About Hangman
I dreamed about a hangman with a noose over my head.
With voices gently calling, but what were the words they said?
“Money in the air the water round us is death”
So somebody tossed me a tic tac, and I held my breath.
And then I saw the Sweet Man, who was warming up the sea
And the bloody ax within the hand that landed on the root of Jessy’s tree.
Mother earth was weeping as she labors in pain,
I heard the people crying in the fire and rain,
“We were happy, long ago, in the garden, long ago.
“We were happy, long ago, in the garden, long ago.
I listen to the wind blow, it’s not what it seems.
Mother earth is calling to her babies who have fallen from a
nightmare born in a dream.
Oh that I could wake up in the bright morning sun,
What it was when the word begun…., oh oh oh.
Why’s it please us to spoil the rivers that flow into our dream?
Why did Jesus let the people nail him to a tree?
Mother Mary weeping, earth is dying in pain,
We crucify the source of life again and again and again, oh,
We were happy, Long ago, in the garden, long ago
We were happy, long ago, in the garden, long ago
High upon the watch tower, the princes laugh with a noose around their heads.
How memories fade and harden from the day we lost the garden
with the seed of shame in our beds.
Money in the air the water round us is death,
Is it finished?
Word and Music by Bruce A. Barrett (c)2020
Hangman was inspired by Larry Norman’s classic Nightmare #71 where Larry weaves eclectic images into an apocalypse of over consumption. My tune begins “I dreamed about a hangman,” where Larry begins “Last night I had that same old dream.” His refrain is “We left it all so long ago, the garden,” where mine is “We were happy long ago in the garden.” His tune is classic slow-mo rock-a-billy, where I’m using congas with a rock Latin feel. In another Larry tune, “Be Careful what you sign,” Larry introduces “The man with a hat.” In Hangman, the devil appears as “The Sweet Man.”
Both tunes are prophetic invitations to change our course or suffer the consequences. Larry bounces between humorous and ominous, where I interlace lamentation with foreboding.
Working with Jay Rowe (Keyboard) and Rohn Lawrence (Electric Guitar) is an incredible experience. They are master players. Jay watched me develop the Hangman over several years of “Jay, listen to this…what do you think?” So last year, with refined lyrics, base and congas, I called Jay to the house. “The base, melody, and groove are set, but, how do I play the keyboards? Jay listened, loved it and said he would play it for me. “Give me a Wurlitzer sound, Bruce.” And it was done in a single take. (Actually two, because I forgot the press “record” on the first take.) With Jay’s work in the can, I refined and re-recorded my vocals, played it for Jay, and asked for Rohn’s number.
Rohn Lawrence is a huge man, and his guitar looks tiny in his hands. Jay told me Rohn works best with no rehearsal, so I gave him nothing but my address. To make sure I got his first takes, I prepped the studio the day before, laying out charts, testing the pre-amp, tracks, notebook, lyrics sheet, and even borrowed a friends guitar for a sound check. I was ready. Rohn looked at the music and said “it’s all Greek to me, just let me hear the tune.” He listened once, asked some questions, and we recorded three takes. All brilliant. Then we focused on a few spots needing discussion…, tried a few connecting ideas, (like the laughing guitar that fits the “princes laugh”) and in about three hours we had two tunes, Hangman and Trust the Lord.
So, if you like the tune, be sure to let Rohn, Jay, Larry and I know about it.
P.S. Larry passed a few years ago, but you can find the rest of us on Facebook.
Bruce. 2020
