Richard Franklin Morse: Music & Lyrics

• MP3 play whole song, lo-fi (modem)

Another song written against my will, and another lyric full of questions. In 2000 I spent a day in silent meditation, and by the end of the day the song was just there, 3 note melody and 1 chord. I thought ‘no commercial potential’, but I started singing the song at my bar gigs and people liked it. I liked it, too. When the horn and string players came in I jotted down some lines for them to play and it came together, I was like a kid in a candy store. Getting bass legend Bob Babbitt to play on this song was literally a dream come true: when I saw the movie ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ I thought, ‘if I could just once record with that guy’, and, 2 years later, you can hear the result!

What You Gonna Do

What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you
What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you

If God was callin’ you on the phone
Won’t ya tell me just how long would you keep Him on hold
If God was knockin’ at your door
Would you say, ‘Honey, tell that fool I don’t live here no more’

Now What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you
What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you

I said if God was reachin’ out to you
Would you say ‘Come another day, I’ve got lots of things to do’
Have you got appointments you must keep
Are you on your way to buy some pills to help you sleep

Now What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you
What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you

Call it the universe, it’s all the same
That’s just God checkin’ in under a different name
And God don’t care if you believe or not
‘Cause God believes in you, boy, and that’s all you’ve got

Now What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you
What You Gonna Do with the power
The power that God gave you