Songwriter’s Hell

Songwriter's Hell began, of course, with the song itself. My aunt, Susan, who writes and performs as Meramec Valley Girl, has a gift for writing songs that capture the heart and humor tucked away in the nooks and crannies of everyday life. Songwriter's Hell was one of them.

We began playing it during our Sunday residency at McGurk's, and before long it had become one of the songs people came expecting to hear. If we were ever going to record it, it had to be live. Our Sunday family had become part of the song itself, playing their part every time the chorus came around.

Before long, we had extended the song's lyrical narrative, tipping our cap to Irish Old Ladies and Shot to the Devil as alternatives to the requests in the story. Those Easter eggs eventually revealed the EP's natural shape: Songwriter's Hell alongside the two songs it had been nodding to all along.

The design completed the story. A translucent red sleeve hid the artwork beneath, revealing it only as the sleeve was pulled away. Like the song itself, the ordinary slowly gave way to something a little stranger, until the audience emerged in all its mischievous glory.