‘Every Dog Has A Bark’ - Walker Tex review

Walker Tex wrote this with Malleus Incus Stapes, and have taken a rustic approach to the track. The song is inspired by the mundaneness of life which is evident in the music (particularly the banjo played by Dublin's very own Kenan Flannery) representing the never ending walk through life, plodding along.

Personally, this idle pace encapsulates the vision of a Wild West film, rocking in my chair on the porch casually strumming a banjo. This is the image Walker Tex was going for, and he tells me this is the theme for his upcoming EP.

"I've been walking to get lost      passing trees and tiny towns

I seen every trimmed backyard Every white picket fence"

The song starts with the trundling beat and the walking to get lost suggests the autopilot that we all get into. However it does show that we are mindful of our surroundings, pointing out details such as 'trees' and 'every white picket fence'.

"I took a walk to the edge of the state line to see what I could find.

Well it turns out that life over there is much the same as mine."

Personally this verse depicts going and finding yourself and the 'state line' is referencing the moral boundary we all have as to how far we'll go. Clearly there's a point when we can no longer stand a monotonous lifestyle. We may look at others, their so called lifestyles, (certainly based on social media posts) and want what they have, when really, their life is 'much the same as mine'.

The chorus is a reminder that even in the humdrum of life, we all still have our voice

"Every dog has a bark". So if we are not feeling ourselves, weighed down by life, to speak up. More people feel this way than let on so, even "every mailmans named Hank". Some people are constantly wanting to put others down "I met every Karen, every Tom and every Dick" but we need to remember our bark!

"I see the people worrying, about the banks knocking at their door. Daddies go and lose their jobs, so they hit that liquor store."

This verse is reflective of the current personal finance crisis with increased bills, and the fear of debt collection and recovery. It even touches on losing a job which could be translated to control and how society generally copes with these difficult times.

After the penultimate chorus, the song references about drawing curtains shut when returning home, now this will either be due to current heating issues, or it's an escape from the outside world, and wanting to be alone. It is widely known that the weather can have an impact on out well-being and mental state, and again WalkerTex presents this by saying "The summer may have brought me out, but the winter keeps me cold."

So in short, whilst life can seem mundane and tedious at times, there's always much more lurking under the surface. Are we in fact simplifying our lives too much with dependence on technology and social media? Sure times move on, but it's not always for the better. Many people are too absorbed in a device of some kind and not conscious enough to be aware of their surroundings, themselves, their needs and desires.

Walker Tex released 'Every Dog Has A Bark' earlier in 2023 and is available from all streaming platforms.