Sci-Fi Song #22 was written for Jeff & Ann Vandermeer's upcoming "Last Drink Bird Head" Anthology. The basic idea behind this anthology was that Jeff commissioned various authors to write a short piece of fiction about "Last Drink Bird Head" to see what they would come up. This song is my contribution to the project. The proceeds from this anthology are being donated to charity. For more information check out Jeff's site here.
When discussing this project with Jeff, he suggested that I envision Bird Head as a brigand folk hero. With that in mind, I came up with a Robin Hood-esque character named John Bird Head. Bird Head's antagonist is the wicked Queen Mary. To make things more interesting, I added a Sacred Stone and a Chosen One called the Crimson Child. It was a blast writing an original story like this into a song. Its not the most unique concept in the world, but I think it might make an interesting short story. Any of you authors out there interested in collaborating?
This recording is an extremely rough demo. I'm focused on releasing the Sci-Fi Songs album, so I didn't have time to do a normal full recording. I do plan on doing a more polished, orchestrated arrangement of Last Drink Bird Head, but for now, I'm happy with the rough version that appears here. I'm playing my Irish Bouzouki which is like a mandolin tuned down an octave.
I hope you enjoy it,
John Anealio
http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio
Last Drink for Bird Head
by John Anealio
by John Anealio
John Bird Head and his band of men
roamed through the mountainside
they stole from the rich and affluent
armed with arrows and bowie knives
roamed through the mountainside
they stole from the rich and affluent
armed with arrows and bowie knives
Queen Mary put a price on his head
10,000 coins of gold
He was guilty of stealing the sacred gem
A diamond that was 70 years old
It's the last drink for Bird Head
Nobody lives forever
The Wicked Queen will have their way
It's the last drink for Bird Head
before he's tarred and feathered
before he meets his final blade
Nobody lives forever
The Wicked Queen will have their way
It's the last drink for Bird Head
before he's tarred and feathered
before he meets his final blade
John Bird Head took the sacred stone
and sent it off to the crimson child
The Queen fumed upon her Golden throne
and put Bird Head's life on trial
and sent it off to the crimson child
The Queen fumed upon her Golden throne
and put Bird Head's life on trial
The Queen knew if the child obtained the gem
The kingdom would belong to him
She knew her reign of blood would come to an end
and then she'd have to answer for her sins
The kingdom would belong to him
She knew her reign of blood would come to an end
and then she'd have to answer for her sins
John Bird Head was bound in links of chain
and was sentenced to death by blade
Queen Mary reveled in his pain
and was sentenced to death by blade
Queen Mary reveled in his pain
while Bird Head's people prayed
The Crimson Child arrived at the palace gate
with the diamond in his hand
with the diamond in his hand
Queen Mary looked at him with disdain
as she was surrounded by Bird Head's band
as she was surrounded by Bird Head's band
Its another drink for bird head
He'll probably live forever
The wicked queen was sent away
It's another drink for bird head
His band will stay together
and now they'll raise the sacred blade
Here are some of the tools that I used to record this track:
1. Trinity College Irish Bouzouki/Octave Mandolin with a capo at the 4th fret.
2. Zoom H2 portable digital recorder.
3. I added some reverb and compression in Logic Pro 8.
