Poor richard's blues

poor richard's blues (mp3)
(Video)

Lyrics

the first of equals, the accountant
the purse strings he pulls may confound him
but each loss, he will find it
for he's not blinded by bias

our lives are a blur, they are visions
these visions converge in a nation
but each loss we can find it
for no terror goes quite quiet

we are honest and prudent and spendthrift
we are diligent students of business
we record all our losses
and now i will report on them:

oh my god
oh my god
oh my god
oh my god

oh my each loss we can find it
for no terror goes quite quiet

Music

Chords

It's in C major, but i tuned my guitar down two whole steps for this recording.

Verse: C, G, C, G, C, F, Am, G, F, Am, G, C

OMG: C, G, C, G, F, Am, G, F, Am, G, C

Structure

verse, verse, verse, chorus

song writer comments

finally getting to the november ep!

comments

the keyboard work here is really different and mostly awesome. i like the fuzzy "bass" sound. having bunches of you singing is a brand new sound, and it's a pretty great direction.

this actually makes me think of the "song for..." songs you did; it's a sort of "businessman's requiem for profits". i can see the company manual reading, "in years where we operate in the red, we sing this song." the language is interesting as always. it sounds biblical in parts, especially the imagery of the first stanza. it sounds political in parts, too, what with "nation" and "terror" and the collective language. on the page, i didn't care for "no terror goes quite quiet", but when i heard you sing it in that syncopated way, i was sold. i need to let this one soak in some more. Gabemcelwain 09:43, 3 December 2008 (PST)

i think i'm going to rename this song: fight song for accountants. i've started singing the first verse in first person. i think that the song works a bit better. this one is a lot of fun to play live. Conorl 14:26, 30 December 2008 (PST)

i love the idea of a fight song for accountants. i really like the new arrangement, too. i like how you do different things with each verse. could you post an audio file of the new mix? maybe pump the vocals up a little? : ) i would love to hear what these songs sound like live. you should get someone to bootleg a show, or just record a practice! nice work! neat to see the videos along with the tunes. can't wait to see the next one! Gabemcelwain 09:26, 3 February 2009 (PST)

man, each time i listen to this, i like it more. it's a weird little song, but the melody and the changes and rhythm just work so well together. couple that with this new arrangement, and i just can't stop thinking about it. excellent. ALSO: you changed the words in that last line. what is it now? i can't quite make it out! Gabemcelwain 09:32, 3 February 2009 (PST)

Yeah, I totally need to remix this one. The vocals are way too low. Just haven't gotten to it yet. The lyrics to the last verse are:

oh my god please stand by us
as we join hands and cry crisis

I still think they could be improved, and I'd like to do something else with the last couple lines of the second verse. It's tempting to try to repeat the rhyme structure of the first verse, but tough to do. Hoping I can replace the file on youtube with out having to post a whole new video. Conorl 15:18, 3 February 2009 (PST)