Ideal Cuts for RSO Songs

Below you can find RSO’s suggested audition cuts for some of his most popular tunes.

A BALL OF GOLD IN A BLOOD SKY: Start at “What do you make of us” and go to the end. Cut the 3 bars between “and you know what I think?” and “I forgot,” so that there’s no dead air.

A HYPOCHONDRIAC’S SONG: Start at “these pills, this problem” and go to the end. You could also just start as “Get me out of my mind” to the end.

AWFUL PEOPLE: From “These days the kiddies” through end of first chorus “pavin’ the road to Hell.” You can also do just the first chorus.

BLEED YOU DRY: From “Your woman is something” through end of first chorus (ending on the B major chord.)

BROKEN MACHINE: Start at “with a ruptured spout” and go to the end; take the last note up the octave.

CARALEE: Start at “Caralee likes spaghetti” and go to the end.

CLEVER: Start at “And I think I love you boy,” and go to the end—but! Cut the four empty bars between “feelings seem to well, stick” and “My heart got stolen.”

CRAYON GIRL: From “And now I’m in a world off starving artists” to the end.

CUT YOU A PIECE: Not an ideal cut, but you could start at the top and after the first chorus, you could jump to the ending playout (last three bars).

GIRL IN CAMOUFLAGE: The second verse through the chorus, adding a button “G” chord.

GOOD LOVE: Start at “My love for you is why, why I’ve come back” (verse 2) through that chorus (“who’d have guessed.”)

GROUND: This one is very hard! Start at “You will always  be a child” and go through first chorus, “Never tied to the ground.” If you have time with your accompanist to work it, you could do the B-section “Oh if life were just easy, easy,” through “but somehow I’ll get through on the ground” and end.

HALFWAY: I would sing “Now I’m here in this Kansas town” (lower line) and sing through the  final “stay,” but resolve it to G major instead of Gsus (don’t sing the ending).

HEMMING AND HAWING: Start at “I’m tired of  hemming and hawing” and go to the end, but only sing “Goddamn I hate you heart” once.

HOW WE GROW: From “Unknown muscles” through end of the first chorus “and now we go.” (singing all parts as a solo.) You can also just do the chorus.

I DON’T WANT TO BE SAD ANYMORE: Not an ideal cut for an audition.

I GO ON WITH YOU: Either verse into its chorus.

I HAVE SEEN THE AFTER: Start  at “This time in the after” and go to the end. Don’t do the accent.

LEAVE LUANNE: Start at “Luanne’s fat lip is drying” and sing through first chorus.  If you have time with your accompanist you could start near the end, “Someone’s howling” and sing through the end (if a screaming dark song is what is best for your audition??? EEK).

LOST BOY: Start at “But doesn’t every person” and go to the end. You could also begin at “But there’s some new kid” to the end. Don’t forget to play the positive—it’s not a sad song—and don’t worry about the high Bb.

MAKE ME HAPPY: Start at your preferred verse, but when it gets to the chorus, skip to the end and sing your preferred line as a solo.

MAP OF SCARS: Start at “Blood now boils in my veins” and go to the end, but at the end jump to the final today instead of the first one (ending on the C the first time you sing it, and trimming it a bit).

MAMA, LET’S MAKE A PORNO: Start at the top and sing through the chorus.

MRS. SHARP: If you’ve purchased the music from this site, contact RSO, subject “Mrs. Sharp cut” and he will send you the cut version.

MY LASS, SHE TIED HER LACE TO ME: From m. 19 to the end, singing all parts like a solo. Tell your accompanist to jam like an old Irish folk song.

ON MONDAY: Start at “You are cute but juvenile” and go to the end—BUT, make a few tiny cuts. Cut the fourth system of page 9, and  the first bar of page 10, so you sing “But I uh I uh  I, I wanna kiss you now.” Cut the 3rd-6th “and kiss you” (and their bars) so you only sing the first, second and last. Tighten it up!

OUT OF MY MIND: Start at “For now I’ll still cook every meal” to the end. You could also start at “’Cuz soon I won’t care, dear” and go to the end.

PLEASURE IN THE DESERT: Start at “But man this pleasure in the desert brings a sort of guilt” and go to the end.

RECOVERY: Start at “So she waters the plants” and sing through the end.

ROOTS DIG DEEP: Start at page 7, “Yes the roots dig deep,” and go to “grow what’s good once again” before the final recit. Have your accompanist end on A major instead of A minor, and add an octave bass button.

RUINATION: Dicey for an audition due to content, but hey! Start at the bridge (“Our ilk ties the tether”) and go to the end.

SORROW DONE:  From “Free my heart from the drawer” to the end. Feel free to take the second phrase (low!) up the octave.

STEPS IN THE SNOW: Start at “When I return it’s cloud number 9” and continue through the top of page 9 (singing the melody in the chorus as a solo).

STROKE BY STROKE: From “So let’s jump!” to the final “by stroke.” You don’t need the final lines. I also recommend listening to John-Michael Lyles’s version, who has the best optional notes.

STUPID BOYS: Start at “He loved me Sunday” through the end.

THE BALLAD OF SARA BERRY:  If you’ve purchased the music from this site, contact RSO, subject “Sara Berry cut” and he will send you the cut version.

THE FORGETTING: Start at “Now it isn’t uncommon” and go to the end. It’s a rarer song so make sure your accompanist sees the time and tempo changes or it could be a disaster!

THE KILLING: From “Agnes showed me more than a killing” to the end. You could also begin at “See the corpses after a killing” to the end.

THE LAST LOVE SONG: Start at the second verse through the first chorus. You could also just do the chorus.

THE MAD DOG: Start at “Now I’m changing shape before an empty moon” and sing through the  end, skipping the ensemble hum.

THE PARTY GOES WITH YOU: From “And when we’re dancing nose to nose” through the ending.

THE SERAPH: Final verse (“I don’t believe in God”) through first “I’ll be blessed.” (You don’t need  to repeat them.) You can also just do the final chorus.

TO DO: Start at “All the time that I’ve waited” and sing to the end.

TWISTED TEETH: Do page 6 and 7, but instead of the final bar or 7, have them end on a C octave button.

WE JUST WORK TOGETHER: Start at the top and go through the first chorus.

WHAT I WOULDN’T DO FOR YOU: Start at “My life was school weekend and summer” and go to the end.

WHAT YOU  CALL FREEDOM: Begin at “Maybe I’ll change my clothes,” and go to the end.

WHEN LILY CAME: Start at “Round Lily came near a dozen girls” and sing through the end.

WHEN YOU GO: Start at “You who live in your private light” to the end. You could also just do the final chorus.

WHY MUST WE TELL THEM WHY: From “Why excuse each deviation” through “Look closely” and conclude the passage with a C5 chord to button it.