From the recording Lose My Head, Come To My Senses
This is an escapist theme about going off to Mexico with my girlfriend to hear hot Latin music and drink authentic Mexican tequila in the middle of the winter, set to a Mariachi beat. As a child I loved Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’ Whipped Cream and Other Delights. It didn’t hurt that the album cover was risqué for a boy about to spend eight years in a Parochial grade school and four years in a Jesuit high school! The album was part of my Mom’s record collection and I wore out the needle of our RCA stereo playing it ad nauseam.
The genesis of this song occurred as I revisited this classic, Tex-Mex inflected record and sipped a Margarita on my back deck, watching the sun sink into the hills just beyond the Pittsburgh skyline. The actual title comes from an expression coined by Fritz Perls, a pioneer of Gestalt therapy who implored his patients to “Lose your mind and come to your senses.” Interestingly, the line has been updated with the newer, contemporary spin "Get out of your mind and into your life."
In a similar vein, the philosopher of funk and front man of Parliament Funkadelic, George Clinton, once phrased this sentiment even more prosaically, singing "Free your mind and your ass will follow."
Every now and then I’ll read a captivating line or story in a newspaper, magazine or book that fascinates me, triggering my writing process. I also write songs based on interesting turns-of-phrase spouted by people within earshot so be careful what you say around songwriters!
Sometimes i’ve got to lose my head
To come to my senses
You’re beautiful
Your laughter makes me see
Sometimes i’ve got to lose my head
To come to my senses
Liberate the wild side of me
Set love free
At manzanillo’s hot cantina
We’ll eat spicy jalapenos feel the heat
I’ll tip the mariachi singer
He’ll serenade us as we salsa cheek to cheek
We’ll get high from that sangria
Meringue plays all night
When your heart beats next to mine i lose my mind
Sometimes i’ve got to lose my head
To come to my senses
You’re beautiful
The music makes me see
Sometimes i’ve got to lose my head
To come to my senses
Liberate the wild side of me
Set love free
What are they doing back in boston?
Snow is blowing and their ground is packed with ice
I’ll cut up limes you pour the mezcal
Curl our toes up in the sand while sun burns bright
Split the worm inside that bottle
End up in the drink
You’re lookin’ so dam hot i can’t even think
Sometimes i’ve got to lose my head
To come to my senses
You’re beautiful
Your body makes me see
Sometimes i’ve got to lose my head
To come to my senses
Liberate the wild side of me
Set love free
Instrumental
Sometimes i've got to lose my head
To come to my senses
You're beautiful
The moonlight makes me see
Sometimes i've got to lose my head
To come to my senses
Liberate the wild side of me
Set love free