"Last of my Light" - a song by Mr. Fluid, loosely based on Albert Camus' "The Stranger"
Introduction:
Just over a year ago, I wrote and recorded a song for the project Yarbrough & Mr. Fluid: Small Talk EP, available as a free download online at
http://nuprogramrecords.com/album/yarbrough-mr-fluid-small-talk-ep-promo
The lyrics are loosely based on the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus.
I say "loosely" because much of the story has been changed, the characters, the setting, etc., yet the song was directly influenced by the novel, and I wrote and recorded it immediately after finishing the paperback. Not a pure adaptation, to be clear, but you will see what has been taken and discarded for yourself when you read the lyrics and/or listen to the song, which you can do so by streaming the above link. I hope you enjoy.
"Last of my Light"
(v1)
seven christmases passed
before the lights went out
family gathered
father pushes box
gift wrapped
toward the child
his smile widens
peeps his pops
in the peripheral
smirkin
rips the gift open
sees he got jerked
the box empty
both parents
laughin in fits
the child angry
til he sees
the authentic gift
a red bike
with matching helmet
hid in the next room
happy then
but things fell
pops laid off in june
cheap bourbon
on ice
candles lit for sight
a loaded 45 cal
hidden by night
father
penniless, tired
keeps car runnin
runs in
the gas station
masked
barrel aimed at the arab
pigs
enter the scene
spill blood
where there was once love
pops dies sudden
hand bloody
on the cold gun
pics in his wallet
of fam
left hungry
boy learns to provide
food and strength
for his mother
from nothing
(hook)
sometimes i feel like
nothing at all
no one inside
to prevent the fall
sometimes i feel like
less than a man
something robotic
no use for a plan
sometimes i feel
i'm slippin away
no grip on life
or recollection of days
sometimes i wander
no path in sight
it's like i've used up
the last of my light
(v2)
mother dissolves
in the hardship of it all
boy callus to the world
earns well
despite pitfalls
joy stolen
works hard
but never opens up
relationships fail
makes a home
but never homies
lives alone
met a weekend fling
he saw before
in a dream
she clings close
likes her more
than most
she ask
about marriage
he shrugs
they might as well
but can't
say he loves her
at all
that's not his thing
the night
before the big day
they're out
on the town
havin drinks
by the spillway
and walkin around
a thief appears
with a long blade
and threatens
their life
he points a pistol
at the man
who then
drops the knife
no longer
endangered
he empties a clip
into the stranger
the girl runs quick
away from his eyes
skin pale as white light
he steps back
quiet
the pigs arrive
and read his rights
to no reply
he's gone
(hook)
sometimes i feel like
nothing at all
no one inside
to prevent the fall
sometimes i feel like
less than a man
something robotic
no use for a plan
sometimes i feel
i'm slippin away
no grip on life
or recollection of days
sometimes i wander
no path in sight
it's like i've used up
the last of my light
(v3)
inside
he realizes
an explosion
was waiting
in his soul
always
since the day
pops drove
away
with a gun
to keep the lights on
livin one
day at a time
bygones be bygones
dead spirits likewise
he saw himself
like the gift
on his seventh christmas
an empty box
promising nothing
repentless
no bike
in the next room tho
he never rode much
so
stuck
on naked truth
life took on a gray hue
void of color
he learned to like it
that way
he never saw red
til he unloaded
on the stranger
something
burst inside
his psyche regressed
he was once again a child
inside a prison cell
but life
was now clear
he had time
to rebuild
all the pieces
of his spirit
thought dead
now cheerful
he had to hit bottom
to rediscover self
found a piece
of the boy
before he had
nothing left
(hook)
sometimes i feel like
nothing at all
no one inside
to prevent the fall
sometimes i feel like
less than a man
something robotic
no use for a plan
sometimes i feel
i'm slippin away
no grip on life
or recollection of days
sometimes i wander
no path in sight
it's like i've used up
the last of my light
Written by Mr. Fluid, 2015