the brief

a seemingly silly yet serious little medieval tale, on the birth of a free nation and the role of its protector in keeping it safe

Yanni's Playing by Heart had come to my attention and been put on my youtube 'maybes' playlist a few weeks before the 4th phase started with the 'pick any song' experience. I felt an oldness in it, a kind of Loreena McKinnitt vibe that led me to think of Arthurian times, then a kingdom, then a prince named bruce who would keep the kingdom safe.

That gist of the song came quick, in just the first few channeling sessions, and I liked it right away. I literally chortled when I got the prince's name. You see, bruce is my first name and there's a cultural baggage to it that had dogged me the same as any other bruce (especially when I lived in Australia where every other Tom, Dick and Harry was named bruce.) So I first thought the song would be a funi-flavour riff on the name, a little payback for all I had endured.

It wasn't. It was a myth, a multi-part pre-medieval tale of a brave but wise leader who led his people to freedom and prosperity. It was the 51st karosong to start channeling, and the 16th asynchronous collaboration with music by Yanni.

long ago and far away there was a land
where all were enslaved til one man stood up
said we must fight the others asked will you lead
and he said i will and so they called him bruce

because that was their word for sword
more than that it was what they wanted from this boy
to be the sword liberating them and then keeping them
safe in the land to come

While I knew the outline of the narrative early on, I didn't know the tale's moral, what the song's message would be. In this case, I'm not sure the song energies knew either. And I'm not just saying that.

I first 'thought' the character of bruce would go on to become a benevolent king. But I — meaning this gordon identity — didn't much like that message. You might have noticed I'm a bit of a lefty and that was my issue. A monarchy, no matter how benevolent, is in the wrong direction from democracy, and depends too much on inevitably fallible human beings. (Yes, democracy also depends too much on fallible human beings, but it knows that and seeks to eliminate the risk as much as it can.)

There's only been a few times that I've seriously questioned or disliked the gist/lyrics of an emerging song. Normally, there's little response from the song energies but, sometimes, it seems my concerns are heard and addressed. In this case, bruce turned down being king and said he would 'only be the bruce' but gave no reason. (See I remember that smile 3.2 for a similar example.)

and the sword led them through the wars
through battles great and small
until at last the land was won and the others said
we'll make you king but he said no! i will only be the bruce

The song's overall structure and the lyrics for the first three parts were firming by the middle of February. The 3rd verse featured the birth of the bruce's first son (named bruce of course). Out of that I sensed the young bruce would replace his father as the protector of the land and it's people in part 4.

There was a lengthy musical bridge between parts 3 and 4 that I first thought would have no lyrics. But in May I began to sense that there would be an important thematic and narrative bridge there. A movie-like 'timelapse' compressing the years of the young bruce's training into a higher, more omniscient, more Campbellian view. With lyrics that would draw out the mythic elements of the young hero's quest.

(Or some whiffledeegoob like that. While I understood the gist of the bridge and its function in the song, the lyrics would not clarify until the next January in Vancouver, when the last songs of the 4.1 set were all finishing.)

It became a time of peace and great prosperity
and to the bruce was born a son . . .

and he called him bruce because
that was their word for sword
more than that it was what he wanted of his boy

to be the sword that would replace his own
when time came for it to be lain to the ground

and so we come to the hero quest portion
of the young bruce's journey

these are the trials and tribulations
the heros and leaders in our myths must go through
we know them because they are burned deep into our psyches
from the thousands of our ancestor generations

sitting around campfires telling stories
the stories that made us human

It had and was still bothering me that bruce had given no reason he would not be king. It felt incomplete and to my mind the introduction of the hero quest archetypes emphasized that lack. I wanted bruce to have not just a reason, but a noble reason, one worthy of a hero.

So I gave him one, one that's consistent with my own views. And the energies didn't say boo.

we'll make you king the others said but the bruce said
no! we fought against kings and slaves
we must learn to govern as equals
i will only be the bruce

Go figure.

The song finally finished lyrically in mid January, 14 months or so after it started. It was the end of February before it was mastered.

while time rolls on forever
death gets to call 'times up'
and so one night the cry went out across the land
the bruce is dead long live the bruce

and the people cheered even as they cried
for it was the bruce that had freed them
but they knew the bruce had sworn his son
to keep the land free and the people safe

the singing

One of the things I liked about Yanni's Playing by Heart was that feeling of oldness I'd first felt in it. As the karosong started coming forward, I got the sense of a chorus singing in a medieval cathedral. I consciously worked to find and deliver in that style, and use it to bring out the narrative drama in the lyrics.

So it was a fun song to sing and — like several of the 4.1 songs — it took me into a singing style markedly different from anything I had channeled to that point.

At least I think that's what it did. But I'm an idiot musant so you might say my opinion is unsupported by normal evidentiary standards.

so
they still felt safe in the hands of bruce
they still felt safe in the hands of bruce
they still felt safe in the hands of bruce