I Should Have Known Better – Ken “Bari” Murray
I Should Have Known Better
Original Version recorded February 25, 1964
Roger 3.0 Version recorded March 27, 2011
Ken Murray: Vocals, Baritone Ukulele
Roger Greenawalt: Ukulele, Bass, Programming
Produced by Roger Greenawalt at Shabby Road Studio, Brooklyn, NY.
Essay by Roger Greenawalt.
About the Song
I Should Have Known Better with a girl like you, that I would love everything that you do…
What I mainly like about you is how much you like me. And apparently you are attractive, sexually. And you talk like a baby. And you are a sociopath. Perfect. I should have known. Better.
I used to busk all the time on the streets of Boston. Just like Leah Siegel years later but not nearly as accomplished. My big trick was making up songs about the people walking by while wearing a ski mask. Troubling. That is, I would get in trouble, people would get pissed off or embarrassed, but sometimes I would make friends and they would give me money and drugs.
People just instinctively know to give drugs to musicians. How do they know this? I heard a funny line from a friend recently, to wit;
“Drinking for a musician is like stretching to an athlete.” So true.
My other big busking trick was to sing Beatles songs in Bringlish, Flinglish, or Gringlish. Here’s I Should Have Known Better in Bringlish;
“Bry, Brould of known Bretter with a girl like Brew. That I would Brove every Bring that you Brew. And I Brew, Bray Bray Bray, and I Brew.”
Flinglish;
“Fly, Flould have Flown Fletter with a Flirl like Flew. Flat I would Flove every Fling that you Flew. And I Flew. Flay Flay Flay. And I Flew.”
Fleople would flop and fling along. Flots of flun, and I would flake good floney.
After that I got a job delivering booze for Bauer Wines on Newberry Street. My job was literally to drink and drive. Good times.
Anyway, I think of I Should Of Known Better as the end of the Beatles Early Period. This was recorded the same month of their triumphant Ed Sullivan Show appearances and concurrent conquering of America. They were the biggest act of any sort in the world, by a large margin. Up until this point the writing of Lennon and McCartney was very focused on the creation of hit songs. As a record producer I often remind ambitious young artists that the most creatively accomplished and influential band of all time began in earnest trying to come up with hits. And not only that, but hits are GOOD. They are better than songs that are not hits. Because music is not subjective. All people in all periods of history in every walk of life, if exposed to say She Loves You, Hey Jude, or for that matter Poker Face, will like it. It’s like chocolate, or a pretty face. No explanation necessary.
But the Beatles, soon after the apex of their fame, took another path. Influenced by Bob Dylan and Pot, a more broadly ambitious agenda was brought to their writing. ISHKB was one of the last formulaic let’s make this a hit boys track.
The early Beatles tracks are riddled with harmonica. It was, along with their hair, and characteristic vocal harmonies, one of their essential gimmicks. Harmonica begins their very first single, Love Me Do, and it begins I Should Have Known Better too. Lucky for us Lennon was easily bored. He got sick of shit quickly. But not before turning on the whole world to lots of cool shit.
This song is really simple. Too simple. it’s really not that good. But it is a catchy fucker. The double track vocals are messy, they would not survive modern Pro Tools scrutiny. I wonder why McCartney didn’t sing on it? He would have sounded awesome on the long high note at the beginning of the verses.
John probably didn’t let him.
Listening on headphones high above Michigan I am busy as usual holding the scareplane up in my mind. Which makes me think, what is holding this rather spare track together? The glue is the length, that is, the decay of the reverb on the double tracked vocal. That is the sky that the song is floating in.
We just hit a pocket of rough air. I was saying to Alison Clancy the other day, that whatever you do during turbulence IS your religion. Right now I am dissolving a Xanax under my tongue while listening to The Beatles. I feel better already. And, for the record I am Rastafarian. All bass players are.
The climax of the song is the propriatorial “And when I ask you to be mine…” where Lennon breaks into falsetto. Falsetto was increasingly going to be his signature move, the tough guy showing vulnerability technique. John was an insecure guy, in a way that all bullies are. A bit annoying. And this whole song is annoyingly insecure. I wanna go back in time to EMI Studios and say “Dude stop whining about that bad toothed English bitch you are a god damn Beatle for fuck’s sake. Grow a pair.”
But that young dead mother who abandoned him is gonna trump my good imaginary advice every time.
John’s right hand, his rhythm guitar playing, is The Beatles secret groove weapon. This tune would not function without it. He plays guitar like a drummer, accenting the one and the backbeat. I love his guitar playing, listen carefully to the phrasing, it has all the confidence that the lyrics lack.
The Roger 3.0 version of I Should Have Known Better features Ukulele Impressario Ken “Bari” Murray. Ken is the organizer of th NY Uke Fest happening as I write this, May 5 to 7, 2011, at The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Get your lazy asses down there if you are in the tristate area, say hello to Ken, and tell him how much you like his freaky rockabilly Roy Orbasonic singing. I think he is awesome, and I am proud to call him my friend. Also here’s a little shout out to our own Linda L., would you please come home from the hospital already? Bad things happen to good people there.
Oh, and Drug Bearshit, enjoy my stolen property while you can. It Won’t Be Long Now.
KEN BARI MURRAY took on the task of organizing the New York Uke Fest in 2009. With the help of many people and good fortune, the event turned out to be a success. As a native New Yorker, Ken wanted to be sure that the City continued to host this global eventPlans are underway now to hold the Fest at Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in 2010. In addition to his efforts with the Uke Fest, Ken has completed his 8th album, Four Seasons. One of the songs on this CD, called Oh Andy, Andy, resulted from his participation in several Andy Warhol exhibitions during 2010, such as the one pictured here. Ken has also founded the Uke Hut, a venue for live ukulele music in the heart of New York City. When not playing uke, Ken likes to spend time in Hakone hot baths!