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I Have Been Deceived (14.3 mp3, open in another window) Song Notes: One of my all-time favorite albums in Elton John's Elton John (1970), his second national release. He recorded the whole thing in three days with a live orchestra, which was a real trip for him back before he was the hall of fame celebrity he would become. Not able to settle on a single tune from that album, I've combined three: The King Must Die, which forms the main framework of this arrangement, plus Border Song and Take Me To The Pilot. My idea was to create a larger epic, trying to capture in lyrics the drama that was conjurted by the fabulous orchestrations and performances in the originals. This version begins with the "Holy Moses, I have been deceived" (from Border Song), from which I take the title for my hydrid medley. It then presents the first verses of The King Must Die. Instead of going into the chorus, I switch to the bridge from Take Me To The Pilot, highlighting the sense of being on trial, of impedding doom, of finding a way to (either) escape or the actual throne room. The first chorus is the well known one from Take Me To The Pilot. It uses the same chord progression as the chorus from The King Must Die, so using one here and the other at the end has a sence of balance. After returning to the last versde from The King Must Die, I use the "poisoned" line from Border Song as an ending coda, identifying my character as the King who is to die, even as "Long Live The King" is on his lips. A statement of our wish for continuity, an ironic metaphor of our human condition. My version, especially in the way the lyrics are arranged, speaks to the connection between success and failure, beginnings and endings, connection and alienation. There is also a Kafka-esque sense of being both the King and the Jester, the betrayed and the betrayer, the stranger who never really knows what is going on. This is the one song in the collection with which I express a higher level of cynicism, a confused sense of anger, a moment of helpless regret without redemption. I also tried to keep a sense of melodramatic humor to the way I perform the vocals, as if it was all a divine comedy. If you are a fan of The Game Of Thrones, you may get a kick out of how I've fit scenes from that show to the lyrics. Please visit my video on YouTube: The video on YouTube: Link back to Song Of Myself project page. |
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Other lyrics pages for Song Of Myself: 1. Impossible Dream [Mitch Leigh/Joe Darion, from Man of la Mancha] VIDEOS on YouTube: Link back to Song Of Myself project page. |
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