"Make Me Over" was an attempt to write a "bar band" song for my pal Charlie, who fronts a popular blues-rock band, but we discovered (maybe not unsurprisingly) that it basically sounded like a pop song dressed up in bar band clothes. So instead of Charlie's band performing the song, I recorded it as a Rich Arithmetic song with Charlie's barroom-inflected lead vocal & bluesy harmonica.
As to the lyrics -- I've always been aware of a theme in popular music in which women sing that they do not want to be made over by "their man" (egs., Dionne Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over" and Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me"). But I was not aware of similar sentiments sung by males. So I decided to turn the genre on its head with a man singing that he DOES want to be made over by his woman, borrowing the characters Eric & Tracy from several erotic short stories as my models.
Change me, baby, any kind’a way you want to
Just make me over
It won’t be strange, what do you want me to do
To make me over?
I’ll never be all I can be
Without you pulling my strings
Make me over
Mold me, baby, groom, and shape me your way
Just make me over
I’m sold, babe, I’ll be the strings that you play
Please make me over
You be the sculptor, I’ll be your clay
Do with me what you may
Make me over
I'll never be all I can be
Without you pulling my strings
Make me over
Me, I’m fine, I’ve done my time just to
be made of a kind you can design
Give me a list of all that you need to
Make me over
I’m not a mystery, I’m sure that you’ll see
Just make me over
You won’t need to coax
You won’t need to plead
To bring me up to speed
Make me over
Make me over
(You be the sculptor/I’ll be the clay
Do with me what you may)
credits
from SHIFTINGEARS,
released January 29, 2021
Produced by Richard Horton & James Nicholson
Acoustic & electric guitars, bass, harmony vocals, drums, tambourine: RICH ARITHMETIC
Lead & harmony vocals, harmonica: DR. CHARLIE MALISZEWSKI
Rich Arithmetic serves up power pop, psych-pop, and folk-meets-surf-and-sand harmonies that "eliminate the gaps between the ‘60s, ‘80s and the 2020's" - Steve Stav, stevestav.com
Terrific jangle pop with an edge, somewhere between Television Personalities and R.E.M. with a bit of Kinks in there, too. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 2, 2023
supported by 5 fans who also own “Make Me Over (for Eric & Tracy)”
Good gracious, I went for Aldora Britain's full discography and will have to digest the lot slowly, piece by piece ;-))
Indie music lovers, watch out! The full discography is offered ridiculously cheap. So cheap, I couldn't take the original offer. Nevertheless,, I still got the whole stuff, well , for a ridiculously cheap price....
Many (over 160) compilations and even more singles or EPs. Fantastic value for money and so much music to discover!!!! Folk, rock, punk, alternative, pop, soul... Carsten Pieper