NEW SINGLE
You Can Take My Money
This energetic fusion of Indie Pop, Swing Jazz & Rockabilly comments on temperaments around money. Whether you have been rich, poor, or somewhere in the middle. There's one thing we all have in common. The concept & reality of money. This song is not a protest against money. It's a protest against allowing money to own your soul. A protest against the superficial, lust, jealousy, crime, waste & greed. Against feelings of inadequacy. Against self-induced debt from spending as a sickness. Against not chasing your dreams out of fear and preoccupation with money. The intention is feel-good & free yourself.
Behind the lyrics:
South African Singer-Songwriter Lauren Tracy wrote this song about money when she was 21 & broke. She was studying Art Direction in Cape Town & helping throw class ball. After a long meeting on a Friday, jump-starting her car (with not much petrol in it), A fellow student in charge of ticket sales came up to her window and reminded her she needed to still buy her ticket! "I can't even remember whether I bought the thing or not, but it was ridiculous to be asked to pay for an event that I was working on for FREE. I drove off and immediately started singing the chorus of this song! Laughing to myself" explains Lauren.
Lauren left the advertising route & found a job that took her to India. She returned to Cape Town to study Eastern Religion & Psychology. "I know I can't be a monk that sits in the mountains somewhere and meditate. I want to be a part of this world. And in this world money is a reality. I'm going to consume. I'm going to meet money-hungry people. I'm going to be money hungry. BUT I won't let it take my soul". Everyone wants your money. They can have it. But don't give them YOU. That's the message. Along with some dark cynical reflections too. A contrast of a deep & dark message with a fun upbeat song! Because as Lauren says "Sometimes you've gotta laugh it off".
Years later she met guitarist Indy Laville in Vietnam & sang him the song. He immediately recognized Laurens knack for swing jazz & as an avid Django Reindheirt fan played that rhythmic guitar for her. Lauren thought long and hard about money & the world to write meaningful messages in the verses. And so the song was born!
The South African - French/Vietnamese duo worked with American bassist & Ukrainian drummer on the track. Which means [FUN FACT] each musician on the recording is from a different country.
