you trying to take me down- don’t bring me down
I am nowhere
I am everywhere
I am free
I’m unbound
I am emotion
I am instinct
I am music
I am sound
No one ever said it was gonna be easy
You ain’t prepared to bleed? Just wasting time
We pay our dues and maybe baby then some
When the Hurricane comes, look ‘em right in the eyes
I am nowhere
I am everywhere
I am free
I’m unbound
I am emotion
I am instinct
I am music
I am sound
Ain’t no need to go and get religion
Don’t waste time with people that’ll put you down
You’re cash money babe, you just can’t see it
Take my word ‘cause I’ve been around
I am nowhere
I am everywhere
I am free
I’m unbound
I am emotion
I am instinct
I am music
I am sound
Never, never, ever settle for a substitution
My fire burns bright, & lasts twice as long
Nows your chance to get a taste of the real thing
Step right up in here where you belong
I am nowhere
I am everywhere
I am free
I’m unbound
I am emotion
I am instinct
I am music
I am sound
About the Song
One recurring theme in my songwriting is to speak in tongues. To speak on behalf of all the uncontrollable elements that surround us. If you can learn to hear this voice, teach yourself how to decipher the language, it will serve you well as a songwriter. In Unbound, the singer becomes the personification of the forces of nature which are locked up inside the human spirit. These forces are embattled in a continuous effort to free themselves. This song was written as fast as I could write the words down.
About the Day
Another beautiful day in paradise, the day before I was spooked as the local weather men said it was going to rain, it didn’t. Our live shows are about giving back to the community, and celebrating their enduring spirit. The good lord wouldn’t have it any other way, so the weather held. First time I used the 80s custom Telecaster live at a show through a Fender Chris Stapleton Princeton, also the first time we performed the newly written song, “Warmth of the Fire“
About the Ram
Mark "The Ram" O'Donnell is an independent American composer, producer, filmmaker, multi-instrumental performer, designer, and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired rock-and-roll music on the West Coast.
For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.com
Song Metadata
Unbound
The Ram
UPC: 196512176866
IRSC: QZNWZ2192499
Release date: December 31, 2021
ASCAP Work ID: 914765056
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number: 375351159
