Story Behind The Song

I was watching my 8 year love affair disintegrate when I picked up my old Takamini twelve-string and banged out the melody to this tune. Quickly, I fired up my eight-track and laid down the melody line. Then I found a fresh legal pad and in one sitting wrote the lyrics just as you hear them today. Well the relationship did eventually die but I still have this great song. I re-recorded it with full vocals, then added the drums with a dumbek and Ensonic drum samples. I doubled some of the twelve-string as well and found a decent hammered dulcimer sample on my old Juno 60. I do indeed love this song.

Song Description

A folk song ala Yes' Your Move, regarding love lost and the way a guy who's too smart for his own good deals with it.

Lyrics

once upon a warm October
many years ago
we slept out beneath the stars
the northern lights aglow
deep within that cortland orchard
on our broomstraw bed
wrapped in worn out Pendletons
drawn up o'er our heads
Out where rabbits run
and where the ring-necked pheasant dances
we slept out on
the feastday of St. Francis

Dogen was a lunatic
he wouldn't join the club
he'd come to town to say his piece
and beg for drink and grub
Trungpa was an alcoholic
Grandpa was one too
me, I left and took the cure
so what's a boy to do?
me, a priest
and so afraid
avoiding sidelong glances
legless on the Feastday of St. Francis

some things come and go
there's no way to tell
be prepared to cut them off
and cast them into hell

well I don't know
but I believe
that common courtesy
should pretty much preclude the wretched way
she treated me
Francis fed the raging wolf
I fed the lioness
gave her food and medicines
that pretty summer dress
all of that accepted
could you tell me what's the chances
she left me on
the Feastday of St. Franics?