Sojourn Song is the fourth release of the Bearded Dwarves Reunion sessions, which started in 2022. More info on who we are and why we are doing this can be found on our soundcloud. Or read the liner notes for Another Perfect Woman, also on this substack.
I wrote Sojourn Song in the summer of 1983, although it went under the name Music Star back then. It also ended up on the album I recorded in 1985, as I discuss in the notes for APW above.
Originally conceived as a funky tribute to Jimi Hendrix’ famed 7#9 chords (think Purple Haze), it quickly evolved into its own thing, with a syncopated, smoother, change-of-pace chorus centered around descending 6th chords. Unfortunately, the original lyrics were dumb and self-indulgent at best. So I re-imagined that side of the song completely; it is now an exploration of the idea that our tenure on this earth is limited, wasted time is a terrible crime against the universe, and we all need to reach out every day to be the most effective people we can be.
As always, this arrangement features the keyboards of my recording partner, Peter Curtiss, throughout. His organ and piano parts evolve and interact from start to finish. They range from ballsy, improvised organ riffs, to light-hearted piano arpeggios, to challenging, syncopated motifs that make you wonder what just happened. I played, sang & arranged the other tracks, to provide a solid groove for all that keyboard joy to dance upon. And, as always, I did the engineering & mixing.
Unlike a couple of our prior re-imaginings over the past couple years, I didn’t add anything to this particular song (new lyrics and title aside) — the song structure is exactly how we played it as a duet in 1983. Except, of course, this recorded arrangement has a lot more going on.
Thanks for listening. Enjoy.
Sojourn Song