Exegetic Chains
Lyrics
Look closely at the shadows on the ground beneath the trees
The labors of Hercules
Wild grasses on the hills
Rippling in the wind
Cybele unchained
The songs you sing at Christmastime
The stories that you tell
Well, I knew them well
Yes, I knew them well
Say your prayers to whomever you call out to in the night
Keep the chains tight
Make it through this year
If it kills you outright
The coins they toss at dancers whirling in the city square
Music on the air
The places where we met to share our secrets now and then
We will see them again
Change will come
Stay warm inside the ripple of the Panasonic hum
It grinds and it roars
Headed somewhere better
If I have to crawl there on all fours
Say your prayers to whomever you call out to in the night
Keep the chains tight
Make it through this year
If it kills you outright
Commentary
- Hey there. So the the way I used to title songs back in the old days was that the title was the missing piece of the puzzle. And the idea was that you would fill that piece in. So like on Hot Garden Stomp, there was one called 'Thanks for the Dress', and the title was there to point you in the direction. To use the other context clues like other songs on the tape, on the tape before that and stuff to say, oh this may be, this is a story that already exists, and then you would maybe draw enough connective dots to say, oh! it's, it's Medea, it's Euripides' Medea, that's what this is! So anyway. Well, this is one of those because back in the old days, that was my style, you know. So this is called Exegetic Chains, and any musical references you hear from my own stuff or other people's stuff, lyrical references, are all there on purpose. So let's do this. This is the last song on the tape, and it's called Exegetic Chains. (Album recording)
Live Performances
Footnotes