Nemo James

It Started With a Riff

From the Album Terasa

Sitting on my own on a Saturday night
While my friends were out having a good time
Just me and my guitar for some company
And my second cheap bottle of wine
That song didn’t wanna be written
I tried every trick I knew
Defeat was round the corner
When it came from out of the blue

Chorus
It started with a riff
Just a simple riff with some attitude
It started with a riff
Just the right feel and just the right mood
It started with a riff
A riff like that is so hard to find
It started with a riff

A few days later I was out on a gig
In a bar on the right side of town
I was singing and playing my heart out
But it just wasn’t going down
There was a girl sitting in the corner
Laughing with her friends
I was trying to get her attention
And when I did, it just came and went

There was only one thing I had left to try
So I started picking out that riff
The bar went deathly quiet
While I was giving it all I could give
From then I couldn’t do no wrong
I found a place in their hearts
Now me and that girl are still dating
And that riff’s hit the top of the charts

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG

For those of you who wasted your time at school studying instead of learning to play guitar, a riff is a short phrase that is repeated. The introduction to Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones is probably the most famous guitar riff of all time.

Nothing too deep about this song but it always surprises me how often I pick up a guitar with no intention of writing anything, and then a nice little riff appears from nowhere, which leads effortlessly to the rest of the song.