An album in quarters (III)

I resume my revision of the album Arts & Crafts and Frankensteins starting with the seventh song in it (I can't help myself, I have to write it: "seventh son of a seventh son", for those who understand...). I've talked about this song in another post, Nocturna, the one with Spanish lyrics. It didn't come to me in one sitting, this one. I came up with the arpeggio in a bus station in Thailand around 2010, while killing time during a very long wait in the oppressive heat of the rainy season. The lyrics came much later, and I remember distinctly forcing myself to write them in Spanish because it simply had been to long since the last time I tried. Once I started, though, the lines followed one another quite quickly and I realized that, yeah, I could actually do it. Here you have a translation of the lyrics (rhyme excluded, I just want you to get the gist of it).

The night falls heavily/ my old guitar scratches the silence/ time liberates another moment/ it floats in the air and it's gone/ it's taken a heartbeat form my body/ I reckon I have one less breath left/ I tried to go find it/ but it's like trying to bite the wind/ Enough about lost battles/ enough about the meaning of life/ Here I am, at a standstill in the game/ in jail, far away from the "go" square/ those 200$ were quite a joy to get/ but in real life no one gives you anything just because you're starting/ I can't go wasting my breaths anymore/ I'm all haste now/ I squint into the distance/ no matter how hard I try, I can see a nothing/ How stupid to worry about nothing/ what a waste of the time that escapes me/ and then I grow bold and think to myself:/ as long as it rains by the drop, I can take it/ I hope they won't change the unit of rain on me for something larger and denser/ I hope they won't change the unit of rain on me/ otherwise, I might not manage.

The next song is called "The Elephant song", also written in Thailand, about a sanctuary for elephants that I visited during my stay in the north of the country. I was moved and inspired by the efforts of the volunteers in the park, and by the gentle nature of these creatures that have been through hell at the hands of inhumane owners before being rescued. Now that I think about it, this was the first song I ever put online, with the purpose of raising funds for the cause. I encourage you to check the Elephant Nature Park's website and help their worthy cause, and I especially encourage you to pay them a visit if you happen to be around Chiang Mai, it's a life changing experience.

The river is never too far away/ This skin is thick, but it needs some care>/ I've a full time job keeping this body fed/ And this is all I'm meant to do/ I know my place, do you?/ But things haven't always been this cool/ All of us have been through/ Some pretty bad times as tools/ We've all had our spirits broken/ A ceremony we will never forget/ Imagine the kind of pain they think/ They need to inflict on a creature like me/ So that I'll always do what they want me to do/ And always give in/ But there's another side to humans, I guess/ There's this little character called "Lek"/ She finds the land, she finds the help/ She buys us free, she gets her way/ She's had a taste of tusk in her ribs/ but she always comes back/ armed with more love to give/ Imagine the kind of pain they think/ They need to inflict on a creature like me/ So that I'll always do what they want me to do/ And always give in/ Years and years of working for the man/ Some lost their eyes some lost their minds/ Some broke their backs, some lost their lives/ We all lost our will to the feel of the stick/ And now that everything is over/ We don't hold a grudge/ "Feed me that melon half you've got in your hand"/ The river is ever too far away/ This skin is thick, but it needs some care/ I've a full time job keeping this body fed/ And this is all I'm meant to do/ I know my place, do you?

And the last one today is called Angry Sky. When in love, one tends to see signs everywhere. The wind, the moon, the sky are all talking to you, dancing to the song of your emotions, changing to go along with your mood, like you're some kind of sorceress with power over the elements... well at least I tend to, haha! This song holds the memory of a love that wasn't meant to be. Those make the best songs, don't they? I'll see you soon for the last chapter of this series.

Never seen such angry colors in the sky/ Never heard the wind start roaring/ as my temper starts to rise/ You said that was magic/ Seven days in pieces for climbing up/ For thoroughly looking for the highest spot/ To achieve the highest, heaviest fall/ And I was wondering all along: is this for real,/ Am I living this song?/ As you slept trying to get rid of my hold/ Is it still love, if it’s not meant to be?/ I know we both have to go, but do we, really?/ Not a healthy day, 24 hours in bed/ But I feel justified in my pain/ And my pain feeds on your love/ And if your love feeds on magic/ then we should be half way there/ But I know that we are not/ Love’s our exile, not our home/ Magic was the snake, close my eyes, fall/ Is it still love, if it’s not meant to be?/ I know we both have to go, but do we, really?