Done Been Singin'

I've always wanted to write a song that tells a story encompassing the journey through the major arcana of the Tarot, and I've finally done it (I think I have, anyways). I haven't gotten this song recorded yet, and I'm still working on the structure of the accompaniment for it but lyrically it is sound at this point. If you feel like being interactive, try to find all of the different parts of the story that link to the traits of the major arcana. There are 26 in all, though most of them may be a little too subtle for you to find without knowing explicit details of my life and without you having been there for some readings I've been given.

Also, I'm not a mystic, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. I don't believe that the Tarot is a method for deciphering the future. What I do believe is that the journey through the major arcana is a very good metaphor for the turbulence and chaos that we experience in our lives. The story told there has a reflection of the universal life experience held within it, and I respect that. That said, here it is:


done been singin’

[verse]
like a fool I left my home
I left my mother all alone
cause I was tired of the same old scene
I packed my duffel bag and hailed a cab
said hey cabbie can you take my to the depot
he replied sure son with a grunt
that’ll be twelve bucks up front

I snapped back I’m not your son
but that’ll be just fine
I’ll give you thirteen
if you get me there double time
bali bali adashi

[bridge]
and just like that
I was on the road
would you look at that
readin’ on the road
and I’m sing’n
yes I’m sing’n…

[chorus]
when you go to die I won’t be there
cause I’ve gone to live
and where I’ve gone to live
there’s no looking back
so when you go to die
I hope you can forgive me cause I
I’ve only got so much time to live

[verse]
next thing I remember I’m on a Bergen pier
and to my right a trumpet gives a shout
so I take my cue and enter the gate
it was February in Haakon shall
and the stately dinner was great and all
but I’d had my share of cognac with Kings
surf slapping the seawall
while I rolled up a loosey
and tried to look dramatic to the passers by
when on my shoulder landed an albatross
he said hey there soldier I see ya lookin’ down
but you won’t find the sky
you’re lookin’ for on the ground
and I learned that from a crow
so you know it’s true
and one more thing before I take to my wings
you’ll never get anywhere
worried about everything
so why don’t you just relax

[refrain]
B C#
oooo….




[verse]
couple years later I’m taking a walk
with nothing but a cliff bar in my pack
along with the tattered memory of a notebook
pen in my pocket is running dry
then from the sky an inkblot in my eye
drops across a paper trail

[bridge]
and suddenly I feel
I’m only chasin’ my tail
like a rabid dog
howlin’ like a rabid dog
at the moon
like a rabid dog

[chorus]
where I’ve gone to live you won’t be there
cause I’m on my own
and where I’ve gone to roam
there’s no looking back
so when you go to die
I hope you can forgive me cause I
I’ve only got so much time to live

[bridge]
won’t you help me, Grady
I need a change of oil
cause I’m getting ready
to sew some southern soil
and we’ll be sing’n
while we toil…

[chorus/outtro]