Track-by-Track: DADDY DRWG Discusses the Tales Woven into ‘A Tree Called Happy’

Welsh rock artist DADDY DRWG has released his debut album, A Tree Called Happy. This follows the release of the lead single “I’m Your Waste Of Time.”

“I’m Your Waste Of Time” offers listeners a glimpse into DADDY DRWG’s new record. The ten-track offering is based on real-life events and experiences with tracks such as “I’m Your Waste Of Time,” “Domino,” and “Object” full of dark humour, both in a lyrical and musical sense relating to unhealthy obsession, ghosting, gaslighting, and victim and prey scenarios. Other songs such as “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Previously Known As The Fool,” and “Lean On Me” share a similar theme of altruism, empathy, hope, and forgiveness.

Today, DADDY DRWG presents an exclusive journey through the record, providing a track-by-track account of the personal tales woven into every song.

1. “I’m Your Waste of Time”

“They say write what you know. I had the unnerving experience of being stalked for almost two years until the person was finally identified, arrested, and stopped. Many years later, I thought it would be interesting to write from the point of view of a stalker and try to imagine the malevolence they must harbour, spending every waking moment of their lives wanting to disrupt, upset or even ruin the life of someone else. The love/hate juxtaposition is captured best in the lyrics of the last verse: ‘You fill me with desire, I want to pull your teeth with pliers!’”

2. “Eyes Wide Shut”

“Lyrically, this song spans six years in its completion. Not deliberately. I’d written songs in between, but I can gauge the timeline by the gap between the births of my two daughters. The opening lines, ‘I’ve been waiting for you to arrive, eyes wide shut’ relate to the nervous anticipation of my first daughter being born. Really excited but equally terrified of soon being totally responsible for a little human being! Sleeping and feeding wise she was a godsend, and we were lulled into a false sense of security.

“Fast forward five years later, our second daughter arrived and was totally the opposite. ‘Empty bottles by my side, were never strong enough, don’t even touch’ relates to being sat on the edge of the bed bottle-feeding and her finishing and screaming for more. The lyrics also have a double meaning. The ‘empty bottles by my side were never strong enough’ could also refer to someone drinking too much.

“In a much broader sense, it’s a song of hope and fiercely facing the unknown regardless. It’s a song about awakening from numbness, embracing vulnerability, and finding renewed faith in love and connection.”

3. “1AM GMT”

“I still remember clearly where I was when the melody and the beginning of the lyrics for this song came to me. I was walking home from a night out. I’d spent most of the night in an excellent pub called Dempseys opposite Cardiff Castle. The pub was run by a brilliant landlady called Kath. Sadly, it’s changed hands from being a traditional pub and is now a sports bar owned by footballer Gareth Bale, or at least it was the last time I walked past.

“Anyway, I’d had a few; it’s the early hours of the morning. I’ve decided to walk home, it’s raining and misty with the streets deserted. The street lighting was glowing orange and there were Coronas around the lamps. It was quite eerie, but I also liked the haunting atmosphere. When I got home, I didn’t feel like sleeping so I stayed up and wrote the song.”

DADDY DRWG “A Tree Called Happy” album artwork

4. “Domino”

“I deliberately wrote this as an upbeat pop song with an infectious chorus, but lyrically, it has a dark undercurrent about ghosting and gaslighting. It tells the story of a tumultuous relationship filled with longing, betrayal, and manipulation. No one likes to be on the receiving end when the other party wants to call it a day, especially in the age of ghosting and gaslighting, where today’s technology in communication is instant. The lack of a response is felt all the more because communication is so much easier.

“Back in the day, you could be forgiven for not receiving a letter, not being in when somebody rang your house phone, but now, there’s no excuse. Our ability to communicate so easily should bring people much closer together. Sadly, it can do the opposite and leave people feeling lonely, isolated, and ostracized. Ironically, social media has a lot to answer for in that respect.”

5. “Previously Known As The Fool”

“This is a song for the underdog. I suppose it’s altruistic in its message about being aware of how words or not speaking out, action or inaction can have an impact on others, intentional or otherwise. It’s about offering a hand up, a shoulder to cry on, an ear. I’m sure at one time or another, we’ve all felt invisible, unheard, unappreciated, or overlooked. The song looks to acknowledge this and readdress the balance.

“Said best in the chorus, ‘We’re here to raise the fallen, to return the stolen, wipe the tears from eyes, we’re here to mend the broken, say the words unspoken, sing sweet lullabies, to you, previously known as the fool.’ I could’ve quite easily have just titled the song ‘Don’t be a Dick!’”

6. “Lean On Me”

“A song inspired by a chance meeting I had with a dear friend who is sadly no longer with us. I was playing a gig at The Globe, Cardiff and was outside chatting to people and getting some fresh air when Anthony Carey, who was joint lead singer/guitarist with Welsh band The Scooters walked past on his way to another Cardiff haunt, The Claude. This was a surprise as I’d known he’d moved to London a while back. We embraced and chatted when he told me how despondent he’d become with the music scene and had pretty much given up performing. I was surprised by this as I’d always looked up to Tony. The fact that he was a little over five feet is irrelevant. I’m not one to talk, I’m no basketball player myself.

“He had a commanding presence on stage, an excellent authentic vocal and offstage, he was a lovely guy to spend time with. Before we parted company, the last thing Tony said to me was, ‘Keep going, kid.’

“A few months later I heard the sad news he had passed. Way before this, one place I would bump into Tony was the Model Inn. There were a few floors and the ground floor bar would be where some of those of the ‘Far Right’ persuasion congregated. We’d make our way past these, bemused by the sneers and stares and head upstairs where there was a better time to be had due to the diverse mix of people and music. I mention this within the lyrics: ‘Upstairs, we sat apart from the racists, they’d hate this, Good!’”

7. “Words On The Back Of My Hand”

“This song ponders the famous elegy by Tennyson; ‘T’is better to have loved and lost than not loved at all.’ I’ve often wondered about this. Is it? Is the love worth the pain, is the pain worth the love? The lyrics: ‘I wrote it down, then the rain came, words on the back of my hand, washed away. They said nothing about… you.’ Yet they did; they said everything about you, but now that they’re gone, I could argue they never existed in the first place. Denial as a defence mechanism. A Schrodinger/multiverse/love song mashup.”

8. “When We Are Young”

“‘When We Are Young’ is an undelivered postcard to my younger self and a future letter to my daughters. I’m mindful of the phrase, ‘Youth is wasted on the young,’ and ‘If I only knew then what I know now.’ I’ve caught myself on many occasions saying to my daughters, ‘I know you think you know everything now, and I know nothing as a stupid adult, but…’

“They have no reference point. In their mind, they are equal to an adult, so that needs to be understood and taken into account. It’s all relative. On the flip side, I probably should stop thinking I’m still in my 20s.”

9. “Object”

“I’ve very rarely performed other people’s music. I’ve never been one to belt out a few classics when someone passes a guitar around at a party for a singalong, I don’t know any really. What I would do, though, is sing ‘Object’ by Ween at the top of my voice while drunk, probably at the same parties, or in pubs, or the street while my wife attempted to cover my mouth to shut me up while getting into a taxi before giving up. The lyrics, the vocal delivery, the guitar solo, I’ve always loved its twisted, dark brilliance.

“Rather than record a carbon copy, I wanted to approach it as if the song was an original of mine. I nicked the solo though, that’s just class.”

10. “While The Cat’s Away”

“My wife and children spent some time visiting relatives in North Wales, affording me guilt-free time to spend in the studio. This led to naming the session ‘While The Cat’s Away as a working title, which then stuck. It was purposely written as ambiguous as possible in terms of lyrical content. It’s left to the listener to interpret. I experimented with laying sounds to appear as one instrument, but I also explored harmony. This is evident in the guitar parts.

“Whilst studying a Post Grad in Music Technology at The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama we were encouraged to experiment with sound creation. Applying sound and techniques to compositions in a more imaginative way than the traditional sense of only using musical instruments. I have a loft ladder that has heavy-duty springs. When I bring the ladder down to go into the loft to get something, the springs vibrate and make a very distinctive sound. It is similar to when a piano is moved and the hammers hit the wires, they make this loud, ominous reverberation.

“I set up a mic and ran a screwdriver across the springs. I then processed this in the studio, adding some reverb and EQ. This is the ‘snare’ sound on the drum breakdown heard before the end guitar solo. I fully enjoyed geeking out recording this song. I think it is fitting as the last song on the album. As the lyrics affirm, ‘All ‘I’s dotted and T’s crossed.’”