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Use Psychology

from An Unexpected Turn by Chris Harris

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One of the songwriting challenges that ran during Fifty/Ninety this summer was the #boatnames challenge. This involves writing a song that uses the name of a boat or ship as its title.

That applies to spaceships, obviously. So this is named after a General Systems Vehicle (GSV) which is mentioned in Iain M. Banks's novel set in his Culture universe, Excession.

The lyrics are about something rather closer to home, however.

lyrics

The more I tell them something
The more they'll think it's true
That simple repetition
is all I have to do

Get them to the point where they'll believe
Absolutely anything I say
Neuroscience these days has been weaponised
Simply so that I can get my way

There is no option to ignore me
And now that push has come to shove
I'm going to use psychology
It's the fist inside the velvet glove

I'll engage you with precision
Let you think you've caught a break
You'll hardly notice that decision
was not one that you chose to make

No-one objects to how I operate
Although it's tantamount to theft
They never notice as they take the bait
What little free will they have left

credits

from An Unexpected Turn, released November 30, 2023

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all rights reserved

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about

Chris Harris image

Chris Harris Bristol, UK

I'm still trying to get the music I record to sound like the version I can hear in my head. To do this I've ended up playing every instrument I can get my hands on. These days, I'm closer to "That Sound" than I used to be, but the journey continues.

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