I Think God Smokes Weed

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
Ok...before anything, it's important to note that Echo Movement is a secular band. Many of us are actually free thinkers. And beyond an ethical foundation, religions simply don't make sense to us. As for the church...well, that's a very creepy corporation, in our opinions.

Just behind this song's fun tone lies a tight message poking fun at humans and religions. It's also a big f-u to the uptight conservatives (better than mashing a stress ball). We personally recognize our governing superior as nature (credit Frank Lloyd Wright), and cannabis is a botanical constituent of that nature...thus, it is not unreasonable to recognize cannabis as an element of our actual biology, especially since its found its way into so many of our ancestors' lives.

The chorus was written in Fall '08, presented to the band and arranged for recording. It almost never saw the light of day, at least in the form we all know it. We knew it was risky, edgy and defining (for better or worse). We talked with family and friends before releasing the song, and ultimately released it in hopes it would entertain our fans and provoke cool discussions. It has.

Cool Facts
The last part of the song is a dubbed-out instrumental bed reserved as a time of reflection, especially for those hearing the song for their first time. If you listen closely to this part, you can hear a massive hit from a bubbler followed by construction elements in the percussion rhythm- we recorded a socket wrench, a drill, sanding blocks and a few other tools from our garage.

Key Phrase
"Every time we rock the ganja, so does he."

Music and Lyrics
I think god smokes weed
Ab Db
And he was high when he made me
C Fm
I can feel it in my DNA
Db Cm Fm Eb
I think god smokes weed
Ab Db
And he was high when he made me
C Fm
And I think he gave up halfway
Db Cm Fm


Before I was complete, as I understand
Fm
God was making a mess of the man he planned
In the face of defeat, he smoked a helping hand
And said, "I'll just put him in a reggae band"
I feel it in the beat when I'm on the stand
I feel it in my feet when I'm in the sand
I see it in the sunsets that might expand
Into your mind, so you'll understand...
Eb

[chorus]

Back in Catholic school, to my memory
They made me feel [like] a fool through humility
They said that god's infallible consistently
Except for the one time he dropped that seed
I hear that god's in you and me and all we see
Assuming all the actions of my own body
If that's the way it is, than you must agree
Every time we rock the ganja, so does he

Keep My Head High

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
All members of Echo work several jobs just to get by and enable time away for touring, etc...and it takes its toll on us. This song represents the utter frustrations (horn sections) and the human ability to collect (ukulele parts) in any overwhelming situation...and we thought it'd help our listeners, too.

Cool Fact
In the third verse, we reference two of our favorite classic rock bands: The Beatles (Fool On The Hill) and The Doors (Light My Fire).

Key Phrase
"My mind will always duel with my soul's desire, so I guess I got to keep my head higher."

Music and Lyrics
When the world's got me stressed, agony of defeat
Dm Gm
And I'm working so damn hard just to make ends meet
Dm
My soul is strolling down a one-way dead-end street
Dm Gm
But I just gotta keep my head high
C Bb F

I say "ohh, I know that I'm gonna get by"
F Bb C Bb F
Ohh, I just gotta keep my head high
F Bb C Bb F


I gotta live today or I'll die trying
In the game of being a man there ain't no crying
I'll keep it to myself when my mind's sighing
But I still gotta show my head's high

[chorus]

It's hard to keep my cool when my world's on fire
On the hill I am the fool, light my funeral pyre
My mind will always duel with my soul's desire
So I guess I gotta keep my head higher

All Night

Music by Stephen and David Fowler
Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
This is one of a few songs written together on In The Ocean. The lyrics were written in summer '08 on a friend's porch near the corner of 8th and Ocean Ave in Belmar, NJ. After bar-hopping all night, a select crew found their way back to this house and continued to rage.

Key Phrase
"I see the animals, don't feed the animals- you know these cops are social cannibals."

Music and Lyrics
[C F]
Our time, my soul is shaking
Our world is what they're breaking
Downtown, a sanctuary
All night, I got no worries

[G G# G Bb C]

I got a will to get weird but I got no cash
Checked my head stash but it's turned to ash
Once again I contracted the fear
The future's uncertain and the end is near
So go out, blowout, no doubt
Hear a groovy band in a bar to check out
A good beat always takes control
The girls on the floor got the Jersey soul
I cross paths with the man of the night
I'll take one blue, one green, one white
Been up for 24 hours, I've developed super powers

[chorus]

Step outside to catch some air
My move turns into a love affair

Yea, I see the animals, don't feed the animals
You know these cops are social cannibals
They do a drive-by but everything's cool
Dark porch, chill, don't be no fool
About a girl and she's hot for the pool
Ten minutes into a flirtatious dual
So lay down, uptown, downtown
O'd hard enough to make a poor boy drown
Skipping town is the best for us
Gone with the wind, with the wind I'll discuss
...
Yeah we got a lot to talk about, me and the wind