Obsidian
from “I Will Miss The Trumpets And The Drums” 2010
buy this song: 
guitar: capo 3rd fret
Intro: II: G Am Bm Bm :II 3x’s G Am D D
GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Am
you should know by now
Bm                 C             D   I Em D/F# I
everything you say will be misinterpreted
GÂ Â Â Â Â Am
turn around right now
Bm                 C                    D    I Em D/F# I
every step you take leads you further from the good
CHORUS
CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â GÂ Â Â CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â G
come on now Obsidian
CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â G Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â DÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â C
soften your skin, let the change begin
CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â GÂ Â Â Â CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â G
come on now the soft clay of your heart
CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â GÂ Â Â Â DÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â C Â Â Â Â Â Â Â C
is a place to start I…… pray that you can
GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Am
you should see yourself
Bm                  C
contorting into shapes to try and
DÂ Â Â Â Â Â I Em D/F# I
re-explain yourself
G Â Â Â Â Â Â Am
we would all just laugh
Bm                      C
if it wasn’t such a shame this time
DÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I Em D/F# I
it’s a matter of life and death
repeat chorus
break:: G Am Bm Bm G Am D D
repeat chorus
II: G (on 2) C C :II
come on now! Repeat many times
Steve Dawson: guitars, drums, bass, organ, vocal
Joel Paterson: pedal steel
notes: this is a self-directed song – telling myself to not be so stubborn, to open up to constant change and impermanence. It is a hard thing to learn. Obsidian is a very hard volcanic rock that was used by native Americans for tools and arrowheads. When I was a kid I found an ancient obsidian scraping tool in the Sierra mountains on a camping trip – I still have it. Part of this song – the ‘soft clay of your heart’ was inspired by the writings of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. I wanted it to sound like a big rush of harmony – super bright and Byrds-y, or like the Hollies. I recorded 9 different vocal parts and used them all – I’m sure it’s overkill, but that seemed to be the right thing to do for the song and the intention. -SD
-SD
