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
G               Am
you should know by now
Bm                  C              D    I Em D/F# I
everything you say will be misinterpreted
G      Am
turn around right now
Bm                  C                     D       I Em D/F# I
every step you take leads you further from the good

CHORUS
C            G    C          G
come on now Obsidian
C              G                D           C
soften your skin, let the change begin
C            G     C                           G
come on now the soft clay of your heart
C               G     D              C               C
is a place to start I…… pray that you can

G               Am
you should see yourself
Bm                   C
contorting into shapes to try and
D       I Em D/F# I
re-explain yourself
G            Am
we would all just laugh
Bm                       C
if it wasn’t such a shame this time
D                      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