The Mountain

This didn't start as a YouTube vid, I was just recording myself playing so I could review my technique, but this song has been trying to get out of me for a couple of years, so I finished it. As you can tell, I haven't got the singing all worked out just yet, and there are some timing issues, but considering a last minute re-write and the fact that I have never really performed it before (I've only practiced the rhythem before, everything else would stay in my head), I don't think it's too bad.

Guitars used (in order of appearance): Yamaha Sj-180, Oscar Schmidt 12-string by Washburn, Ibanez Ew20 (walnut) and a Squier Telecaster.

Lyrics....

Blister-born boy with the sun in your eyes
And your plenty of grain under cornflower skies
Whence came the day, when did you realize
Your dreams of great ascension

Your time and your life and your past and your ties
You abandoned them all for a promise of lies
And you plotted your course, you made no compromise
For a shadow and a dream

A calling, a piper, a moon on the rise
You named your road anything you could devise
To your candle, your coin, your fate, your demise
In the shadow of the mountain

(Chorus)
Storm-King, the gallows man
Keeper of the thundering hand
Storm the gates once wrought by the gods
Who tumbled down the mountain

You sailed to the mountain that lay across the sea
Heedless of warnings of sharing the god's destiny
Not one ragged old hand, nor a sorry man's band could be
Persuaded to your dream

Lightening came down and the ship pitched side to side
As the hull was battered away by the tide
You commanded the waves and the wind and the rain to subside
Saying only 'I go to the mountain'

Men cursed with fear and blessed themselves that day
A man hung in the rigging rope strangled as he swayed
And he pointed at you before going to his grave
A named you 'king of the storm'

Chorus

After braving the sea, from the shadow you did rise
On the side of the mountain, never so close to your prize
On the dizzying peak, you saw with your own eyes
The future of the world

You raged and rejected, you turned away and cried
But you had your truth, no matter how denied
And a voice you don't know spoke from the other side
The mountain was done with you

Just never mind the horrors that you saw
There is no beast with a sweaty, hungry maw
Time will tick on, life will live on, for long before we fall
You never saw anything, never saw nothing at all

Storm-King, the gallows man
Keeper of the thundering hand
Storm the gates once wrought by the gods and tumble down the mountain

We cast it in iron, we cut it in stone
The price for the view from these bluffs is well known
Now you topple and fall like a king from his throne... to the bottom of the mountain

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mountain
• folk
• rock
• unsigned
• acoustic
• guitar
• yamaha
• wahsburn
• ibanez
• telecaster

[Chipstastegood]

hey how do u like the sj 180??

[pherndorf]

It's a great practice guitar, and just as awesome for any kind of casual performance. I love it probably more than I would if it wasn't my first guitar though, to be fair. It's very loud and quite bright, but I added a graphite nut to give it a slightly warmer sound. Oh, it's also tough as nails, takes all kinds of abuse and sounds and plays just as good as I always remembered. The tuners could be upgraded.

[aerodynamicband]

@pherndorf i want to know what the sj 180 is worth. i have one that was pulled out of a dumpster. its still in good condition except that the frets are some what flattened out. i was thinking of trading it in at guitar center to get a discount on an epiphone dove i was just wandering if it was a rae model or something.

[pherndorf]

No, they aren't rare, and they were only entry level guitars when they came out. Laminate top, but takes a good beating, great practice or travel guitar. Some new strings and a good polish would probably get one to one fifty for it on craigslist. Avoid trading it in at GC, they'll rip you off. Also, I bought a Epiphone in that price range once, but the top ended up bowing on me after only a few months, so be careful when picking yours out. Good luck!

[nutmegger1957]

I understand the need for a Brit to create a "Moody Blues" medley, (it's just the nature of the breed), but this is complex beyond the score.

Key changes, and less of a morose approach would build this into a more cohesive piece.

Honest opinion.....not meant cruelly.

[pherndorf]

I welcome any constructive criticism as equally as I would compliments. Thank you for the suggestions, when I can get around to finalizing this song, I will definitely keep them in mind.

[towaloon]

I liked how u add each box of yourself playing... Good Job :D

[pherndorf]

Excellent--glad I could add something to the music that chases your thoughts around, even if only briefly. Thank you for your feedback.

[trenawl]

Build it up... then tear it down. How wishbone man. This is swimming round in my head. It'll probably stick there for a while too. Cheers