SONG: At 6 A.M.

SONG:

ARTIST: grant.

SOURCE: Nature, 17 Apr 2018, “Medicine’s secret ingredient — it’s in the timing”, as used in the post “Chronotherapy is the discipline of giving medicine according to your body clock”.

ABSTRACT:
The laugh, I gotta say first, really has nothing to do with the song per se. It’s just something I got from recording my daughter for the “Titanium” cover that I really like the sound of.

I wanted sounds I liked for this. Overdriven organ, hissy guitar, reverbed drums, multitracked vocals. I like the sounds.

As far as songwriting goes, I came up with the guitar figure first, figured it would make a great little repeated figure, maybe for something Tunng-like. But, of course, it wound up with horns and stuff, and not, like, dance beats.

The science here I thought was worth spreading around – it’s an idea that a few different friends of mine found interesting. And that little guitar figure did have something clock-like about it.

The words were written in kind of a hurry – I knew the verse melody would be that descending thing, but thought the choruses would be much simpler. I do like the line about “maybe it’s the moon, my mind, or maybe melatonin,” since melatonin is a hormone used in regulating the same rhythms that this medical stuff is about. And I like the assonance throughout.

LYRICS:

At 6 a.m., I wake up and take my medicine
At 6 a.m., I get extra from the pills
I watch the clock and I do my calculations
I watch the clock and keep my medication filled

CH:
This prescription wills us still by minutes
Graphs of mountains, valleys, hills within its
Timetables for dosage, day by day
Timetables for dosage, day by day

The sun sinks down, getting hungry for its dinner
Whe digestive juices flow, it might be time to pick a winner
Watch the clock and let the cycles take me
These diseases bide their time to break me

CH:
This prescription wills us still by minutes
Graphs of mountains, valleys, hills within its
Timetables for dosage, day by day
Timetables for dosage, day by day

At the stroke of midnight, maximizing metabolic pressure
Measurie milligrams to se the good stuff gets wherever
Enzymes unlock proteins, ticking time inside my moments
Maybe it’s the moon, my mind, or maybe melatonin

CH:
This prescription wills us still by minutes
Graphs of mountains, valleys, hills within its
Timetables for dosage, day by day
Timetables for dosage, day by day
Day by day, day by day