“Borderline Carolina”
By Randy Monchick, Jon Decious
Interview by American Songwriter
Videos by American Songwriter
Randy Monchick and Jon Decious are the American Songwriter Sounds Like Summer Lyric Promotion runner-ups for their song “Borderline Carolina.” American Songwriter caught up with them to get the story behind their Summer lyrics.
How long have you been songwriting?
Randy: About 3 years.
Jon: 10 or 12 years or so
Why did you enter American Songwriter’s Sounds Like Summer Promotion?
Randy: Because Jon bullied me into submitting it!
Jon: Because I felt like the lyrics formed a really good basis for a song. Plus, I like challenging (torturing?) Randy when I get the chance!
What was the inspiration behind your song, “Borderline Carolina”?
Randy: Having lived in North Carolina for the past 40 years, and soooo aware of the lure of its geographic beauty, its endearing college sports rivalries, and its steeped-in-history traditions, I had been mentally processing how to capture its allure in a song. One evening, I mentioned the hook “Borderline Carolina” to Jon, and he enthusiastically spouted: “I LOVE IT!” The following morning, he and a fellow songwriter took a stab at writing it…and butchered it. Thankfully, Jon agreed…so we sat down that evening and approached it totally, and I mean TOTALLY, anew.
It took 3 hours and a few subsequent changes (with me giving in to Jon’s technical expertise to curb my wordiness)…, and VIOLA! A pretty cool and nostalgic song was written.
Jon: It was an off-handed thing Randy said one night that I thought sounded good!
Who are your all-time favorite songwriters and why?
Randy: Kris Kristofferson, Jon Prine, Don Schlitz, and Jon Decious (the gun to my head was not loaded, thank goodness). They are really poets and can create a mood or a series of moments that bring you spiritually into the world they have created.
Jon: Kristofferson, Dean Dillon, Prine, Raitiere…umm…Randy Monchick (my god, the gun to my head IS loaded!)
Are you planning to release any new music this year?
Randy: uhhhh…, I’ll turn the mic over to a Pro: Jon: Please take it from here.
Jon: Me & my best bud, Aaron Raitiere, have a band called Ratty Dishes & we’ll probably release a few this fall.
What would you tell other artists who are considering entering the contest?
Randy: Take advantage of the promo code if you can find it (it’s there somewhere in that internet world of things)…and send it in! But don’t attach your ego to the submission!!! Rejection is most likely to follow, but rejection and dejection are very different. Use any rejection to inspire you. Oftentimes, IMHO, the rejection will come from you being too creative in your submission. As an example, I love to tell stories poetically. Thus, a six-minute song with an Introduction and a chorus that doesn’t show up until post-verse 2 and post-verse 4 or 5 is something I might end up with. I may absolutely love the finished product, but a traditional song reviewer may review it in horror. That doesn’t mean my submission isn’t a masterpiece.
Jon: my advice for most everything, is to dive in & do something even if it’s wrong, & the same applies to song competitions.
Read the winning lyrics below:
Verse 1:
We had a bottle of Tennessee in the floorboard,
and a tendency to get a little wild.
We had a James Taylor tape in my Daddy’s old Ford;
Fire and Rain ain’t ever going outa style.
I turn it full blast…,
Always takes me back….
Chorus:
To an Outer Banks summer…sun sinking low.
To an App trail hike and a Cheerwine float.
Hearts beatin’ NASCAR fast…like outlaw moonshiners…
For two people who missed, we got awful damn close,
till the wheels flew off on Tobacco Road.
Might notta been Jimmy V in ’83, but I…still rewind her.
For a moment we were golden….
We were borderline……Carolina.
Verse 2:
You packed your California dreams up…and slammed the trunk.
Headed west to find your Hollywood thrill.
You left this High-Tider standin’ in the Tarheel dust
where time here still stands still.
We said goodbye…,
but I still get high…
Chorus:
…off that Outer Banks summer…sun sinking low;
that App trail hike and that night on the coast.
Hearts beatin’ NASCAR fast…like outlaw moonshiners.
For two people who missed, we got awful damn close;
Till the wheels flew off and that’s all she wrote.
Might notta been Silver-Screen meant-to-be, but I… still rewind her.
For a moment we were golden….
We were borderline……Carolina.
Bridge:
Sittin’ here on this pier,
Pretendin’ to be fishin’.
When the truth about it is:
I’m wonderin’ if you’re reminiscing…
Chorus:
…about an Outer Banks summer…sun sinking low.
That App trail hike and a Cheerwine float.
Hearts beating NASCAR fast…like outlaw moonshiners.
For two people who missed, we got awful damn close.
And it hurts to admit it, so I guess that’s why I don’t.
Might notta been Jimmy V in ’83, but I…still rewind her.
If some day you hear this song…somehow…I hope it reminds ya….
For a moment we were golden….
We were borderline…Carolina.
For a moment we were golden.
We were borderline…Carolina.
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