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Cool Dry Place

Written by: Tom Petty (primary) Lead vocals: Tom Petty Length: 3:37 to 3:38 Album: Vol. 3, track 8

A bluesy, plainly autobiographical Petty song, "Cool Dry Place" takes on a subject almost no other rock song has bothered with: the genuine hassle of moving a lifetime's worth of music gear into storage. Guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards, the accumulated instrumental clutter of a working musician's career, all of it needing somewhere dry to sit while its owner figures out what to do with it.

The lyrics are packed with the kind of specific, insider studio-equipment references that only someone who's actually lived through the logistics of a touring and recording career would think to include, a detail that gives the song more charm than its modest premise might suggest. It's classic Petty in miniature: plainspoken, funny, and grounded in something real rather than reaching for grand statement.

Musically, it leans on a rich bed of acoustic instruments and textures, giving the track a warmth that belies its slightly absurd subject matter. It's not trying to be one of Vol. 3's emotional high points, and it doesn't need to be. It's a good song about a genuinely mundane problem, which is a specific kind of songwriting trick that's harder to pull off than it looks.

Previous track: Where Were You Last Night?. Next track: New Blue Moon. Or see the full Vol. 3 tracklist.