Guilty Feeling

I was playing in a band called “Whirly Pits” in the year of Our Lord 1988, and our keyboardist was recounting some exploits from a night out in Wombourne the previous Friday. In his narrative the phrase “woke up with a guilty feeling” came forth, and I made a mental note that there could be a song in there. I had recently discovered the Blues…I mean discovered the old acoustic Delta Blues. Blues was familiar to me from the records I had by Rolling Stones, Canned Heat and many others. But a friend of ours called Simon had a collection of ancient recordings of artists like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy, Lead Belly, Robert Johnson and so on along with slightly later offerings by Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. I was mesmerized by the sound…particularly the really old recordings, where it seemed they’d just managed to capture a ghost before it faded. And I was taken away to another world – totally alien to me – where the memory of slavery was still fresh in the memory of the singers and their voices were filled with a connection to pain and a channeling of spirit that few since had had.

So the song Guilty Feeling was always going to start with “I woke up this morning”…and so it became a delta style blues affair. We played it with Whirly Pits, but soon after we started playing with a Simon on guitar – and to acknowledge the change in musical direction we called the band “Whirly Blues”. This was the first incarnation of the band of that name. We played Blues – obviously – but also mixed with psychedelia and Indie ideas – hence still Whirly. Whirly Blues changed to a more Psychedelic Rock and Indie band after Simon left and was replaced by Rob Challenor (aka Dr. South) and Bebee…we were eventually persuaded to change the name as we no longer played blues…which ultimately was a terrible mistake. Moody Blues didn’t. Nor did Climax Blues Band.

The actual story in the song is a combination of many different post-alchohol situations: some of them auto-biographical, most not. What the guilt is about is left a mystery, as it was in the original story.

It’s a fairly old recording: from the days when I had a studio in Copenhagen with Brian Armstrong…and it’s using his SPL channel one channel strip and SE5600 microphone…which inspired me to get one. I’m playing – as ever – the Martin HD28V guitar, an unidentified Harmonica and there’s no overdubs or anything. Keeping it authentic man…

The words….

I woke up this morning with a bruise on my face

Champagne matted hair – my clothes all over the place

Lying next to a girl, I don’t think I know her name

Can’t recall last night so won’t you tell me what’s to blame

For this Guilty Feeling. A Guilty Feeling’s what I’ve got

I’’ve got a Guilty Feeling. Must have done something bad but I don’t know what

I looked in the mirror – bags under my bloodshot eyes

A lovebite on the neck, a shiner on the rise

Oh my God – my face is a weary white

There’s blood on my shirt – it must have been quite a night

I’’ve got a Guilty Feeling. A Guilty Feeling’s what I’ve got

I’’ve got a Guilty Feeling. Must have done something bad but I don’t know what

I want a drink – I don’t feel so young

I want an asprin but I ain’t got none

I wanna go out but I daren’t see my friends

If they know what happened then I’ll never hear the end

I’’ve got a Guilty Feeling. A Guilty Feeling’s what I’ve got

I’’ve got a Guilty Feeling. Must have done something bad but I don’t know what