I wrote the lyrics on the floor of my bedroom in Basingstoke when I was 16 or 17, as a way of decompressing from studying for my A-levels. I had the idea for “Twist in my …” something, but didn’t know what else to put in there. I tried “Twist in my gravity” before ending up with “sobriety”, but it’s not a song about alcohol.
It’s about feeling that things aren’t right in the world, and that adults can do terrible or immoral things – but none of it will change you. Fundamentally, it’s a song by an alienated teenager who feels there’s a lot of injustice. There’s something lovely about how intensely you feel things as a teenager.
The opening line, “All God’s children need travelling shoes,” is the title of a book by Maya Angelou. Then “All good people read good books” is the language of a kid who reads a lot. It’s a little road song: you’re on a journey, kind of travelling, but really looking for something.
Once I had the groovy little guitar riff, the song just fell together. I’d only previously sung in a school play, but some guys from a local band helped me record my songs in a nearby studio, so suddenly I had a tape. I sent it to the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden, London, and they gave me a spot at their open mic night.
I played there to just three people, but one of them was the venue-owner, Vince Power, who told an agent: “You’ve got to see this girl!” Soon enough, I’d signed to a record label and they suggested Rod Argent and Peter Van Hooke as co-producers. Like me, Rod had been very young when he had his first hit in the Zombies, so there was empathy there. Peter would pick me up at the train station and we’d drive to Rod’s home studio in St Albans, where we recorded Twist in My Sobriety.
Rod wanted the right sound for the melody line and went through the whole woodwind section of samples. In those days, samples were all on floppy discs so you’d sit there for ages waiting for them to load, but then suddenly he tried a synthetic oboe and said: “My God, that works!” I never had an inkling that the song was going to be a hit, but it took off in continental Europe and everywhere else followed. Recently, a young woman came up to me and said: “That song takes me to my happy place.” It’s a dark song to do that for someone.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
