“Hey You” by Canadian/UK singer-songwriter Old Kid (Darryl Webster) features soft and deep vocals over a rich acoustic guitar and tastefully played Telecaster. This duet—a first for Old Kid—features a guest vocal by Canadian folk legend Andy Maize of Skydiggers fame.
“This song started as a way to get my little nephew’s attention, introduce him to the guitar and maybe stop him from crying—he was 14 months old. It was a summer in New Mils, Derbyshire where my family had just moved after 15 years in Manchester’s city-centre. We have a music room in New Mills where we keep my Mum’s piano, shipped all the way from Canada. I wrote a lot of the songs for Tell Me Everything in that room, last summer while we watched the World Cup and drank cider in the garden.
The music is simple; bounce along in C, on a deep acoustic and drop in some sparse electric, careful not to sound too on-the-nose. The melody came naturally and felt like it needed to glide, in gentle contrast to the guitar’s bounce. Lyrically, the song begins innocently; wondering what it is that races through the mind of an infant, how do they make their decisions, and what are they so desperate to tell us at an age when they can’t yet speak?
Hey there kid,
Whatcha doin’ now?
You wake up,
but whatcha doin now?
When nearly the same lyrics as verse one are balanced against an adult life, they take on a much more introspective meaning. I almost felt as though I was questioning myself with those very same words. I think that was the moment it struck me; I wanted a guest vocalist to sing the second verse and be almost accusatory in their approach. I immediately heard Andy Maize’s voice singing it, before I even reached out and asked him if he would.
The final chorus is the melding of the two, not just singers, but the two ages, uncle and nephew, old and kid. It’s the first song I wrote on the road towards an album I didn’t know I was making. It’s called ‘Hey You,’ it’s for my little nephew Elliott in England and I hope you’ll enjoy the listen.” – DW
