NEW SONG: Scheherazade Sits

[khaosworks]

This one has its origins in a line that just came unbidden to my mind one evening: "High in her tower of stone, Scheherazade sits." Somehow, the image accompanying the line told me that this was long after the Arabian Nights but she was trapped, somehow. So what was she doing? Why was she trapped? And then another image appeared, that of the other character in the song.

And the rest of it came from there.

MP3 here.

Scheherazade Sits
Lyrics and Music © 2004 by Terence Chua

Scheherazade sits in her tower of stone
Braiding the twists in her tales
Her prince and beloved departed alone
Leaving her restless and pale
Although there's no audience the stories remain
Because they are all that she knows
So high in her tower of stone
Scheherazade sits

Scheherazade weeps as her eyes roam the plain
Hoping that someday she'll find
Somebody new that will hear her refrain
Before she goes out of her mind
The stories inside her demand their release
But they have nowhere left to go
So trapped by the webs that she weaves
Scheherazade weeps

Scheherazade, oh Scheherazade
The world has grown jaded and thin
No longer do eyes search for fairytale lands
Or ears seek the stories you spin
Scheherazade, oh Scheherazade
Facing the march of the years
What use is a teller of tales
If nobody hears?

The knight rides the darkness upon a grey steed
Thinking on battles long past
There's no one to fight for, no one left to need
And final defeat looms at last
His own boon companion has fled from his side
His armor is tarnished and old
So seeking a place to belong
The knight rides the dark

Oh knight of darkness, the shadows cry
The world's lost its magical glow
No damsels to rescue, no odds left to beat
The dragons were killed long ago
Oh knight of darkness, lay down your arms
And just keep on fading away
What use is a slayer of beasts
With nothing to slay?

(instrumental)

The knight sees a tower of stone on the plains
Hears the soft weeping above
The sound lends him new strength that flows through his veins
He feels like a young man in love
Scheherazade raises her head from her bed
And feels a weight lift from her soul
The two reach for each other's hands
Quixote and she

Scheherazade, oh Scheherazade
The world may have lost all its will
Perhaps no one new seeks for fairytale lands
But older hearts long for them still
Don Quixote, the light has come
New worlds are now yours to explore
The windmill once fallen apart is
A giant once more

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It seems a horribly codependent relationship, with one feeding the fantasies of the other. It's both sweet and slightly disturbing at the same time.

Still, maybe that's what my muse was aiming at.

Comments

[the-gwenzilliad.livejournal.com]

Have you heard me perform Like Scheherezade yet?

I like your take on it, too.

-h

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have - I thought of it while I was churning out this song, and was trying consciously not to imitate it. :-) Not that it's not a great song, but you know what I mean.

[the-gwenzilliad.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't read anything like the same thing into your song as into mine. Just wasn't sure I'd inflicted it upon you yet.

-h

[logam.livejournal.com]

Sweetly depressing.

I like it.

[catalana.livejournal.com]

I like this! It's practically cheerful...*grin*

[batyatoon]

why, that's beautiful.

[swisscheesed.livejournal.com]

I like!

[quadrivium.livejournal.com]

Lovely lyrics! I haven't listened to it yet, but I look forward to it. :-)

[mrlogic.livejournal.com]

I love juxtapositions. This one fits splendidly. Very nice Mr. Chua!
(And congratulations on your Consonance spot -- I look forward to seeing you there next year! :-D )