The other night I was tickling Cole, as dads tend to do. When I got a little too aggressive he said, “The Rule of Tickles is you have to stop when I say so!” And I said, “The Rule of Tickles, huh?” (we were reading A.A. Milne, hence the capitalization). So I decided to try something a little more interesting for the Canadian Boards snippet, rather than the usual relationship blah blah blah thing I had lined up. Also, maybe it’s just me, but the snippet sounds like tickling or laughter – it just fits.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Anything confusing or contradictory? What’s the weakest part? The strongest? Sorry I don’t have any musical reference for you to listen to this time. All the composition so far has taken place at the piano.
Only one more lyric to write after this!
The Rule of Tickles
©2010 Brian Hazard (ASCAP)
You could torture me to tears
And not leave a mark
So it’s not easy for me
To let down my guard
When the natural thing to do
Is protect myself
From an overwhelming touch
Crossing into pain
If you’re delicate enough
You can have your way
But I need a safety net
So you’d better not forget
The rule of tickles is
You’ve got to stop when I say when
If you take this game too far
I’ll never play with you again
So watch for subtle cues
‘Cause I like you a lot
Can I trust you, or not?
When your fingertips explore
All you feel is touch
As sensations in my skin
Cause my blood to rush
It’s like falling deep in love
With a platonic friend
I can’t do it to myself
It’s impossible
‘Cause I’m only sensitive
When I’m vulnerable
The successful hand relies
On the element of surprise
Laughter doesn’t always mean
That I’m having fun
I may laugh reflexively
Before you’ve begun
But you have my full consent
If you’re willing to relent
I’m easy to amuse
‘Cause I like you a lot
Can I trust you, or not?
{ 9 comments }
Vick, I was considering deleting all the posts on the site before the release of The Sound, so it’s nice to see someone still looks through them! While my son gave me the idea, I hope that everyone reads the lyrics as more-or-less consensual between a man and a woman.
Well, I must say that only now I realized that the inspiration for the lyrics came from a play with a little boy
I was sure it came from a relationship issue between a man and a woman. I wouldn’t say that it is about rape and sex, though, but more likely about foreplay or teasing and playing hard to get at same time 
BTW Brian, I like the expected question: “Mom, what’s platonic mean?”
I agree! I suppose it’s best left to the listener’s interpretation. It totally works on the cute and playful level, which the music completely reinforces, and then there’s the deeper level of personal boundaries and vulnerability.
OK, good. Because otherwise it came accross as creepy. Yes, I think it’s best not to share the inspiration there.
Mixing the father/son and sex/rape is very disturbing…
Monty
Ah, but it already is about those things, through the power of metaphor, as you’ve spotted! I wonder if people will detect that more readily if they don’t know the inspiration behind the song. As for Radio Disney, I wish! “Mom, what’s platonic mean?”
Thanks for checking it out Monty!
OK, now, since the inspiration is from your son, my idea may sound quite strange. But, I think you would really have a winner here if you changed the lyrics to be about sex and rape instead of parenting and tickling. You wouldn’t have to change that many words to get that result. Without that change, I do think “The Rule Of Tickles” would be great for a kids “Radio Disney” album.
The strongest parts:
You could torture me to tears
And not leave a mark
So it’s not easy for me
To let down my guard
Laughter doesn’t always mean
That I’m having fun
I may laugh reflexively
Before you’ve begun
I’m easy to amuse
‘Cause I like you a lot
Can I trust you, or not?
Hi Brian,
I really like the story behind the lyrics. Good and creatice lyrics, I guess it’s clever not to have just Lyrics about the usual relationship.
So far for the Album: interesting good lyrics, great stories and a lot of wonderful songs!
Thanks Thomas! I was worried about that middle stanza, but I guess if it stands out as a strong part to you, it’s probably okay.
Thanks also to all of you who commented, and are still commenting, on Facebook! I’d prefer the discussion take place here, but it’s so easy just to comment on the status update.
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