“I Can’t Wait to Wake Up Tomorrow”
Mark Stepakoff describes the process of writing "I Can't Wait To Wake Up Tomorrow" as an alternative to the old-time song, "Hen House Blues" (by The Bentley Boys.)
Mark Stepakoff’s song “I Can’t Wait to Wake Up Tomorrow”, his alternative for "Hen House Blues" by The Bentley Boys
In Mark’s intro he describes how “Hen House Blues” was removed from the new “B Sides Project” due to racist content. Please refer to this NPR Segment from Terry Gross for more details about this “Dust to Digital” project,
In Mark’s reimagining of the offensive original, he keeps the structure of two verses and choruses from the original, and its historical old-time music nature but reverses the sentiment of not wanting to wake up tomorrow to a more hopeful and optimistic view. As Mark says, we take one step back for every two steps forward, but there is some progress to celebrate.
“I Can't Wait to Wake Up Tomorrow”
Alternative for “Hen House Blues“ by The Bentley Boys
© 2021 Mark Stepakoff, markstepakoff.com
Permission granted by the songwriter to be used for personal and educational purposes.
Well the times are troubled and the days are dark
And it seems like it’s only getting worse
But I heard somebody talk about a moral arc
Spanning the universe
And it’s vast and long
And though it would be wrong
To assume which way it’s gonna bend
With resiliency
I believe it’s gonna be
Toward justice in the end
So I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow
Cause things get a little better every day
Sure there’s fits and starts
And difficult parts
So it might not always seem that way
You take two steps forward, one step back
But what matters most is that we’re on the right track
So I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow
Cause things get a little better every day
Well sometimes you know you gotta crane your neck
To see how far we’ve come
Yes and no doubt it’s true
We still got work to do
But think about where we started from
Cause though change comes slow
And there’s a long way to go
Till we get to the finish line
I’m sure you’d allow
It’s a better world now
Than in 1920 and 9
So I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow
Cause things get a little better every day
Through uphill climbs
And challenging times
And setbacks along the way
It may be one step back and two steps forward
But there’s a better world we’re all heading toward
So I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow
Cause things get a little better every day
- - - - - - - - - -
Here’s how Mark recorded it.
Capo on 2nd fret
/C - - -/A7 - - -/D7 - G7 -/C - - -/
/C - - -/A7 - - -/D7 - - -/G7 - - -/
/C - - -/C7 - - -/F - - -/D7 - - -/
/C - - -/A7 - - -/D7 - G7 -/C - - -/