In the Key of K

The new album, Out of Time Out of Tune, will be streaming everywhere on April 17th, 2026. However, you can buy an advance copy right now here. Also, you can buy or stream it on Bandcamp.

This is the first of a group of songs that I affectionately refer to as “Out of Tune Blues.” It is from my 1998 cassette release titled, Out of Time and Out of Tune (re-released in 2026). I don’t remember which title came first but I definitely derived the name of one from the other.

Around this time in the 90s I went to a local mall in Cumberland, MD and was shopping at the record store. I found a dirt cheap multi-disc compilation album called “Booze and the Blues.” It contained hours and hours of poorly recorded old blues songs about alcohol, love lost, and death. Sometimes all at once. Those recordings were loosely the inspiration for this song.

This song is about loneliness, change, and existential crisis.

Out of Tune Blues II is an instrumental and is already streaming everywhere. Of the three published ‘Out of Tune Blues’ songs, it is the only one that is a traditional blues round. Out of Tune Blues III was on my 2007 album Deliver and will be re-released in a year or two (currently in 2026, I have re-mixed about half of that album so I am making progress). There will be a fourth one on my album Monsters in the fall of 2026 or 2027.

//
Out of Tune Blues
It’s been a long time since I set still to be here x2
It’s taken some time but I know the end is always near.

It’s one times one plus one times one to be two.
It’s a million to one if you think I care about you.
And it all adds up to a number that just can’t be true.

Because I’m lonely and maybe I don’t need to cry.
I said I’m lonely and I know we’re all gonna die.

It’s been a long time since I set still to be here x2
It’s taken some time but I know the end is always near.

It’s a one times one plus one times one to be two.
It’s a million to one if you think I care about you.
And it all adds up to a number that just can’t be true.

I’m lonely and maybe I don’t need to cry.
I’m lonely lonely and know we’re all gonna die.

Solo

It’s been a long time since I set still to be here x2
Well it’s taken some time but I know the end is always near.

I’m lonely and maybe I don’t need to cry.
I’m lonely and I know we’re all gonna die.
//

How DO you play it? For the intro, slide into this double stop and noodle it a little bit:
-14-
-14-
—
—
—
—

Note: this is NOT a true blues progression though later volumes of these songs do follow blues progressions, at least a little bit. The only thing bluesy about this tune is power chords that have the sus 6 note.
—————-
—————-
—————-
—————-
-5-5-7-5-5-5-7-
-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-

So you play that pattern for the verses:

|G5*G5sus*G5*G5sus*|G5*G5sus*B5 A5| repeat
|A5*A5sus*A5*A5sus*|A5*A5sus*D5 C5| repeat
|E5*E5sus*E5*E5sus*|E5*E5sus*A5 G5| repeat
The first two lines all use chords based off the sixth string but the third one uses these shapes:
——————
——————
————-9–7—
-9-11——7–5—-
-7-7—————
——————-
E5 E5sus A5 G5

Chorus–all these should be played off the A string:
F5***|F5***|E5*E5sus*E5*E5sus*|E5*E5sus*E5*E5sus*
F5***|F5***|G5***|A5***|

At times over the last 28+ years I have found this song to be a bit cringy. Currently I love everything about it. It’s a little messy and out of sorts, just like me. 🤣