“Of Thee I Sing” song for “The Smokers” play

My friend John Herman is putting together a festival of steampunk plays. He solicited songs to go along with the plays and thus I got to write a song for Leslie Poston’s play (adapted by Leslie and E. Christopher Clark) “The Smokers”.

“The Smokers” takes place in a kind of 1984-like world where smoking is banned. I sort of abstracted out of that – using some of the narrative specifics as well as my subjective reaction to it.
[audio: http://radioghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/OfTheeISing.mp3]
Quicktime or Download

Of Thee I Sing

I grew up in a small town
Or, be fair, grew down
On the porch at night in the tin moonlight
On a shipwreck drown
Rising up from my hands and lips
A ghostly gown
and it’s you I trace in the porch light smoke
in ragged rings
oh it’s you I trace in the porch light smoke
Of thee I sing
Roll your own now just like a train
Down the old tracks in the rain
Roll your own now just like a train
When the tracks disappear start again

Stood alone in the alleyway
In the upside down
Waiting there for the telltale sign
Of the red burned brown
Shadow life of the smokers
Wear a shame made crown
and it’s you I trace in the lamplight smoke
in ragged rings
oh it’s you I trace in the lamplight smoke
Of thee I sing

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