Victor Barden: Music

• MP3 short clip, hi-fi play (broadband)
• MP3 short clip, lo-fi play (modem)

All of us have done things we regret, but it does no good to wallow in this regret because God has rigged it so that if we didn’t mess up in one area we are sure to in another. That way no flesh shall glory in His presence. Besides, in Jesus Christ we are forgiven for all we have done — and our sins aren’t just forgiven, they’re forgotten, and “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) has cleansed them!
Usually my songs start with a chord progression or a chorus; this is the first one that has come from a bass line. I tried several ways to play the acoustic guitar part and finally hit the jackpot with putting a capo at the second fret on all but the low E string, so the song is in E but the chord forms are in D, and I got a similar effect to drop D tuning a step higher without having to change the fingering for the four chord.

I could have been a lot of things; I could have made all the young girls sing.
Could have found many useful things to do.
I could have been a preacher, could have been a teacher.
I could have been a creature that was featured on TV
Or anything I wanted to if I wanted to.

But it doesn’t do a bit of good to dwell on what might have been
‘Cause if I hadn’t made the mistakes that I have made,
I’d have just made different ones.

I could have been the bass player in a band that reminded people of their past.
I could have had my name up in lights.
I could have been a Pharisee, preaching lots of heresy.
Faith, hope, and charity could have been foreign words to me.
I could have had a lot more sleepless nights.

But it doesn’t do a bit of good to dwell on what might have been
‘Cause if I hadn’t made the mistakes that I have made,
I’d have just made different ones.

LEAD BREAK

I could have been the man who spent his lifetime in the arms of my first love,
Or I could have been the guy that she divorced.
I could have been the President, a White House resident,
Setting major precedents for the other Presidents,
The father of a multitude who copped a major attitude
And sacrificed his aptitude going after pulchritude,
American historian, valedictorian,
Going for the glory and the honor of the story, and
I could have spent my whole life on my high horse.

But it doesn’t do a bit of good to dwell on what might have been
‘Cause if I hadn’t made the mistakes that I have made,
I’d have just made different ones.

Yeah, I’d have just, I’d have just, I’d have just made different ones.