Feb 2022 folk singer-songwriter funk
[UPDATE 2/24/22: This was written before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I've just posted a new song that responds to this one in light of the horror that's unfolding even as I type this. You can find "The End of the World, Part 2 here: https://fawm.org/songs/135599/]
[UPDATE: 2/6/22 -- Demo added, lyrics updated to reflect tweaks made during recording] #collapsechallenge Real (non-FAWM) life is making it hard to carve out recording time this week, so I'm putting lyrics up first -- check back later for an irresistibly funky, GIl Scott-Heron-meets-Sly-Stone-via-Santana demo for this one...
The End of the World (Looks A Lot Like This)
© 2022 Peter A. Rafle Jr. All Rights Reserved
[SONG NUMBER 2 for FAWM 2022]
When I was a kid
My favorite thing
Was to read about
The end of the world
And to watch those old movies
About the end of time
When Worlds Collide
Or the Martians arrive
And the last few people
Have to try to survive
Oh yeah I loved to dream
About the end of the world
I’d lie in my bed
And imagine that I
Was the captain of a spaceship
Pointed up at the sky
As the comet got closer and
We had to decide
Who got to escape and
Start a new life
On brand new world
And of course I always
got the girl.
At the end of the world
But as I got older
I had to concede
Those science fiction stories
That I loved to read
In the dark
With a flashlight:
They really missed the mark
Because the year 2000
Has come and gone
And this everyday life
Just goes on and on and on
And on and on and on
And I’m
beginning to think
That the end of the world
is
nothing like I thought it would be
Not a cosmic collision
Or a nuclear war
Or destabilization
Of the planetary core
Not in the flash of
A hydrogen bomb
A volcanic eruption
Or a meteor storm
Not with a panic
But irrational calm
Not with explosions
Or a zombie’s bite
Just hate and deception
And ignorant spite
A ocean that rises a
Little each night
A steady erosion
Of our will to fight (for what’s right)
As we go gentle into the night.
At the end of the world
Not all at once
In a glorious blaze
Just little by little
In a thickening haze
Yeah I’m
beginning to think
That the end of the world
Looks a lot like this
Looks a lot like this
Looks a lot like this
I’m beginning to think
That the end of the world
Looks a lot like this.
@nancycunning Feb 2022
Sly and the Family Santana.....Like those piano chords bringing on getting older....And that on and on and on and on....Then the turn to the wind down....And then that question "Did I get the girl" Nice write.
@andrewrusse Feb 2022
Oh yeah, mighty cool song. Love those those lyrics.
@berni1954 Feb 2022
Great funky rock. I love the evocation of your SF obsessed childhood (echoed mine) and then the older wiser you realising it wasn't going to be a sudden cataclysmic event, but rather the slow death of the planet as we still do so little to stop it. Headbanging all the way through!
@tseaver Feb 2022
Nice write: the "not with a bang but a whimper" idea seems all too telling. Fun vibe.
@slusk Feb 2022
I agree with your sentiment. Looks a lot like this. It’s The End.
@bithprod Feb 2022
Irresistibly funky indeed! Great instrumentation and arrangement. Brilliant lyrics, and I suspect you might be right. Irrational calm...
@debrandio Feb 2022
And on and on and on
Going to set the world on fire with this one. Not to rush things. A fine groove.
@slightlydrunk Feb 2022
Groovy, funky, clever lyrics! Love the organ accents and the overall "Welp, I guess this is how the world ends" vibe!
@seanbrennan Feb 2022
Oh my gosh, the lyrics are excellent. The harmony change caught me off guard, highlighting the protagonist's mindset shift well. Meanwhile I couldn't help but bob my head along the entire time. Well done!
@eas3637 Feb 2022
Can't wait to hear the recording. These lyrics are deceptive - simple but oh so dark. Love it.
@gardeningangel1 Feb 2022
I'll have to swing back by to hear the recording because these are great lyrics. Has a playful Seussian meter that makes the seriousness of it kind of sneak in and slap you in the face.
"Not with a panic
But irrational calm"
I think you could tag this one into the #collapsechallenge
@skylermf Feb 2022
Such a fantastic picture of getting older. Can’t wait to hear the recording!
@skylermf Feb 2022
Such a fantastic picture of getting older. Can’t wait to hear the recording!