this past summer, may-july, i hung out with the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre troupe for our production of The Winter's Tale. "behind the tuft of pines" is one of the few songs i've written since the big february FAWM fest. it's sort of a combination of shakespeare's leontes and nirvana's "where did you sleep last night?" but it improves greatly on those two mediocre efforts. about half the phrases, including the title, are pilfered from the text and cobbled together in this form.
i plan to add more background info here, including annotating the recycled lyrics...
i can't quite play the song the way i want it to sound yet. but i decided to make a rough demo on my laptop. didn't even use a decent microphone setup, just used the internal mic. the whirring of the machine enhances the rough, muddy sound and makes me feel just like john darnielle and all hail west texas...
LOFI mp3 here annotated lyrics & plot summary
Behind the Tuft of Pines © 2004 willis fireball
i met him deep in shadows, scouring on his way
never saw my brother's face appear so dim by day
ill time and ill suspicion stole a friend
i set a tale in motion that's gotta play out till the end
let us avoid the angels that descend
enjoined to foot the backroads where no searchlight ever shines
behind the tuft of pines i met him... behind the tuft of pines
i'm waiting for the gods to purge the scars way down below
pour their sacred vials down where diseased infections grow
my two best friends twisted deep within
holy looks mistook to be the smoke of hidden sin
kingdoms lost that can't be built again
the wrongs i did those noble hearts stir afresh in mine
behind the tuft of pines i'm waiting... behind the tuft of pines
out behind the churchyard there's a shrine
i'm drinking from the cup that i fed poison long ago
a saintlike sorrow cannot stop me knowing what i know
no worthy consequence for mended ways
numb to any future while the past i crafted stays
bottles mark the passage of the days
there's beverage with a spider steeped among the wholesome wines
behind the tuft of pines i'm drinking... behind the tuft of pines
a tale as old as winter, far too well i know my lines
behind the tuft of pines i'm drinking... behind the tuft of pines