If I Ever Thought was taken from what I remember from the spoken biography of a male prostitute in a jail cell in Hollywood in 1979 where I was being held for disturbing the peace. The mole? I was just extrapolating. The prostitute takes off the john's shirt and finds ... "Jesus, what's that?" Also, Harry Dean Stanton, the actor, had this... thing on his forehead for awhile. We were having breakfast with another friend of ours who said " have you ever thought of getting that thing removed?" Harry said
in reply , "if I did, do you think they'd let me play the hero?" I don't know, really, I was just riffing.

As far as the style of "The Toughest Whore" goes, I was trying for German cabaret, rather than the British variety. Trying and failing, I presume, since absolutely noone has recognised the source, ie
the sardonic pop of Brecht and Weill.

In terms of how long it takes to write a song, it really varies. Sometimes you just sort of burp it out all in one piece, like "Heroes" off of Boomtown, or it can take forever, like "Come What May" from the movie
"Moulin Rouge", which I kept writing and rewriting until I finally gave up on it in disgust and turned it in. Obviously, it's preferable to get it right the first time, as there's nothing more boring and disheartening than going over the same ground over and over and over, tripping over the same crack in the sidewalk every time. I absolutely do not think that "songs are just hanging there waiting to be discovered" , and the only writers I know who actually do think that, rather than just say they do are either very young or imbeciles of the highest order. People say that to gloss over the fact that they're actually working foir a living. Songs don't exist in the ether anymore than buildings do, and they're just as unlikely to spontaneously appear. Inspiration is anothder story, but it's usually a pretty long road from the idea to the finish.


Yrs,

David Baerwald

I'm going through that right now with a song that may or may not be called "Orderville" or may just end up getting heaved out a window in despair.